Develop Bugs

What MicroSD are you using?

Hi, I have been searching on the forum in search of some information on MicroSD cards and came to no avail.
With my HD, it came with a 8GB Class 6 MicroSDHC. I think it needed it to play videos. I can't imagine using it with a slower card.
Now, my TP2 will arrive Monday and I would like to know the following:
1. Brand
2. Size
3. Speed (class)
4. Price
Is it performing well with the video playbacks or have you installed the SD Tuner software available for the HD?
What do you recommend?
Many, many thanks for any replies, comments and help!

Bought a A-Data microSD class 6, 4 GB at a local computer store.
Not the one i was looking for, i wanted the 8GB or 16GB but both where not in stock and the 4GB was less then 10 euros. I will buy a larger one in a few months.
With class 6 my phone isn't slowed down. A few years ago i bought a 2GB mini-SD, but my HTC Vox was slowed down very much. Didn't look to the class/or speed back then.
MicroSD cards based on SLC might be beter them MLC. IMHO i would always take a class 6 or higher card. However class 8 cards are hard to find.

I'm using the 8GB Class 4 card that came with my daughter's Nokia 5800 and it seems fine. Just watched an xdiv episode of Only Fools and Horses on it with no stutter or dropped frames.
I bought a class 6 off Ebay and it should be here on Monday so I can compare then

i'm using sandisk 8g class 2. whatched movies and played music, everything is fine. It only cost me just under tenner.

The performance diference between a class 2 or a class 6 is not that noticeable. However, at the price the cards are, I think it worths always to buy a class 6 card.
I bought a Transcend 8GB class 6 card. It cost me aprox. 20€.
The biggest differences I noticed between a class 2 and 6 card are:
-Taking photos is faster with class 6
-Browsing photos in sdcard is a bit faster also
-Viewing movies sometimes is a bit more smooth.
HastaSSSS

I have a 16GB class 2 Sandisk. I watch movies just fine. I figure with a class 6 i might be able to watch HD videos more smoothly.

Hi guys,
Thanks for all your replies. So from what you guys are telling me, it is always better to pay that little extra for the class 6 MicroSDs. But then again, is it worth investing in a 16GB Class 4 (no Class 6 available except the brand A-Data) or an 8GB Class 6.
16GB is nearly 4 times more expensive than the 8GB and yet it is slower. Shall I just get 2 8GB and hot swap the 2 cards as need be?
I bought a class 6 off Ebay and it should be here on Monday so I can compare then
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, please let us know if it makes that much of a difference.
Bought a A-Data microSD class 6, 4 GB at a local computer store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have read about this brand, and what others said was that their Class 6 under performs Sandisk's Class 4 Cards. Do yo notice any differences? How is the performance?
Also, I wouldn't recommend buying these cards off eBay. There are so many, fake cards on there. I know so, because I know mates that sell these cards. I would just buy from a genuine local store and pay a little bit more unless you don't care about performance.
Anyway, my last question.
What brand do you think has the best performance. Yeah, we can find out all the data about these cards on the web but it's nothing like the hands on tests from real users. So, will it be Sandisk, Transend, Toshiba, Kingston or the later A-Data?

Found a pretty review on the Sandisk 16GB C4 MicroSDHC cards. They compared it to the Kingston 8GB C4 MicroSDHC card.
Sandisk seems to be the company that is producing the fastest cards. It out performs Kingston.
But $133, is a bit steep. I think if I am correct a Sandisk 8GB C6 MicroSDHC is only $49.
What do you think?

You won't notice much difference between class 2 and class 6 as the device can only read at a certain speed, which is nearer class 4.
There are some cheap class 2 16gb cards out there, I have them and you only really notice if you install something like sdtuneup, but then again, you wouldn't notice much difference between class4 and class6

SanDisk microSDHC 16 GB Mobile Ultra works fine!
With the enclosed reader it is really fast via USB.

nicelad_uk said:
the device can only read at a certain speed, which is nearer class 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers for the heads up about the TP2's read speed.
I was going to go for a 16GB class 2 but now might hold out for a class 4.
Haven't noticed any speed difference between my 8GB class 4 and 6 cards except that it's possibly slower than my Trinity but that may be due to the crummy TP2 stock ROM...
cocoaju said:
Shall I just get 2 8GB and hot swap the 2 cards as need be?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please don't get two 8GB's, you will ruin the back cover of the device swapping the cards over all the time

My understanding is that the Class affects write speed, not read speed, so you won't see a difference playing movies on one or the other. You will see a difference in the amount of time it takes to get the movie onto the card (providing you aren't using ActiveSync, which will slow things down way beyond Class2 speeds).
I have a SanDisk Class 2 16 GB card on my Vogue and watch movies just fine with CorePlayer. Maybe a brief stutter once every 5 minutes or so, which I attribute to WinMo doing some other task in the background, not the read speed of the card.
In short, if it doesn't matter to you how long it takes to transfer large files onto the card, go with the least expensive.

Haven't noticed any speed difference between my 8GB class 4 and 6 cards except that it's possibly slower than my Trinity but that may be due to the crummy TP2 stock ROM...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? How much slower?
Yeah, I think I will go for 16GB for sure. The only thing now is what class. I am hearing 2 things here. I am worried about stutters on watching movies.
Some are saying speed only matters to write and not read.
But then I have read that it does matter, that is why there is a SDTuneUp for the HD.
I really don't want to buy a cheaper Class 2 card and only finding it is not working to my standards. I am pretty fussy about these things.
Any of you needed to install the SDTuneUp registry edit for the TP2? Do we need it? Anyone did any tests?

cocoaju said:
Really? How much slower?
Yeah, I think I will go for 16GB for sure. The only thing now is what class. I am hearing 2 things here. I am worried about stutters on watching movies.
Some are saying speed only matters to write and not read.
But then I have read that it does matter, that is why there is a SDTuneUp for the HD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check this out.
And this.
Class rating only refers to write speed, even though on the official SD association page it says "transfer speed." What they don't say is that it's transfer speed only one direction.

ajbopp said:
Check this out.
And this.
Class rating only refers to write speed, even though on the official SD association page it says "transfer speed." What they don't say is that it's transfer speed only one direction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello ajbopp,
Thanks for your additional information. I think not a lot of people actually realise this. I always thought the Class Rating was how you determine transfer speed and not just write speed.
But there must be some ratings for Reading. Some cards are faster than others and that will certainly affect the rate of requiring information from the card, right? Because files are written in blocks and are distributed everywhere (fragmentation), so if the card is faster, then finding the blocks will be quicker, hence a better performance for reading movie files.
Just thinking logically how computer hard disk works. Not sure if that applies to SDHC cards. I also think the speed is also determined by the drive (the hardware reading/writing on the card).
There aren't many information on this. I have been searching around and most information I found was given by the companies that made these cards. Real tests are few and far between. Most websites I visited, tells me only of the write speed as I think that is what is most important to people who uses these cards, such as Photo Fanatics who needs speed for taking high end photos very quickly and for taking HD videos at 30fps. There is less need to know about read speed.
It's so confusing...

Got it yesterday. Thanks for all your help guys!
I finally went for the Transcend 8GB Class 6 Micro SDHC. Cost of only $187 HKD, roughly $23 USD. Didn't end up getting the 16GB as they didn't have any in stock and it costs 3 times the amount.
Without any tests, I just loaded my movies and it played very well. No dropped frames. No tweaks whatsoever.

Hello!
I had a TP with a Micro SD 8GB Class 2 card.
I'm considering buying a new one (lack of space available) and I wonder if I should consider a class 4 or 6...
I use the MicroSD to store software, pictures (camera), music (to listen), and some videos (to watch).
I don't intend to remove the microsd from the TP2 slot (have to remove the cover) so what I usually do is to connect via USB cable (data instead of AS).
So, transfering data like this will I notice difference with Class 2, 4 or 6?
I'd get a good price with this:
http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Technology-SDC2-16GB-microSDHC/dp/B001RPD06I
is it good enough or should I buy a Sandisk or perhaps a Class 4 or 6?
Thanks

SanDisk and Kingston are both good manufactures.
Class 4 is faster than class 2 and class 6 is faster than class 4.
But on the other hand: class 4 cards need more power consumption than class 2 cards and class 6 cards need power consumption than class 4.
For this reason I bought 1 x 16gb class 4. That is the compromise of speed and power.

doktor_ppc said:
Class 4 is faster than class 2 and class 6 is faster than class 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, this is only for write speed. I think it's an important distinction to make, especially if you are hoping for better video playback because of a faster card. The class of the card is not likely to have any impact on the device's performance, either video or anything else (other than file saving/writing operations).

so... for my kinda use there is no need for a class 6 right?
do you think a class 2 kingston MicroSD 16GB can be used for what I want?
playback music and some video... storage ... navigation?

Is it worth paying extra for a faster micro-SD card?

Have just acquired a Touch Pro 2 on eBay, and am now thinking about getting an SD card for it. I assume the TP2 supports SDHC...?
I can get a 16GB class 2 card for about £30, or a 16GB class 6 card for £50. Am I likely to notice much actual difference in speed between the two when used with a TP2?

Depends.
In day to day usage of the TP2, no I don't really think so. You're not going to be able to take pictures any faster (the camera isn't capable of fast shooting), movies will run fine from a slow card. Maybe searching through your email would be a bit faster, if you have a lot, but I can't imagine it will be significant.
Where you would see a difference is if you take your SDHC card out of the TP2 and put it into a PC for dumping lots of data on it at once - for example, copying over lots of MP3s or movies. If you're transferring multiple GBs at a time direct from a PC, you will notice a worthwile % increase with the faster cards.
So if you do that regularly it might be worth it. If you tend to change the data on the card only infrequently, then I doubt it is.
Personally I will be getting a slow card. I only have a fast card SD card for my Digital SLR camera, where the faster card enables more shots to be taken per second.

whatever you do do not get a Transcend class6 16Gb card. They are not compatible. I know there's a thread listing card compatibility in the rhodium forum, but I couldn't find it now.

emwdava said:
whatever you do do not get a Transcend class6 16Gb card. They are not compatible. I know there's a thread listing card compatibility in the rhodium forum, but I couldn't find it now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, thanks for the warning, that was exactly what I was thinking of getting.

firstly i beleive the class relates to write and not read speed.
second do not buy a card off ebay whatever you do.
i have come accross an a-data 16gb class 6 in my searches. in the end i got 8gb class 4 from play for a tenner delivered. may get a 16gb if i ever hit the limit. by then the price will have dropped to reasonable level.
i had a 2gb in my xperia and never filled it. i have a ipod touch for music and a netbook.

Dexter_Morgan said:
firstly i beleive the class relates to write and not read speed.
second do not buy a card off ebay whatever you do.
i have come accross an a-data 16gb class 6 in my searches. in the end i got 8gb class 4 from play for a tenner delivered. may get a 16gb if i ever hit the limit. by then the price will have dropped to reasonable level.
i had a 2gb in my xperia and never filled it. i have a ipod touch for music and a netbook.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whats wrong with the a-data 16gb on ebay? I was thinking of ordering that one.

UnXpectedError said:
Whats wrong with the a-data 16gb on ebay? I was thinking of ordering that one.
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Click to collapse
all the cards i have ever bought off ebay have been fakes.
some have worked but been slow. others have corrupt sectors. some have failed all together. thankfully last time pay pal refunded me.
look at www.sosfakeflash.wordpress.com/
buy the card if you want. that site has programs you can test it with to determine if its legit. i will never buy a memory card from ebay again.

Class only deals with write speeds, not read speeds BUT if the card has a higher write speed, it will normally have a higher read speed as well. (Though it's not a set rule).

Thx for the heads up. I think i'm going to risk it anyways. This seller has been on there since 2000 and has sold a ridiculous amount of flash memory ~20,000. I would hope the system would show some signs of fakery over that span of time.
I will try the tool you linked once it arrives tho.
Thx again
PS here is the ebay item # if you want to look: 380143609813

I decided I didn't really need 16GB of storage anyway, and ordered an 8GB class 6 card - a SanDisk Ultra. Got it from these guys on Amazon UK Marketplace.
They have a pretty high turn-over - nearly 30,000 ratings in the past year. I also used this tool to check whether the card was genuine or counterfeit. It passed with flying colours (no errors at all) so I think it's probably the real deal.
A quick, informal test (copying a 700MB file onto the card) suggested it was writing at about 12.5MB/s when the card was connected directly to the PC's USB port, and about 5.5 MB/s when accessed via the phone (in disk-drive mode). That suggests that the phone might get some benefit from a class 6 card, although it's hard to be sure. Certainly this a is a VERY fast card when removed from the phone and connected straight to the PC. (In fact the testing software rated it even higher - 14.9MB/s write, and 17.5MB/s read).
No reliability problems of the sort associated with the Trascend cards (although I'm not sure that affects 8GB cards anyway).

Trancend 16GB Class 6
I currently have a Trancend 16GB Class 6 and it works just fine.

I only buy cards from Sandisk and usually from amazon. EBay has a lot of fakes on it! I have a 16GB Class 2 from amazon that I picked up for $40. Speed test while in Disk Drive mode through the phone show a Write speed of 3.8MB/s and 6.4MB/s read speed. I have 10GB filled so far and It didn't really take that long to do. I'd say if you were filling the card up with 10GB of new music a day then yeah those speed suck but for a few big loads just to get it started no big deal to me.
I can stream a 800x480 AVC ~1.2Mbit off the card with no hiccups. So I'm not worrie about the speed considering anything more then that the processor becomes the bottleneck not the card.

xul8tr said:
I currently have a Trancend 16GB Class 6 and it works just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you use your tp2 for music?
try playing a few songs in a row from the music tab with screen turned off...

I just recieved an A-Data 16GB Class 6 from ebay. Seems to be fine, passed memory test with no errors @ 8.9MB/S write and 15.1MB/sec read.
Worth the money just copying video and music files to the drive via pc. Way faster than my previous 8GB Class 2. Don't notice any real difference in the phone tho.

UnXpectedError said:
I just recieved an A-Data 16GB Class 6 from ebay. Seems to be fine, passed memory test with no errors @ 8.9MB/S write and 15.1MB/sec read.
Worth the money just copying video and music files to the drive via pc. Way faster than my previous 8GB Class 2. Don't notice any real difference in the phone tho.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try playing a few songs with the manila musictab with the screen turned off..
I had a Transcend 16Gb class6 that disconnected if I tried that. I had to reboot to get the card to register in the Phone.

Been out on the road for work all week using music over bluetooth and co-pilot 8 heavily. Working like a charm.....maybe i just got lucky.

I'm putting my $0.02 on the table on MicroSDHC cards. Basically for those of you that want faster data transfer on a larger card like an 8GB or 16GB MicroSDHC, it can make a difference but beware of brands that are not well known and their transfer speeds. The Class ratings on the MicroSDHC cards only apply to their guaranteed throughput rates and are NOT indicative of the actual speed experienced on the cards. I've seen some Class 2 Sandisk cards outperform Class 6 A-Data cards before which is a little scary.

Confused about MicroSDHC speed, performance, and adapters

I hope I posted this in the right section, I wasn't sure where a question about MicroSDHC cards would go here.
By the way, I live in the US.
I have been Googling this for days now, and coulden't find any conclusive information, especially since most of it was from random tech blogs and not respected tech/research sites.
I am looking to buy two MicroSDHC cards to use in a Photofast CR-5400 ( http://www.amazon.com/PhotoFast-CR-5400-MicroSD-Adapter-Dual/dp/B001I0T92Q ), speed and performance are pretty important as I will he handling a lot of data through it.
First of all before I start, anybody familiar with this adapter? Where would be the best place to purchase one so I don't wind up with a Hong-Kong bootleg? Ive had trouble purchasing flash memory online before from places like Amazon or Ebay where the memory was a bootleg that didn't perform anything like the real thing.
Now, I know that Memory Stick Pro DUO devices are generally faster than SD or SDHC devices, but AFAIK that device sets them up in a RAID 0 configuration so I am hoping that will help, this is why im trying to get the best performance MicroSDHC cards I can afford. And trying to get reliable information on these things has been a lesson in confusion.
First of all, it almost seems like the class speeds don't matter. Ive seen benchmarks that showed class 4 or class 2 cards outperform a class 6. Whats the point of these classes if they are so meaningless? How can a class 2 device have faster write speeds than a class 6? And is this classification only for writing or reading too? Why are the "ultra" models of some cards, which are supposed to be very high speed, listed as class 4?
Second, I heard that there are other variables that usually are not listed anywhere, such as Random Access Times, which from what I read are internal processes taking place in the card itself rather than having anything to do with the card reading/writing to whatever it is plugged into. And I really have no idea what else could be a factor.
I was looking at THIS Transcend card ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820208475 ) mainly because the previous 8GB version ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820208453 ) seems to be the best one you can possibly get, the 8GB model is class 6, rated as very high speed, and even has a low Random Access Time. But that doesn't mean that just because the previous model was good, the next one will be of the same quality, and on top of that I don't know if it'll even matter in that Photofast adapter or not. Not to mention its kinda pricey, don't forget that I will need to buy two as well as the adapter (though since the 16GB Memory Sticks came out at over $200 and they are barely around $100 now, and the 32GB still isn't out yet, I am going to assume it will still be at least $50 cheaper than just buying a 32GB Memory Stick............ when they come out).
So what would you recommend I do? Where can I find information that makes sense of this? Where can I find good benchmarks/testing done on these cards that on top of speed measures the other factors as well? Where would be the best place in the US, retail or online, to purchase such a 16GB MicroSDHC card for the best price?
Thank you for your time.

what are you using the Memory card for? (what application, video/photo taking, loading applications...)
Class X just says the minimum write speeds on an empty(defragmented) card... 2 means 2MB/s write, 4 means 4MB/s etc...
some SDHC cards also come with another rating... 133x that says max 20MB/s speed, depending on the manufacturer, that may be write or read speed
best place to buy is directly from Newegg/Tigerdirect, or from Amazon fulfilled by Amazon itself or a reputable merchant

paperWastage said:
what are you using the Memory card for? (what application, video/photo taking, loading applications...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said, I will be using it in my PSP.

Patriot 8gb class 4- very slow from pc to card ???
Anyone having any current luck with Patriot 8GB Class 4 micro sd's?
I copied everything from my PNY 2GB to my netbook. Very quick as expected...
Formatted the Patriot FAT32. Tried to copy back to the 8GB from the netbook and it was painfully slow. So slow it is not usable.
Both pc and Tilt recognizes the Patriot as 8gb.
Anyone having similar problems or any suggestions?

Possible formatting issue... No more Patriot SDHC.
I think I got it...
Took about 12-15 minutes to copy back to card.
It appears to be a formatting problem with the XP fomatting.
Used this... http://www.sdcard.org/consumers/formatter/
Tried the Wife's new HP laptop (school issued) last night and had the same problem. That pointed me to a possible card issue.
Moral of the story- google is your friend.
Just to be safe, I would stay away from Patriot's 8GB C4 cards.

I would just try another brand of microsd card. Sandisk are reputable but usually the most expensive, though on amazon 8gb cards can be had for less than 20 bucks. Kingston is another good brand.

What speed and/or Class card do you use for your memory card?

Hey
Im sorta "hell bent" on getting a 32GB microSD Class 10 card ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1031312 ) but they are very limited to find. I want a Class 10 because of data transfer and the snapping of pictures/video taking is alot quicker.
I just want to know what class did you get, for what purpose, and what do you use your mobile device most (taking pictures, internet, calling, etc).
Just so everyone knows (just in case):
The Speed Class Rating is the official unit of speed measurement for SD Cards, defined by the SD Association. The Class number represents a multiple of 8 Mbits/s (1 MB/s), and meets the least sustained write speeds for a card in a fragmented state.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Hey,
I was really keen on getting a class 10 32Gb too, but they are very expensive. In then end I opted for a 16Gb class 10 as Play.com had them on offer a month or so ago. I got a sandisk one. Just had a look for a link, but I don't think they have them now.
Guess you could get it anywhere though. I paid £15 including delivery.
I've done a couple of measurements and it's definitely performing at class 10 speeds. I have an HD2 running an Android Gingerbread SD build and the speed has been more than adequate.
My use is mostly internet, texts and calls. I have done some video/photo stuff since getting the card and it's definitely fast enough.
I used to have a class 6 PNY 8Gb one in there and it's a hell of an improvement, especially now I'm on an SD build. The only thing I would say is android takes a fair while to do it's 'preparing SD card' business when I turn the phone on, but no other issues to report. the new card seems to have helped with the hang issues on installing market apps too, which is nice.
Also - did a defrag on it with Mydefrag (beautiful tool!), which seems to have helped too.
Hope that helps!

I still use my stock 8GB card I got with my phone. My main use is pictures and apps. Its a class 2.
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G
XDA Developers Premium App

I'm currently using 2 32GB Sandisk cards... one is marked class 2, one is marked class 4, but both their average write speeds are pretty similar. They could accurately be marked as class 6.
But really, the class is not important to me. When it comes to choosing a card to use in my phone, I look for cards with quick access times and fast random read and write speeds. Class ratings are really only important when the cards are going to be used in a digital camera or be used as a flash storage drive where you will be transferring large files back and forth.
When it comes to cell phones, a card that can quickly access files and can read/write to many different parts of the card quickly is much more important than a card that can write sequentially fast. You may be able to take large pictures with the camera more quickly with a higher class card, but many cards sacrifice their random access speeds to get that high sequential write speed. This can cause lags and performance loss when running apps or system files off the higher class cards.
The best cards to generally use in cell phones is a class 2 or 4. Many class 6 may perform well, too. There may even be class 10 cards that don't sacrifice that random access speeds. Quality and brand are generally much more important than class to get good access speeds and random read/write speeds.
I really think there needs to be a new rating system for access speeds and random speeds. In general, the lower class cards have better random access speeds, but that's not always the case. There are plenty of class 2 and 4 cards that have terrible random access times, and many class 6 and even 10 that still have great random access. Unfortunately, there's no way to know how a card rates in these areas until you actually test it.
I've always had good results from Sandisk cards... and terrible results from Kingston.
Hopefully, since WP7 requires cards used with it to have good random access speeds, we might start seeing some lines of microSD cards that rate these speeds.
But for now, if you're using the card with wp7, or running android off the card, or running apps or other system files off the card, you will generally have better results with high-quality lower-class cards. I have only been using Class 2 and 4 Sandisk recently. Hopefully a new class and rating system is created for using these cards with smartphones. We are using them more and more for the purpose of internal phone memory... especially windows phone 7, and even with android you see more people making partitions on their cards to use as internal memory to run app and system files. We need a better rating system for cards, cause the current class rating is pretty much meaningless for smartphone purposes.

homescrub said:
I still use my stock 8GB card I got with my phone. My main use is pictures and apps. Its a class 2.
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G
XDA Developers Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks but vote
Seiphr said:
Also - did a defrag on it with Mydefrag (beautiful tool!), which seems to have helped too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Defraging a flash based storage device does nothing and actually makes its lifetime smaller.
zarathustrax said:
I'm currently using 2 32GB Sandisk cards... one is marked class 2, one is marked class 4, but both their average write speeds are pretty similar. They could accurately be marked as class 6.
But really, the class is not important to me. When it comes to choosing a card to use in my phone, I look for cards with quick access times and fast random read and write speeds. Class ratings are really only important when the cards are going to be used in a digital camera or be used as a flash storage drive where you will be transferring large files back and forth.
When it comes to cell phones, a card that can quickly access files and can read/write to many different parts of the card quickly is much more important than a card that can write sequentially fast. You may be able to take large pictures with the camera more quickly with a higher class card, but many cards sacrifice their random access speeds to get that high sequential write speed. This can cause lags and performance loss when running apps or system files off the higher class cards.
The best cards to generally use in cell phones is a class 2 or 4. Many class 6 may perform well, too. There may even be class 10 cards that don't sacrifice that random access speeds. Quality and brand are generally much more important than class to get good access speeds and random read/write speeds.
I really think there needs to be a new rating system for access speeds and random speeds. In general, the lower class cards have better random access speeds, but that's not always the case. There are plenty of class 2 and 4 cards that have terrible random access times, and many class 6 and even 10 that still have great random access. Unfortunately, there's no way to know how a card rates in these areas until you actually test it.
I've always had good results from Sandisk cards... and terrible results from Kingston.
Hopefully, since WP7 requires cards used with it to have good random access speeds, we might start seeing some lines of microSD cards that rate these speeds.
But for now, if you're using the card with wp7, or running android off the card, or running apps or other system files off the card, you will generally have better results with high-quality lower-class cards. I have only been using Class 2 and 4 Sandisk recently. Hopefully a new class and rating system is created for using these cards with smartphones. We are using them more and more for the purpose of internal phone memory... especially windows phone 7, and even with android you see more people making partitions on their cards to use as internal memory to run app and system files. We need a better rating system for cards, cause the current class rating is pretty much meaningless for smartphone purposes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great post as in the other thread I may have to go with a Class 4 (as there are even less Class 6) card as it will also lower the price in my budget. Cant have everything...

I got a good deal on a Samsung 16 gb class 2, figured I'd go for it because I don't really use my phone for too much HD recording . However, it consistently benchmarks at class 6 speeds.
Yes, I did vote

32gb sandisk class 4

No clue, is there a program which can be used to check it in a SGS?

johan81 said:
No clue, is there a program which can be used to check it in a SGS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
h2testw
Thanks

Thanks for all the votes
It seems since Im on a budget, Im going to have to go with a Class 4 even though it hurts as I (thought) a Class 10 was needed. I just hope I dont notice it when taking pictures.
SanDisk without a doubt right?

riahc3 said:
SanDisk without a doubt right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im tempted to make a thread about this as well
I just like to make sure what I buy before I do it. Makes me more sure about what Im buying.
Thanks to everyone who has helped me in these 2 (well problably soon 3) threads. I appreciate it

riahc3 said:
Im tempted to make a thread about this as well
I just like to make sure what I buy before I do it. Makes me more sure about what Im buying.
Thanks to everyone who has helped me in these 2 (well problably soon 3) threads. I appreciate it
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Definitely Sandisk....if getting 32GB, look for model # ending in B35A or B35N. I think that's the one I got. I'll double check tonight and let you know. It was listed as class 2 when I ordered it, but it was marked class 4 when I got it, and it had sequential write speeds equal to class 6 (6MB/Sec). I also have a 32GB with model # ending in A11M... this one was mark class 2, but I think newer ones are also marked class 4. Not sure if the newer ones marked class 4 have better performance than the ones marked class 2, but mine which is marked class 2 could also easily be marked class 6 and be as fast in sequential write speeds as most class 6 of other brands... but the class 2 A11M is not quite as fast as the class 4 B36A that I have in both sequential write/read and random read/write & access times. But like I said, the newer A11Ms marked as class 4 may have better performance than the ones marked class 2, and the performance difference between my 2 32GB Sandisks is not very big.... both are VERY good cards in overall performance.
I got both my cards from provantage, I believe.

zarathustrax said:
The best cards to generally use in cell phones is a class 2 or 4. Many class 6 may perform well, too. There may even be class 10 cards that don't sacrifice that random access speeds. Quality and brand are generally much more important than class to get good access speeds and random read/write speeds.
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Hey zarathustrax, I'm maintaining a microSD benchmark results thread and we have quite a few results now, and it backs up everything you are saying. The 32GB Class2 Sandisk (when it was available) owns everything on random writes. Followed by the 32 Class4 Sandisk.
By comparison, a 32GB Class10 Lexar is benching 350 times slower for random writes than the Sandisk. And yet only offers a doubling of sequential write speed.
Additionally, I maintain an in-phone microSD benchmark thread too. But the results are pretty much cached out by whatever ROM you are running on your phone. So slow cards become much faster, and fast cards become much slower. In the end we found that all cards were performing at around the same speeds. Its only when you changed ROMs would you see a change in in-phone card speed.
Out of phone benchmark link...
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1582172
In-phone benchmark link...
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1468705

Thanks. Im going to read your links now and see if there are model numbers and get some cards (I should have already bought the card before yesterday)
Thanks again stumo5

Damn, no model numbers

Stores that are near me and deliver to me only offer Kingston lol...

Holy ****!
I have found one that has a Sandisk; The only problem is that on the webpage it says that it is a SDSDQM-032G-B35 but the picture shows a 2 written on the card, meaning Class 2. I pretty much refuse going from a Class 10 to a Class 2 and besides the price is 95....
Im going to call and get the model number anyhow....

Kingston 60 bucks
Sandisk 95 bucks
Man how they like to **** consumers in the ass Anyways, he said that what was shown to him was divided by categories and he couldnt tell me the exact model number as it just showed him prices and who supplied it but I rather pay on eBay a Lexar Class 10 at 96 rather than a Sandisk Class 2/4 at 95.
More comparisons: A Sandisk Class 2 32GB at 89 bucks on eBay.
I mean I really have to juggle and ask my self: Is it really worth it? Being on a slight budget, Im not sure.
stumo5 - Has anyone done tests in your microsd exam on TopRAM? I might get them at the end as the prices are just rapist ( ). zarathustrax, the price doesnt justify to me at the end, unless I will notice it.
My main dilema was how pictures were going to be taken as I imagine there will be a lag in picture when I press it and when it is actually taken. Also file transfers and installing/running applications from the SD card. Your explanation was great zarathustrax but Im not sure if its going to be worth the price.
My first smartphone (Nokia E70) I went with Kingston but it surprises me in a way that people talk so bad about Kingston in the flash memory card area.

And I now see on eBay a Sandisk 32GB Class 4 at about 75....More or less.

I'm currently using the 8gb one that came with my Desire Z although I have a class 6 8Gb somewhere that I bought but I haven't felt the need to swap yet for some reason I can't tell a difference

[Q] Xperia PLAY MicroSDHC speed?

I am having an 8GB class 10 Toshiba MicroSDHC with technical reading speed indicated at up to 25mb/s and writing speed up to 20mb/s but I usually can only get slightly more than half of its full speed capability when running a benchmark Is it because I did not perform an initial format for the card or the Play does not support such hi-speed transaction?

It has been proven that the Xperia PLAY and probably other phones as well have problems with Class 10 cards. The problem with Class 10 cards is that, while they have super high speed writing capabilities, there goes a trouble with reading speeds. It has been proven in games in which during gameplay, the games that were tested lagged to the point of unplayability while they are trying to read game data (or SD files, more commonly) from the card.
Users here mostly recommend Class 2 and 4 regardless of the capacity.
PS: I can live with Class 2 microSDHC, so why can't you?

Well, I was attracted by producer's advertisement of their so-called fastest microsdhc in the market and did not know the fact that my PLAY does not handle such speed.
Since I already bought it, do you know if there is any solution now to overcome this problem and utilize the full capability of the card' speed?

honestly, i don't know. first things first when buying new hardware, read and read and read and read and read and read a lot of reviews until you are satisfied. never read company claims because they are just marketing strategies, ALL LIES, rather, read user opinions.
since you bought it already, all i can think of for it to not be wasted is to just buy a card reader for it and use it as a flash memory stick for your laptop or desktop instead. i mean use it like a regular USB flash drive. that's just my opinion though. you really can't stick a Class 10 card on the XPlay. all hell will break loose.
start looking for class 2 or 4 instead.

So sad...I thought I could somehow improve my PLAY performance. Anyway, I think I will use it for my Digital Camera instead and start looking for the class 4 one as your advise.

Ekusuperia said:
So sad...I thought I could somehow improve my PLAY performance. Anyway, I think I will use it for my Digital Camera instead and start looking for the class 4 one as your advise.
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Class 10 cards are KILLER in a digital Camera. I use one in my Canon Rebel T1i and continuous shooting works so much better and faster with a Class 10 card. Also much smoother video recording if you record in HD.
BTW the best card for this device is the Sandisk 32GB Class 4 card. Buy from a reputable seller as fakes are out there...

I am currently using a Sandisc 32gb Class 4 card and there are slight lags on Modern COmbat 2, my old card was a class 6 16gb card. I saw better performance on the class 6. I am aware of the class 10 issues. My question is I am currently using SD card speed increase software to cahgne the Android cache size from 128kb to 4mb, is this software make a difference? Just curious to get peoples input.
https://market.android.com/search?q=sd+card+speed+booster&so=1&c=apps

i'd stick to class 2 if i were you, it's slow when writing (but that's already fast for me), but it's fast when reading.. at least no lags when something operates within the card..
and oh, is it true that SanDisk get their cards from random unbranded producers then label them with "SanDisk"? If so, then I won't trust this brand anymore..
what is the best brand then? they say it's only between SanDisk, Kingston, and Transcend. But my sister had problems with Kingston USB Flash drives where they periodically corrupt files and have slow writing/reading speeds and that gives me a negative feedback on the whole company. as for Transcend, i think it's too cheap that the quality might be substandard.
I'm still using the stock card that came with my Play (i don't know but it doesn't have a brand) and it's doing its job pretty well. i'm considering an upgrade soon.

Rogue Leader said:
Class 10 cards are KILLER in a digital Camera. I use one in my Canon Rebel T1i and continuous shooting works so much better and faster with a Class 10 card. Also much smoother video recording if you record in HD.
BTW the best card for this device is the Sandisk 32GB Class 4 card. Buy from a reputable seller as fakes are out there...
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It is a great information indeed. I am more confident for my next choice of card now.

Problem with high class SDHC cards is that they're good at big files, but suck at small files like game data files on phones.

Class 4&6 are the most versatile for all the various things you might do with the phone.
Also, I've always found SanDisk to be the most reliable.
Sent from my R800