PCE Pro 32M Flash Cart

[Official Ninja]

Any one have the TotoTEK PCE Pro 32M flash cart?
http://www.tototek.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_5_19&products_id=30

If so, do you like it? Easy to use? Any draw backs to it? I've read you cant mix Region roms on it. But if you have a region switch , why not just select the region of the rom your going to play before turning it on?

I'm thinking of getting one as $60 is not a bad price. My brother uses that other one (i forget the name) that uses a usb programmer and has 128m. He really likes it. At 1st he thought it was broken but once he found the right software to use he now loves it.

Thanks!

[Frank_fjs]

I don't have one but a friend of mine does. He says it works great and is a lot cheaper than other similar devices on the market.

Only drawback is that you need a parallel cable/connection on your PC and it doesn't work on newer versions of Windows (Vista, 7).

[Necromancer]

The Tototek card is comparatively primitive and inferior to the Neo Flash offerings in every way but price.  Do yourself a favor and pay the extra $40 for one of the newer cards.

[Official Ninja]

The Tototek card is comparatively primitive and inferior to the Neo Flash offerings in every way but price.  Do yourself a favor and pay the extra $40 for one of the newer cards.

Do you say that because of the more primitive interface to the computer? I'm not worried about the parallel interface. I'm a retro computer user and have many TRS-80, Atari, TI, and IBM clone computers / laptops around. I'm sure I'll find a parallel port on a windows machine somewhere.

What other features would make it inferior? I see it stores less being only 32M. besides that if you can get the rom on it and it plays what else are we looking at?

(not being a smart-ass, i really want to know as I've never used a flash cart on any system that didn't have an Atari logo.)

[Necromancer]

What other features would make it inferior?

Pros:
- cheat feature
- price

Cons:
- no reset button, forcing you to cycle power to get back to the load menu
- requires both epp and usb connections for loading
- exposed chips = increased risk of component damage
- less memory, requiring more frequent reloads
- epp is far slower than usb (admittedly, the tiny files renders this point nearly moot)
- physical size; it'll stick out of the console, consequently making it more prone to physical damage (Neo Flash carts fit in standard HuCard jewel cases for easy storage)

Note that none of these things is all that big of a deal and either option will get the job done, but when you add all the positives of the Neo Flash offerings, they're well worth the added cost.

[Official Ninja]

Very cool. Great information. These things are not all too expensive. So I think I'm going to go with the PCE Pro. I can always get the Neo Flash someday if I find too many short comings with it.
The main reason is the USB model cost almost double, with better models costing more than double.
I think up to 31 games is all I need.

Maybe I can pocket my brothers Neo Flash when he is not looking.....   :-"

I wouldn't......

[Duo_R]

How about a group buy on some Neo cards? Hasn't been done for a while but we could score a nice discount on the cards.

[Necromancer]

I think up to 31 games is all I need.

Considering the average ROM size, five or six games is more realistic.  Still better than one at a time though.

[Official Ninja]

I think up to 31 games is all I need.

Considering the average ROM size, five or six games is more realistic.  Still better than one at a time though.

Oh, I see. 31 games if each game was 1M but the average game is 5??
So it wouldnt be flash it and forget it. I'd have to always be updating it with my current top 5...

So is the M megabytes? Its a 32 Megabyte card?

[Duo_R]

bascially it should be a 4 megabyte card, iirc you divide these flash cards by 8 to convert to megabytes. I know that is how my gameboy flashcard worked at least.

[Necromancer]

So is the M megabytes? Its a 32 Megabyte card?

Close - it's 32 megabits (4 megabytes).  Some titles are only 1 megabit (i.e. Timeball) and one is 20 megabits (Street Fighter II'), but most games are in the 4-8 megabits range.

[Duo_R]

Here is a megabit to megabyte converter:

 http://www.unitconversion.org/data-storage/megabits-to-megabytes-conversion.html

So this should mean that the pro PCE flash cart is actually 16 megabytes (128 megabit)

[nat]

So this should mean that the pro PCE flash cart is actually 16 megabytes (128 megabit)

How do you figure? The PCE Pro is 32Mb. 32 megabits. That's 4 megabytes.

My two cents on the PCE Pro: you get what you pay for. The thing doesn't hold much, not to mention its outdated interface (parallel) and other cons Necromancer mentioned add up to a sub-par product in today's age. The thing even looks like a prototype-- exposed and unprotected ICs is a bad, bad idea.

And yeah, the average non-CD Turbo ROM size is probably 4-6 megabits, with a good number being 8 or higher.

[Duo_R]

Nat I was talking about the Neo 128 flash cards

Sorry that wasn't very clear. Lol

[nat]

Ah, in that case you are correct. However, you said PCE Pro which is the 32Mb Tototek cart.