I've finished my review.

It's now available at this adress :
http://ndsrlz.online.fr/?page=reviews&id=3

This product is quite good. I'm waiting for the DLDI update.

——————————————————————————

Introduction
This card was released some times ago under many names (DSLinker, N-Card, Express Card, DSCard 2, UltraFlashPass EX, DS Fire Link and maybe more…).
NeoFlash also release its clone product called NeoFlash MK5. The kit contains a Slot-1 card, and a Slot-2 card used for transfers. First tests give it a nice mark, now let's see if the product does it well.

First, the sample card I received from Dr. Neo @ neoflash.com (thanks by the way) has a 1 GByte internal memory.
Here are the features listed on the packaging (English errors left as it is) :
– Support clean rom, not need any patch, just need drag and drop,
– Huge memory space, from 8Gbit upto 64Gbit,
– USB 2.0 high speed data transfer,
– USB Disk function, compatible with any operation system,
– Build in the last MoonShell v1.5 and upgradable,
– Support homebrew,
– Build in SMS multi save function and auto save,
– Menu upgradable, just need drag and drop the new core to MK5,
– Multi-rom support, media play support,
– MK5 Turbo Engine, 100% full game running speed, without any delay,
– Build in PassMe function, can boot almost GBA flash cart perfectly.

Packaging
Like the some other products from NeoFlash, MK5 comes in a nice little plastic package. It's also bundled with an USB cable.

In the package, you will find :
– MK5 cartridge, the Slot-1 cartridge with 1 GByte of internal memory,
– Link Cartridge, the Slot-2 cartridge used to transfer files to the internal memory. It has a USB plug to connect the DS to your PC.
– CD-Rom, that contains drivers and some homebrew games.

First launch
The MK5 is preformated and already contains some software. There are some homebrew games from a previous NeoFlash compo (a tetris clone, Aztec Challenge…) as well as some useful applications.
There's a PassMe rom that allows you to boot a Slot-2 cartridge such as a SuperCard etc. MoonShell is also present on the card. Therefore, you can play mp3s, DPG video files and view pictures on your DS.

When I received the MK5, I downloaded the latest firmware update available (v1.23a) which you can download HERE.

Now let's talk about using the linker.

First, plug the Slot-1 and Slot-2 cards in their respective slots.
Then plug the USB cable in the linker and in a PC USB port.
Finally, start your DS and the MK5, you will see a message in blue : "MOUNT FLASH DISK USB DISK PROGRAM(8G_256K)".
The font should turn to green and your PC will recognize a Universal Massive Storage Drive. Now you can copy anything to your MK5.

Transfer were tested under Windows XP and the latest Linux Ubuntu distribution and it worked perfectly.

I copied the update file to the MK5 and started it like any rom. Then I got a confirmation message, launched the update and everything went ok.

So that's all for the update. Now let's deal with running files.

Running Games
As described in the previous part, it's really easy to copy games to the MK5. Use both cartridges and a PC to transfer .nds files and relative files to your memory card.
Now start the DS, launch the MK5, and you'll be taken to the menu.
Games from every directory of the memory are listed there. They're represented by their icons in 3D. It's not really easy to choose game when you have much and the GUI isn't charming.
However, it works great and you get details of the game on the upper screen when you select it.

You can use the stylus to point icons and start games.
Loading a game usually takes 3 seconds so that's quite fast.

Homebrew work just like commercial games, now let's deal with compatibility.

Compatibility
The compatibility of MK5 with commercial games is great. Every game that I tested worked, including :
– Age of Empires,
– Castlevania : Portrait of Ruin, which causes problems on M3 Simply, R4DS,
– DSBrowser works together with a SuperCard SD,
– Mario Kart,
– Ultimate Spiderman, which hasn't been working on several devices …

Now concerning homebrew games, they just work fine on MK5, except the ones that uses DLDI write (DLDI library doesn't yet support writing on the MK5).
So here are some of my results :
– Aztec Challenge works,
– Drug Wars DS works,
– DSLinux fails (it needs to write a file at boot),
– MoonShell works,
– PassMe works.

MK5 has a DLDI library, but it only supports reading now, and I guess this is the only bad point of this linker.

Pros
 
+ Great commercial games support
+ Great homebrew support (DLDI read only)
+ Works on any OS (Windows, Linux, Mac…)
+ Works with clean dumps
+ Low cost

Cons
 
– DLDI write support missing
– Cannot add external memory
– Needs the DS on to copy games

Conclusion
 
To my mind, MK5 and its clones are the greatest linker released right now. It has a great support for games and is easy to use.
The price is also quite interesting. The only drawback of the product is there's no DLDI write support, but it should be corrected very soon.

DCEmu Review has now reviewed the MK5.

http://reviews.dcemu.co.uk/review-neoflash-mk5-8gbit-giga-cart-1gb–55970.html

NeoFlash MK5 8Gbit GIGA Cart (1GB)
Manufacturer: NeoFlash
Site: Buy from www.IC2005.com
Price: $49.00

Overview : NeoFlash MK5 8Gbit GIGA is a slot 1 device (no passcard required). It does not use any external storage cards such as microSD. It holds up to 1GB of storage.

Features :
Support clean rom,not need any patch,just need drag and drop
Huge memory space,from 8Gbit upto 64Gbit
USB 2.0 high-speed data transfer
USB disk function, compatible with any operation system
Build in the last moonshell V1.5 and upgradable
Support homebrew
Build in SMS multi save function,and auto save
Menu upgradable,just need drag and drop the new core to MK5
Multi rom support,media play support
MK5 turbo engin, 100% full game running speed, without any delay
Build in passme function, can boot almost GBA flash cart perfectly

Quality/Usability : NeoFlash has entered the DS scene with their version of the Slot-1, MK5. Included with the package is Slot-1 MK5 8G DS Cartridge, Slot-2 GBA Linker, mini-CD and USB cable. Before you get ahead of yourself, this is not 8GB. This is 8Gbit which means 1GB of flash memory. There is also a 16Gbit as well (2GB – $59.00).

Out of the box, there were preloaded apps such as Moonshell and DSOrganize. The Slot-1 MK5 DS cartridge is the same as that of the real DS cartridge. It acts as a pass-me similar to that of the M3 Simply and R4DS. Unlike other Slot-1 cards, the MK5 uses flash memory to store all data rather than external cards such as microSD.

To transfer data, you will need to insert the MK5 GBA Linker. This is the cartridge that looks and is the same size as a GBA cartridge but has a USB port built-in. If you are to insert this into a DS Lite, the cartridge will stick out. Since the MK5 uses flash memory, the GBA Linker is used to communicate with your PC to transfer data. This does not store any data.

So how does this work? Insert your MK5 DS cartridge into Slot-1 of the DS and insert the GBA Linker into Slot-2 of the DS. Once the GBA Linker is inserted, connect the USB cable to the GBA Linker and PC. Turn on your DS and the PC will recognize the device as a removable storage. All you have to do now is just transfer your files. File transfer is pretty quick. When you have transfered all your files, turn off the DS. Since the GBA Linker only communicates with your PC, you will have to remove it. If you do not, you will not be able to access any of the MK5's feature and will be prompted with a message.

Upon turning on the DS (after you have removed the GBA Linker, you are brought to the DS menu screen. You will have to manually select the MK5. Once inside MK5, you can control the menu either with d-pad with A button to confirm or with the stylus. The menu screen itself isnt really attractive. With other Slot-1's you have some slight control over the look of the menu such as skinning. Unfortunately, you are unable to with the MK5. Although, you are able to customize Moonshell since they are based on BMP images and the fonts on MK5 via "global.ini".

The top screen shows the selected ROMs information such as ROM icon, filename, file size, last save date and page numbers (if you have more than 12 files).

The bottom screen shows the ROMs that you transfered onto the MK5. Each ROM has a 3D icon. As the current ROM is selected, the icon pulses to let you know which one is highlighted.

The MK5 worked perfectly with all the homebrew files I loaded onto the card. All homebrew booted quick and without a problem as it supported DLDI.

Booting of commercial ROMs were quick as well. The MK5 gets its save game size from a database. Luckily, the database is updated often. If for whatever reason the game save is not available, you can manually make one yourself by holding SELECT and pressing LEFT or RIGHT to select the save size. But this takes some trial and error if you dont know the size. You can see the compatibility and save game list here.

If you have a Slot-2 GBA Flash Cart, MK5 acts as a Pass-Me card which allows you to boot the GBA cart.

The MK5 also allows for future firmware upgrade. Upgrading the firmware is similar to that of loading a commercial ROM. It only takes a few seconds to upgrade the firmware.

A nice feature that NeoFlash included is the ability to format the MK5 incase it is corrupted. To format, just insert the MK5 and GBA Linker into the DS but dont insert the USB cable and dont turn on the system just yet. Hold down the L Trigger + R Trigger and the Down button then power on the DS. The MK5 logo will appear. While still holding the L Trigger + R Trigger and Down button, now press A + B button. The GBA Linker will now format the MK5. Since it is formatted, all data have been erased and you will need to transfer all data to the MK5 again.

Another unique feature that NeoFlash has released since the release of the MK5 is the ability to use the DS as a USB joypad and mouse. For more information, you can check out the official release.

Conclusion : Overall, the NeoFlash MK5 8Gbit GIGA Cart met my expectations if not more. The drawback of the MK5 is not being able to upgrade the memory since it is flash memory. But the price makes up for it considering the DS-X is 4Gbit and is twice the cost! For those first time users of Slot-1, you may not mind the menu screen but once you see or try others, you'll notice how plain the MK5 is.

I received my unit today, here's the review:
http://www.vr32.de/modules/news/article.php?storyid=211

Again thank you very much for the unit, Dr. Neo! When the NEO 64 gets finished, I'd LOVE to write a review of it for 64DD.net.

MK5 Giga Review
Posted by KR155E on 2007/3/5 23:39:41 
I have received a MK5 Giga 8Gb, the lastest Nintendo DS flash cart from NeoFlash, maker of a lot of backup units for many systems, and want to share my review of it with you guys.
The MK5 Giga is a Slot 1 Nintendo DS backup device with 8Gb (= 1 Gigabyte) of onboard Flash memory, there's also a 16Gb (= 2 Gigabyte) version available.

FEATURES

* Supports clean ROMs, no need for patching, just drag and drop
* Build in 8Gbit or 16Gbit memory
* USB 2.0 high-speed data transfer
* USB disk function, compatible with any operation system
* Built in Moonshell v1.5, upgradable
* Supports homebrew
* Built in SMS multi save function, and auto save
* Menu upgradeable, just drag and drop the new core to MK5
* Multi ROM support, media play support
* MK5 turbo engine, 100% full game running speed, without any delay
* Built in PassMe function, can boot most GBA flash cart perfectly

CONTENT

MK5 Giga comes with the cart itself, a GBA cart with an USB interface to connect to the PC, an USB cable and a 8cm CD-R with docs and more in a shiny, colorful plastic packaging. It fits perfectly into Slot 1, the Slot 2 USB connector sticks out a bit since it is the size of a standard GBA cartridge. That doesn't really matter, though, since you need that only to connect your MK5 to your PC.

SETUP

The MK5 Giga is ready for action once you take it out of the box, it has several games and programs on it by default. If you want to put your own Roms on it, just put the 8Gb cart in Slot 1, the USB interface cart ind Slot 2, then connect it to a free USB port on your Computer. Now turn on your DS and start the MK5 Giga. If you have Windows XP, it should now see it as an external drive, for other OS, there are drivers on the CD-R. Now just copy and paste your Roms over to the cart and you're ready to go. I was able to fit a whopping TWENTY random games on the cart, if you got the 16Gb version, you even have twice that much space.

USAGE

Every game I tested worked like a charm. I can't test the other 850+ Roms as well, but it is said that EVERY Rom released so far works on the MK5 Giga!

The unit can't detect the savetypes of Roms and gets its information from a databse saved on the cart. Since not all games are in there yet, you sometimes have to test all different settings (you can change save types by holding select and pressing left or right) until saving works. A bit annoying, but you can always get the latest savelib here, where you can also find a compatability chart.

When you boot up your cart, you're going to the cart menu after a short loading pause, where you can select between 3D blocks, which represent the games on your cart, while you can see additional info aboout the highlighted game on the top screen. It's not beautiful, but it does the job.

If you have a Slot 2 (GBA) flash cart as well, the MK5 Giga can also act as a Passme device to boot those. All you have to do is run the Passme image from the MK5's main menu.

CONCLUSION

The MK5 Giga is a very good choice if you don't want to play GBA games, and don't need rumble or extra RAM which for exaple the EZ Flash Triple pak offers. Compared to other units it is very cheap with around 60 EUR for the 16Gb version, which it is definitely worth.

+ Very high compatability
+ Easy usage
+ Pretty cheap compared to other units
– No GBA support

For more info on the MK5 Giga and other NeoFlash products, visit their website:

MK5 REVIEW
original link: http://palib.info/forum/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=2425&post_id=15254#forumpost15254

I just recieved an MK5 8Gb (1GB) for test purpose from the Neoflash team, so I'll try to do something complete…

A little history…
We all know Neoflash for 2 reasons :
1. They got the 'first DS linker' released, sold as is (though you could argue that a gba linker + passme was pretty much the same solution…).
2. They organize great dev compos

I had tested the first Neoflash and the MK2/3, then skipped a generation and am back for this one  I was quite surprised when I recieved the package, as it was pretty much wrapped in a newspaper  But once unwrapped, it was in a nice packaging, the kind you would find in any store. Fisrt thing I noticed : it still has a GBA cart ! Now this is an odd choice, as most current linkers are Slot1-only… The GBA cart has the old GBA format, so if you have a DS-lite it'll stick out… But I have a DS-Fat, so that's ok.

Discovering the MK5…

When opening the package, I discovered a mini-CD hidden inside, nice little surprise  Put it in the PC : Neo Driver 2007, with all drivers for all Neoflash products (even the PC-E Flash Cart, etc…).

Ok, time to plug in the MK5 to see what I get  It felt kind of weird to put the USB in the GBA cart instead of the DS one (like the DS-X), and nothing happened  Ok, I probably missed something, so I turn on the DS, and at that moment the PC recognized it. The MK5 is then recognized as any USB device, so I can see it already contains a few games (AztecChallenge, Cutrix, GameBoxDS, DSOrganze, Moonshell).

I'll do a quick test to see how long it takes to add files… Went to the Neo Coding Compo, took one of them (Dance n Shoot), which was 1.5MB… Copied it to the opened USB window, and I thought it would take some time… and no, it took less than 2 seconds ! So I guess even if you had some 32MB or more 'videos' to flash, it should be too long . Ok, let's see how to get it running now

Unplugged the USB, the DS screen stayed to the text screen as when it was plugged in :/ Ok, little DS reset . In the DS menu, it's recognized like a normal game. Still telling 'Mount Flash Disk' :/ Odd…
Ok, I looked at the doc, guess I'll go for a format  The system is pretty secure, as it requires to hold down L+R+Down before turning on, keeping it pressed and loading the MK5 with A+B (5 keys in total). It seems pretty unlikely that you do that by error  Showed that the disk was formated, 8G version, I'll plug that in again… Now the folder is empty, I'll copy the contents of the MK5 driver folder. The text is flashing red/black/green while the files are copying, just taking a few seconds . Ok, now it's green, I'll try again

Using as a Slot1 Linker

Ok, never mind, I was stupid… That's what you get when you don't read the instructions… Actually, you have to remove the GBA cart when you want to use the MK5  Ok, the menu is here ! It's pretty fast, and I see all the apps set up in 3D boxes. I had seen screenshots of it before, and I'll admit I don't really like it  Some do, though, so I guess I can't blame them too much for that. Speed-wise, the menu boots up MUCH faster than the DS-X menu, which seems to take forever… That's a good thing if you use the MK5 for development, you won't need to wait ages before seeingif your code changes work…

Loading a game takes less than a second. Tested quite a few homebrews, all of them worked perfectly.

Ok, off I am to fatlib testing and rom testing (for test purpose…). Plugged the USB in the GBA cart, still not showing, so you really need to have the DS on  Put the gba cart in the DS while playing a homebrew, it reset the DS (too bad . Takes around 1 minute, 1.5 minute for 84MB, seems pretty fair to me 

Loading an official game (EVIL !) takes less than a second (to format the save). Game works perfectly, at full speed. Actually, I'd say at first view that loading times are a bit shorter than with the DS-X. Saves are automatic, but for some games the MK5 can't recognize the correct save format. In this case, don't worry, you can switch save type by pressing Select

As for fatlib stuff, the homebrew I tested didn't work out of the box, it required DLDI patching, which isn't exactly a problem  It read all the files correctly, didn't get to test writing though, sorry :/ (I read they can't save yet though !)

Last thing, it can be used as a plain passme (there's a passme rom with it, just click on it from the menu to activate passme mode). This won't boot gba games, but should work for booting DS games from any GBA flashcart (not only neoflash ones…). Not sure it's really usefull when you already have 1GB to play with already, but if you had a gba cart with SD cards, for example, that could extend the memory even more…

Conclusion

Ok, so what's the conclusion after all these tests ?

Pros :
– 8Gb (1GB) is pretty cool, (as opposed to the 512MB = 4Gb of the DS-X), and should allow you to use tons of homebrews freely
– I saw the price over at http://www.ic2005.com/ : 50 dollars ! That's really cheap, I expected it to cost about twice as much considering the memory size…
– Very fast menu boot-up, recognized as normal DS game
– Very fast homebrew/roms loading, always good to take
– DLDI drivers available (for reading :/)
– Plug N Play/Drag and Drop, takes cleans roms, only DLDI needs patching
– DS cart size, so you don't have anything sticking out of your DS
– Saves work almost perfeclty, and if not you can manually select the save type

Cons :
– You can't use the linker while it's plugged in the USB, and putting in the GBA cart will reset the DS…
– No DLDI drivers for writing !
– I personnally hated the 3D menu, I found it pretty hard to recognize the logos in it, even though some people do like it… But please note that's a small con, as the menu is really fast and functionnal besides that
– No GBA game support, but that's the same as for all other slot 1 flash carts… So it's a minor con
– As opposed to the DS-X, you probably won't be using this one as a USB key… Because having the DS out when using it will be a bit painfull

Notes :
Kind of weird to have the GBA for USB flashing purpose, but in the end it wasn't a problem AT ALL. Just surprising…
As for the fact that there's no SD/miniSD/microSD/whatever needed, I wasn't sure if it should be a pro or a con… 1GB should be way enough for common use, even if you go on vacation a few months  And that way you won't need to have a SD/etc… card to use in the linker.

My final feeling is that this linker is nearly perfect, because the Pros are important while the cons (besides the DLDI driver not supporting writing…) are pretty minor issues… Plus, the DLDI will probably get updated to support writing, so that won't be a problem in the future (I hope !), and I suppose they'll eventually release a non-3D menu
I didn't expect too much from the linker at first, seeing how my neoflash and MK2/3 don't always work as expected, but this linker was far beyond my expectations, and the GBA cart flashing choice doesn't feel bad after you tested it.

So, final thought : GREAT JOB Neoflash !

Special thanks to Dr Neo for the sample, keep up the great work