My slightly modified Nintendo CD64...

.....................

 

Nice work, but please tell me this didn't cost you more than an Everdrive.

 

Looks cooler than an Everdrive It does look like it was a hack job when they released it, how else do you explain the sloppy design with CD-ROM and flimsy looking parts.



I wonder if one can stack CD64 and 64DD together with a single N64 or if there's no pass through connector?

 

Apples to Oranges. CD64, Z64, and V64 were all made well before you could download games from the internet. These are self-sufficient hardware that require no computer to be fully functional. You plug in the game, download it as a backup, and bam your done. Idk about CD64 prices lately (they had reliability issues, which is why the OPs thread is a great read) but V2 and V3 Z64's are pretty pricey and sell well above a new everdrive.

I'm glad the OP is actually making this thread, because I have a new CD64+ that I never use in fear of it breaking. I've basically only used my Z64 for backups.

 

I like the fact that this is "period correct" hardware..

Sure, I could use an Everdrive.. but then I could also use an emulator :/

I swapped this for a Sega Game Gear and games, that I bought not working, and fixed with parts I already had...

To "A Toubib"
You'll have no issues powering it up (I assume you have) but you're better off using a 9volt power supply, not the 12volt that a lot were supplied with, as it will run cooler.

I'd read that the +12volt rail came from the external supply, but this was wrong (at least on mine anyway)

To be honest, I wouldn't run it for any period of time "as is" because they do cook themselves!

 

Moot point, because now you can. I think these things are kind of cool, but essentially redundant.

Well, I hear the period correct, but you can't compare an Everdrive to an N64 emulator. The Everdrive 64 serves exactly the same purpose as the CD64 (without the ripping ability I concede), but does it in a far more efficient manner. Both devices enable the user to play the games on the original hardware.

Of course if you are just using the CD64 to make backups of cartridges you already own then you at least hold the moral high ground

 

I still think these sort of things are cool. If I remember correctly didn't this thing have the capability to get upgraded to 512Mbit of RAM for the cart emulator? That way games like Conker's Bad Fur Day and others that went past 256Mbit could be played. Think someone made a hacked BIOS for this thing for that and replacing the CD drive with DVD or even a HDD. A DVD DL drive would be able to hold the full ROM set for one region on a single disk.

 

Oh yeah, there have been some gloriously hacked CD64s in the past. In part it was because it's nice to have a few more games, and in part because if your drive failed why not just shove something a bit different in ;*)

It is interesting that with all the new devices out there nothing bothered to add support for dumping carts. Amazingly, that makes the old tools--even the GameShark--relevant.
For the record though, emulators--even accurate emulators--are far more limitted than any of these pieces of hardware. Sure, 95% percent of users are just playing dumped games, but each device has its own hardware features and can be used in ways their creators never really intended. Gamesharks can be used for debugging and are the next best thing to Nemu, in addition to their upload/download capacity and ability to run uploaded code; CD64s, V64s, and Z64s can access the original cart on their back, so you can make an expansion-like game or use cart-specific on-board hardware like modems; Everdrives and 64Drives can access their attached memory from within any ROM image, not just the menus, so you can have potentially unlimitted data size as well as R/W access; 64Drives also can access the USB port when connected to perform I/O with an attached PC, something which has already been demonstrated.

Granted, most of these have never been utilized, but the point is worth making.

 

That's exactly our point, a Everdrive can't rip a game. An Everdrive without a comp is a paperweight. As a matter of fact, looking at most the N64 roms on the internet they are rips from V64 and Z64s.

 

Don't trust extensions. The 64DD IPL was ripped via GameShark, but you can find both extensions in the wild. You might be able to write some software for a V64jr, but obviously a bottom-loader of any kind wouldn't exactly work ;*)

Originally, Monegi's dev tools expected .n64, and compilers spit out .bin, .rom, or nothing at all.

 

And it's still a moot point, why would you bother to rip your own N64 games when every known rom is a couple of mouse clicks away? The Everdrive with no computer comment is just silly, I doubt there are too many people who own a game copier or backup device of any kind who don't own a computer.

 

That's your opinion and not the topic of the thread. I've explained to you the facts that these N64 backups do everything an Everdrive can do and more. If you want to discuss your opinion about the Everdrive being a better piece of hardware than a CD64+ make a new thread.

 

Wow, you're getting super touchy about this eh? Does the CD64+ have the ability to patch "difficult" roms, play games >32MB, support custom wallpapers, store full romset on single writeable media?

You really want an Everdrive, don't you?

@OP, sorry dude, didn't mean to derail your thread, I think it's cool what you did here, really, I like it when someone improves on a flawed original design. I just know the silly prices some people pay for these copiers, that was the point of my original comment, but as you got yours for a fairly modest trade I'd say you're well ahead of the game.

 

The 12v line on the N64 only pulls around 110mA. Don't know for sure the mA a cd-rom pulls but I'm guessing it isn't that bad. So the 850mA 12v line was probably sufficient.

Then again what you did is better

 

I don't know what the original drive needed, as it didn't come with it, but the slowest drive I have here, is an old Creative quad speed drive, and that lists 700ma on the 12volt rail

 

Oh, and for anyone saying "why not just buy an everdrive" or "I hope this cost less than an everdrive"

This owes me $AU45, (about $US40), which is what I paid for the (faulty) GameGear, with 8 games, that I then repaired using parts I already had, and swapped for this faulty CD64... which I also repaired using parts I already had

Everything in Australia tends to cost more than most other places in the world anyway...