Memory Card Slot Speed

[Ewalds]

How fast is the memory card port of the gamecube? Will it ever equal the speed of the dvd drive? Or will loading intensive games ever making crackling noises? Thank you in advance.

[kevstah2004]

2.000 MB/s–3.125 MB/s transfer rate, 128 ms average access time - DVD
taken from wikipedia, physical media speed isn't constant though
surface area vs revolutions past laser it's why companies put dummy data on discs to push the bigger files into a place on the disc where it's read the fastest by the laser to reduce loading times.
I'm still holding out on a true dvd emulator that replaces the dvd drive with a hdd and sd slot so loading times are reduced like openps2loader.
The memory card port read/write speed will always be slower even if emu_kidid adds dma support it's currently limted by pio the ps2 is capable of udma mode 4 who knows what speeds the gamecube could reach if it had a dvd emulator drive replacement irc sdboot / swiss are somewhat based off the NPDP Reader concept.

http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/sh ... php?t=5402
Functional Specifications Seek Time Track-to-Track 3ms Average 13ms Maximum 24ms Average Latency 7.14ms Rotational Speed 4,200±0.1% rpm Data Transfer Rate Internal 103.9–192.7Mb/s Buffer to Host 16.6MB/s (PIO Mode) 66.7MB/s (Ultra DMA Mode) Buffer 256KB Interleave 1:1

It's kinda what's being attempted here
http://www.gc-forever.com/forums/viewto ... f=26&t=301
but i've since lost track of it's progress.

[Ashen]

I'm still holding out on a true dvd emulator that replaces the dvd drive with a hdd and sd slot so loading times are reduced

Why not get a WODE? There's really no need to wait anymore.

[kevstah2004]

I don't have decent soldering iron and I wouldn't trust myself not to end up breaking my gamecube by bridging something.

[Hulk.]

Hi!
I'm actually playing all my games on an old 2GB SD card but I only can play the games with the compability mode and because of that it always makes crazy noises when it's loading (that's what I'm thinking is the reason but I don't know ^^).
Now I'm hesitating to buy a new SD card.
First of all: Does it work with a 16 or 32GB sd card?
2.: If I'm taking a fast SD card will the noise disappear while it's loading?
3.: What sd card should I take / which one is supported. I've seen class 4, 6 and 10 sd cards but it would be a shame if I buy a class 10 16GB card for a little fortune and then you would tell me: "it doesn't make a difference if you take a class 4 or class 10 sd card" =)

I hope it is understandable and you can help me =)
Thank you in advance!
~Hulk

[liquitt]

to

#1: yes
#2: no. sd cards usually dont make a noise O_o
#3: SanDisk is always good. Otherwise don't buy cheap shit and Class 4 is totally okay. I'm using a SanDisk 8GB Ultra, which is a Class 4 and never had ANY problems

[Hulk.]

Ok thanks a lot for your answers.
But I didn't mean the sd card when I was talking about the noise. I THINK that the noise (which appears in cutscenes when the sound is loaded to slow then the speakers make a loud noise. For example in Soul Calibur 2: When you load a match it is saying "Person 1 VERSUS Person 2" and because it is loading you only hear a loud noise and then ".....JHASDH IJASHDH KJASHD -SUS Person 2" You know what I mean? )
But that question is not that important, all the important ones are answered!
~Hulk

[liquitt]

well you could've explained it like that before and everybody would've understood
i dont think that SC2 is an audiostreaming game so your problem might as well be fixed with a better SD card....or a newer version of swiss. the compatibility list only says "working" ...

[Kemosabe-TBC]

That noise won't go away, it doesn't matter which card you use as long as it works.

[liquitt]

That noise won't go away, it doesn't matter which card you use as long as it works.

not exactly true. i once had really bad audio in a game from a shitty sd card which was fixed when i got a better one.
in general, you might be right though and can only be fixed in a new version of the loader

[Hulk.]

OK
I'll just try it and post my results in here because nothing is wrong with the sound it just sounds like the sound is soooooooooooooooooo slow and thats why it doesn't sound normal it just sounds like it is loadded to slow - but we'll see =)
At least all the other problems are solved!
And sorry for the bad explanation! Thanks for your help.
~Hulk

[Bigjake52]

I only use swiss for PSO and do notice sound artifacting when loading but thats nothing super bad and it works fine,

I know my 2gb sd card is a cheap one and does not work right

but I get in play my few rounds of ttf and then get off, it all works to say the least

[Cubelover]

Generally you can reduce the "noise" caused by slow SD cards by increasing the cluster size of your SD card. Bigger cluster size means faster loading times, which lead to a reduction of "noise". I recommend to format any SD card with 64 KB cluster size if possible.

If your card is a 2GB SD card: Format FAT16, 64KB cluster
If your card is a 4GB SDHC card: Format FAT32, 32 KB cluster (64KB not possible)
If your card is a 8GB+ SDHC card: Format FAT32, 64KB cluster

Hope that helps.

[roubagalinhas]

i'm going to test that, thanks for the tip

[megalomaniac]

just to add further info for anyone who may have been wondering about the SDcard class type...


A card's class is designated by the "minimum" rated speed per SD specifications..for example:
Class 2 = 2MB/s
Class 4 = 4MB/s
Class 6 = 6MB/s
Class 10 = 10MB/s

so purchasing a class 4 card which states "up to 15MB/s" or "up to 23MB/s" only means these cards will perform up to manufacturer's rated speed in a perfect environment...else these cards would be in a different class..Always consider the card you are purchasing will only perform at the minimum rated speed class.

Sandisk's Official Nintendo DS & Wii SDcards are only class 2 specification.

Seeing as how both these technologies were released years after GC, a class 2 card's performance would be more than sufficient for the GC. Of course, good luck finding a class 2 card these days, so instead, purchase next cheapest class currently in the market...class 4.
The purchase of a class 6 or class 10 is overkill and would only be a waste of funds.

[Cubelover]

It seems there is a global misunderstanding regarding class types of SD card. A class type defines the write speed only, not the read speed. For Swiss does a write speed of an SD card not matter. Important is the read speed. You can have the same read speed with a Class 2 SD card and a Class 10 card. Obviously you would throw money out of the window if you buy a Class 10 SD card only for Swiss. A Class 2 card is perfectly fine. Just make sure you don't buy a noname product and format your card with the largest cluster size possible. I recommend always to use SanDisk cards for Swiss.

[megalomaniac]

It seems there is a global misunderstanding regarding class types of SD card. A class type defines the write speed only, not the read speed. For Swiss does a write speed of an SD card not matter. Important is the read speed. You can have the same read speed with a Class 2 SD card and a Class 10 card. Obviously you would throw money out of the window if you buy a Class 10 SD card only for Swiss. A Class 2 card is perfectly fine. Just make sure you don't buy a noname product and format your card with the largest cluster size possible. I recommend always to use SanDisk cards for Swiss.

Thanks for the follow up...
write speeds will always be slower than read speeds which is an appropriate clarification to my post..

however, at the same time please keep in mind, the speed ratings provided by manufacturers are not independently verified. One must assume perfect scenarios / conditions must be met regarding speed ratings until a standardized uniform speed test is created. Therefore, one could cannot rely upon the manufacture stating "up to XX MB/s" as any indication of speed rating other than the guaranteed minimum rating which is indicated by the class rating.