Does a better MicroSD card improve overall performance?

[Agent420]

Hello all,

Long time viewer, first time caller. I have seen some threads and articles on a few sites talking about the advantages of a better than stock mSD card for the Hero having a drastic effect on its performance. I have see others stating that a Class 4 or even Class 6 card on the Euro HTC Hero has improved performance by 400%. Now while I know "400%" is a little out there and even sounds exaggerated, I am curious what this group of people has seen or heard.

Does a better MicroSD card improve overall performance?

Discuss

 

[ChrisPlague]

Hello all,

Long time viewer, first time caller. I have seen some threads and articles on a few sites talking about the advantages of a better than stock mSD card for the Hero having a drastic effect on its performance. I have see others stating that a Class 4 or even Class 6 card on the Euro HTC Hero has improved performance by 400%. Now while I know "400%" is a little out there and even sounds exaggerated, I am curious what this group of people has seen or heard.

Does a better MicroSD card improve overall performance?

Discuss

ok tom leykis

it shouldnt improve the performance it doesnt add to onboard memory its just somewhere to put things such as video, pics, music and such so you dont take up the onboard memory

 

[FrankBlack]

This is what HTC told me:

Good Morning Frank,

Thank you for taking the time to contact HTC America Technical Support via E-Mail with your inquiry about what class of SD card to use in your Sprint HTC Hero. My name is A.J. and I will be happy to assist you today.

If you are looking to purchase an SD card that the device will read at its full native speed you will need to purchase a class 2. The device will read a class 4 but not at its native speeds.

Frank, if you have any future questions about your device please feel free to visit HTC - Touch Phone, PDA Phone, Smartphone, Mobile Computer and send us another e-mail. You may also enjoy HTC Smartphone Wiki - HTC, which has a plethora of information on HTC devices, including the Sprint HTC Hero! I would also like to invite you to participate in a customer satisfaction survey located at HTC Online Survey I hope you have a great day!

HTC America Technical Support
A.J.

If the data bus for the microSD only handles a certain speed, all the potential in the world for the card won't mean anything. Having said that, if the card performs optimally vs. another card performing sub-par, that would make a difference. So if you had a under-performing basic microSD and bought a "class 6", it still might only be performing at the "class 2" level, but optimally. That would be noticeable. The class of the microSD only indicates minimum performance guarantees. If I am wrong on this, please let me know.

Having said all that, I am still buying something higher than a "class 2" because it DOES matter when you put the card into your PC and copy files.

 

[NYVetteGuy]

This is what HTC told me:

Good Morning Frank,

Thank you for taking the time to contact HTC America Technical Support via E-Mail with your inquiry about what class of SD card to use in your Sprint HTC Hero. My name is A.J. and I will be happy to assist you today.

If you are looking to purchase an SD card that the device will read at its full native speed you will need to purchase a class 2. The device will read a class 4 but not at its native speeds.

Frank, if you have any future questions about your device please feel free to visit HTC - Touch Phone, PDA Phone, Smartphone, Mobile Computer and send us another e-mail. You may also enjoy HTC Smartphone Wiki - HTC, which has a plethora of information on HTC devices, including the Sprint HTC Hero! I would also like to invite you to participate in a customer satisfaction survey located at HTC Online Survey I hope you have a great day!

HTC America Technical Support
A.J.

If the data bus for the microSD only handles a certain speed, all the potential in the world for the card won't mean anything. Having said that, if the card performs optimally vs. another card performing sub-par, that would make a difference. So if you had a under-performing basic microSD and bought a "class 6", it still might only be performing at the "class 2" level, but optimally. That would be noticeable. The class of the microSD only indicates minimum performance guarantees. If I am wrong on this, please let me know.

Having said all that, I am still buying something higher than a "class 2" because it DOES matter when you put the card into your PC and copy files.

I have a class 6 16gb....

 

[Agent420]

I wanted to Clarify something from my original post. I was asking about improved performance based on some things I had heard about the phone utilizing the mSD card for cache. If taking this into consideration, I would come to the conclusion that it would make a difference.

Has anyone else heard about the mSD being utilized for cache?

 

[Edaze55]

I wanted to Clarify something from my original post. I was asking about improved performance based on some things I had heard about the phone utilizing the mSD card for cache. If taking this into consideration, I would come to the conclusion that it would make a difference.

Has anyone else heard about the mSD being utilized for cache?

Depending on what you plan on doing with your phone, your Micro SDHC could have some impact on your performance.

If you plan to root, and run apps off the SD card, then yes, a slower card could have some performance issues. If you are just going to store music and pictures you might not notice it.

I myself will be running a class 6, because who knows what I will be doing with it in a few months. Better safe than sorry.

 

[ChrisPlague]

Depending on what you plan on doing with your phone, your Micro SDHC could have some impact on your performance.

If you plan to root, and run apps off the SD card, then yes, a slower card could have some performance issues. If you are just going to store music and pictures you might not notice it.

I myself will be running a class 6, because who knows what I will be doing with it in a few months. Better safe than sorry.

speakin of which, i hope someone fiqures out how to root it!

 

[SDscorch]

from the manual, it seems like the intention was to use the card for pics and tunes

they really don't plan for the avg user to stock up on so many apps you would need an SD card to hold them all

 

[Edaze55]

from the manual, it seems like the intention was to use the card for pics and tunes

they really don't plan for the avg user to stock up on so many apps you would need an SD card to hold them all

But they should. Its the apps and widgets that make the darn thing fun. Higher capacity means bigger, more advanced apps and games.

 

[SDscorch]

But they should. Its the apps and widgets that make the darn thing fun. Higher capacity means bigger, more advanced apps and games.

oh yeah! you would think!

they're stupid cuz... they make MONEY off of selling apps! you'd think they'd do everything in their power to maximize how many apps you could download


*shrug*

 

[NYVetteGuy]

oh yeah! you would think!

they're stupid cuz... they make MONEY off of selling apps! you'd think they'd do everything in their power to maximize how many apps you could download


*shrug*

Im sure photos and anything else you put on the micro sd load pretty quickly with the 16gb Class 6...thats what I hear anyway...

 

[NYVetteGuy]

oh yeah! you would think!

they're stupid cuz... they make MONEY off of selling apps! you'd think they'd do everything in their power to maximize how many apps you could download


*shrug*

Hopefully a software fix will aloow apps to run off of the sd...we can only hope

 

[gclaus]

I wanted to Clarify something from my original post. I was asking about improved performance based on some things I had heard about the phone utilizing the mSD card for cache. If taking this into consideration, I would come to the conclusion that it would make a difference.

Has anyone else heard about the mSD being utilized for cache?

I read the same thing somewhere. Something about the swapfile being on the sd card.

 

[NYVetteGuy]

I read the same thing somewhere. Something about the swapfile being on the sd card.

hmm..now that you say that...since installing the 16gb class 6...the phone does seem just a tad quicker, screen transitions etc....thats if I had it..