Announcing the 64drive nearing completion

[marshallh]

Where does the MicroSD card go? Does a new hole need to be cut on the cart?

[wmd]

Can an uncut case be fitted when only using a MicroSD card? If the top hole is exposed when only using a MicroSD an awful lot of dust is going to accumulate inside the device, over time.

[Loogs]

If the top hole is exposed when only using a MicroSD an awful lot of dust is going to accumulate inside the device, over time.

Hmm, it's a long-shot, but if you can get yours hands on some scotch tape (rare), you might be able to fix that problem. Is this seriously a complaint? Fashion your own slot cover or provide your own uncut donor case. Not sure if you own a microSD card but they are basically microscopic in size. Marshall's pic basically shows a microSD would not need another slot in the outer case.
Unless you game in a cleanroom, dust, cosmic debris, and your own dead skin cells will forever coat and invade every nook and crack in every single piece of gaming hardware you own; this is gaming law.

[arbingordon]

WMD, if you plan to just use MicroSD only, you can request that the casing isn't cut at the top for Compact Flash.

[APE]

I'll be getting a chunk of change come the 17th and again 9/17. I don't usually make purchases this large but for this I think I'll make an exception.

And a Pioneer Laseractive to start making efforts on getting LD-ROMs dumped.

[pcc10]

Any differences in performance/speed when using CF vs MicroSD? If not, why was CF used in the first place? Aren't CF Cards much more expensive?

[arbingordon]

Any differences in performance/speed when using CF vs MicroSD? If not, why was CF used in the first place? Aren't CF Cards much more expensive?

CF is a bit faster from what i hear, but it's probably dependent on the card used.
CF was used initially for a few reasons unless I'm much mistaken:
* Initially the idea was to stream ROMs from the memory card, SD wasn't fast enough for this (and neither was CF ultimately)
* Compact Flash was easier to develop an interface for/support
* Compact Flash didn't cost anything to support, whereas 4-bit transfer mode on SD required some $2k license, (though I believe marshall has gone with an unofficial 4-bit transfer mode)
I think there were more but unfortunately the benheck thread that archived all of the 64drive progress is gone for the time being :(
As for CF being more expensive, I agree, it is more expensive, perhaps because of its lack of popularity.

[splith]

CF is much faster than how you transfer data to/from SD cards (CF is compatible with PATA, the old IDE hard drive interface) and is used in the high definition digital camcorders that they film TV shows with, though you generally need the 'ultra high speed' CF cards so they don't lag and screw up whilst recording.

[APE]

Given the size of the current "complete" N64 rom set isn't very large to start with using a single CF card isn't too big of a deal. If someone can afford the $200 price tag for a 64drive ponying up an additional $20-50 for a X capacity CF card shouldn't be too big a deal IMO. Like buying a Ferrari and complaining that gas and insurance are expensive...

And yes, CF is compatible with IDE of old due it having ATA controllers built into every CF card. In fact I have an old Nomad Jukebox that I swapped the original 2.5" laptop drive out for a 4gb CF card. Battery life went from 3 hours to at least the 8 hours I've personally clocked it at without any sign of running out of juice.

[Loogs]

I think the concept of including the microSD is more than validated just based on the sole idea the cartridge would not actually need a slot. It's a clean presentation and I like that.

Nevertheless, especially on these larger ROM sizes, I will always be using CF for a much faster transfer/load time. Serial SD vs Parallel CF is a no-brainer, at least for me. I'm not sure what the microSD transfer methods will be or how much the SDHC classes will affect performance, but I'm already thinking about the bigger titles (128, 256, etc). From my experience with noticing obvious loading differences in other CF and SD flash carts, with their much smaller NES, SNES, or Genesis ROMs, I suspect there will be a huge difference.

Well, in counterargument, if you are gonna get down with one game for awhile (days, weeks, etc), you technically only would need to flash it once (or until you flash another). At this point, there is hardly an argument over seconds/minutes. As far as frequent homebrew cycles though, or just plowing through games, the argument has its place.

I don't even know why I'm making these points, slightly pointless, eh? I just want the 64drive already! I can't wait to rock some kiosk demos :D

[link83]

Well, in counterargument, if you are gonna get down with one game for awhile (days, weeks, etc), you technically only would need to flash it once (or until you flash another). At this point, there is hardly an argument over seconds/minutes. As far as frequent homebrew cycles though, or just plowing through games, the argument has its place.

Actually the 64drive loads the games to SDRAM, not flash memory - which means you will need to load the game every time (EverDrive 64 is the same) This means loading speed is pretty important, and from the videos marshallh has shown CompactFlash loading is really quick - just a few seconds for most games. Apart from marshallh no-one knows yet what the speed difference will be between CompactFlash and microSD, but i'm pretty confident that CompactFlash will remain the better/faster choice.

[Cabanon]

cant wait for the microsd version. i so many of these cards laying around, i dont know what to do with them.

[Loogs]

Actually the 64drive loads the games to SDRAM, not flash memory

Ah, thanks for the correction!

[marshallh]

MicroSD and CF are running the same speed now, 9mbyte/sec.

The cartridge boots from CF if found, otherwise it falls back to SD. This means you can leave the microSD card in there. I still prefer CF for being easy to handle (I dropped a microsd card behind my desk and spent a while looking for it, hehe)

So far I have tested with 1gb, 2gb, 4gb, and 8gb cards. Should work with everything up to 32gb

edit: thanks arbin for testing 8gb

[link83]

Fantastic :-) So I guess it can access both the CompactFlash and microSD slots at the same time?

[Lady Eklipse]

...and copy files from CF to SD and vice versa directly on N64?

[arbingordon]

Fantastic :-) So I guess it can access both the CompactFlash and microSD slots at the same time?

I'm not sure on this but I don't think so- at least not yet.
(the way you worded it sounds like you figure it would display all the roms on both the CF and the microSD at the same time - correct me if you intended otherwise).

...and copy files from CF to SD and vice versa directly on N64?

If the above was implemented, then yes, it should be possible to do copying CF <-> SD with 64drive alone. I wouldn't bank on someone actually writing a utility to do that, though.

[LEo]

Sorry for not reading the entire thread, but how much will it cost?

[pcc10]

Sorry for not reading the entire thread, but how much will it cost?

$199.99 + S+H

When ordering, do we have to specify if we want the CF or MicroSD version?

Or will we just receive a cart with BOTH slots cut out?

Can't wait to order!

[arbingordon]

$199.99 + S+H

When ordering, do we have to specify if we want the CF or MicroSD version?

Or will we just receive a cart with BOTH slots cut out?

Can't wait to order!

I think you can ask for CF or microSD specifically to only be cut out, and the "default" is cutting both out. (so far I think all the rev 2 boards shipped out have both cut out - but I see no reason why Marshall wouldn't oblige for a request of "just CF" or "just microSD" cutouts).

Edit:

Can an uncut case be fitted when only using a MicroSD card? If the top hole is exposed when only using a MicroSD an awful lot of dust is going to accumulate inside the device, over time.

microSD will fit fine in an uncut shell. See above for "likeliness" of Marshall accommodating your request.