Best deal for a 16GB MicroSD

[lyons238]

There is no difference between a Class 2 and a Class 6 card in real world use in the phone.

really? so whats the point of getting any higher than a class 2

 

[Rob_A]

my canon dslr recommends a class 6 or higher for HD Video recording. But that's 720p at 30fps.

I really don't think 720p recording at 20fps will need the same. (I'm guessing)

The only way to tell is to actually start recording on a class 2 to see if there is any stuttering. Other than that, I have no idea.

 

[billobob]

the main point of higher class cards is for cameras, especially shooting in burst mode where card write speed can be a significant bottleneck. since you don't usually do that with a phone, it's not a big deal

 

[Rob_A]

the main point of higher class cards is for cameras, especially shooting in burst mode where card write speed can be a significant bottleneck. since you don't usually do that with a phone, it's not a big deal

I understand the need for a fast card for burst mode. But in this case, the question is for the need for a fast card for HD Video recording.

I'm still just going to test it with the included class 2 8GB card I'm guessing it will be fine.

 

[mrk]

If there were a problem with HD video recording, I doubt that HTC would have shipped the device with a class 2 card. Further, no review--nor any of our members--has reported any problems with the HD video recording (except for that it's not the most stellar thing they've ever seen). I think that we'll be fine.

 

[stroths]

I was going to wait for a class 6 16GB Micro SD, but I got such a great deal on a Sandisk 16GB Micro SD (Class 2) that I could not pass it up. I got it from Office Depot for $23.76 out the door.

They have it on their website for about $32, but it's delivery only. They carry the same model in store, but its a different SKU and priced at $99. I asked them to price match their website which they did with no problem, which surprised me since the SKU was different. I will mention that they are the exact same model though (SDSQ-016G-A11M) regardless of the SKU.

Anyways, I used THIS office depot to get $10 off my purchase. It may not be super fast, but it should be very reliable being that it's a Sandisk and it was dirt cheap.

Tested it with Crystal Disk Mark on my PC with a card reader and got about 18mb read and 9mb write on the sequential and 512k runs which isn't too bad for a $23 16GB MicroSD

The 4k weren't as great, but still I can work with this card. Below are the benchmark details.

EDIT: I added benchmarks for my 8gb Kingston Class 4 that I use in my TP2. The benchmarks on the 16gb Class 2 actually look better. That is odd.

EDIT 2: I added some more test results to ensure my results are accurate.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 x64 (C) 2007-2010 hiyohiyo
Crystal Dew World : Crystal Dew World
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* MB/s = 1,000,000 byte/s [SATA/300 = 300,000,000 byte/s]
OS : Windows 7 [6.1 Build 7600] (x64)

Here is my Sandisk 16GB Class 2 Micro SDHC

Test 1: 50 MB [L: 6.7% (1.0/14.8 GB)] (x1)

Sequential Read : 17.957 MB/s
Sequential Write : 8.971 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 17.961 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 2.092 MB/s
Random Read 4KB (QD=1) : 4.004 MB/s [ 977.5 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=1) : 0.022 MB/s [ 5.3 IOPS]
Random Read 4KB (QD=32) : 4.061 MB/s [ 991.4 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=32) : 0.033 MB/s [ 8.1 IOPS]
-------------
Test 2: 100 MB [L: 6.6% (1.0/14.8 GB)] (x5)

Sequential Read : 17.914 MB/s
Sequential Write : 9.358 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 17.922 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 2.131 MB/s
Random Read 4KB (QD=1) : 4.020 MB/s [ 981.4 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=1) : 0.020 MB/s [ 4.9 IOPS]
Random Read 4KB (QD=32) : 4.096 MB/s [ 1000.0 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=32) : 0.027 MB/s [ 6.6 IOPS]
-------------
Test 3: 500 MB [L: 6.6% (1.0/14.8 GB)] (x2)

Sequential Read : 17.921 MB/s
Sequential Write : 9.434 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 17.816 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 1.950 MB/s
Random Read 4KB (QD=1) : 3.555 MB/s [ 867.9 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=1) : 0.019 MB/s [ 4.7 IOPS]
Random Read 4KB (QD=32) : 3.868 MB/s [ 944.3 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=32) : 0.020 MB/s [ 4.9 IOPS]
---------------------------

Here is my Kingston 8GB Class 4 MicroSDHC (currently used in my TP2)

Test 1: 50 MB [L: 46.5% (3532.5/7592.0 MB)] (x1)

Sequential Read : 18.550 MB/s
Sequential Write : 8.953 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 18.553 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 1.620 MB/s
Random Read 4KB (QD=1) : 4.011 MB/s [ 979.2 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=1) : 0.017 MB/s [ 4.2 IOPS]
Random Read 4KB (QD=32) : 3.901 MB/s [ 952.4 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=32) : 0.030 MB/s [ 7.3 IOPS]
----------------

Test 2: 100 MB [L: 46.5% (3532.5/7592.0 MB)] (x5)

Sequential Read : 18.505 MB/s
Sequential Write : 9.547 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 18.479 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 1.978 MB/s
Random Read 4KB (QD=1) : 3.860 MB/s [ 942.4 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=1) : 0.017 MB/s [ 4.2 IOPS]
Random Read 4KB (QD=32) : 3.865 MB/s [ 943.6 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=32) : 0.024 MB/s [ 5.8 IOPS]
--------------

Test 3 : 500 MB [L: 46.5% (3532.5/7592.0 MB)] (x2)

Sequential Read : 18.512 MB/s
Sequential Write : 10.413 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 18.181 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 1.724 MB/s
Random Read 4KB (QD=1) : 3.942 MB/s [ 962.3 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=1) : 0.017 MB/s [ 4.2 IOPS]
Random Read 4KB (QD=32) : 3.891 MB/s [ 949.9 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=32) : 0.018 MB/s [ 4.4 IOPS]
-------------------
Here is a Kingston 8GB Class 4 regular size SDHC (not micro)

Test 1 : 50 MB [L: 0.0% (0.1/7592.0 MB)] (x1)

Sequential Read : 16.853 MB/s
Sequential Write : 9.397 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 16.826 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 1.681 MB/s
Random Read 4KB (QD=1) : 4.074 MB/s [ 994.6 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=1) : 0.039 MB/s [ 9.6 IOPS]
Random Read 4KB (QD=32) : 4.089 MB/s [ 998.3 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=32) : 0.063 MB/s [ 15.3 IOPS]

 

[firemedic1343]

Class 10 for my Nikon DSLR. Class 2 for my cell phone. I'll save the extra cash and hopefully buy an Otterbox...if they ever release one!

 

[LS1]

really? so whats the point of getting any higher than a class 2

mSD cards are used in devices other than cell-phones. a dSLR at 5 frames per second, or a real HD video camera need faster write speeds. Yes, the EVO takes HD Video, but anyone who thinks its anywhere near the file sizes of an actual camcorder are out of their mind.

Class 2 is more than adequate.

 

[jvs60]

Here's one that's $26.45 free shipping
NEW SanDisk 16GB MICRO SD HC MEMORY CARD US SELLER - eBay (item 260609707778 end time Jun-25-10 10:47:35 PDT)

 

[criccio]

Its incredible how much some of you are overthinking this. The bit-rate of the "HD" video our Evo's write to the SD card is WELL below the SD cards write speed. Its a phone, not a high performance dSLR.

 

[MsRandall]

Heres what I bought....Amazon.com: A-DATA MicroSDHC 16GB Class 6 Turbo AMC2016GCL6BK-1A…

It has been working perfectly in my evo for one week

 

[stroths]

Another thing I should mention is that cluster size can make a difference in how the card responds. The smaller the cluster size, the less wasted space you have. However, it also slows the responsiveness of the card down overall. A larger cluster size (i.e. 32k) will make your card more responsive, but will also waste more space. For example, a 1k file will take up the full 32k in the latter scenario. If you had 4k clusters, you would only be using 4k for that same file.

If you have a lot of files less than 32k then you might be better off formatting the card with 4k clusters. Otherwise, I would suggest the larger cluster size of 32k to get a better response out of your card.

I have done this in the past with slow SD cards to get a better response. For example, on my hacked GPS unit with all the maps on the SD I used the larger 32k clusters from the default 4k. After doing that and copying my files back over, I had next to no lag. With the 4k clusters, I would regularly get lag as the GPS software was reading the map files.

I have also done this on my media server, but I used 64k clusters there. This was suggested over at the SageTV forums (which is what I run on my media center). This got rid of stuttering I was experiencing on HD movies and tv shows.

To format to a new cluster size, simply right click on the drive in Windows and choose format. Choose quick format, FAT32, pick your cluster size and I would suggest you check the "quick format" unless you have a lot of time to burn. WARNING: A format will wipe all data from the card, so backup anything you need. If you don't have a way of mounting the card on a PC, you might google to see what other options you have for formatting.

If your want to see your current cluster size in WIndows, go to a command prompt and type "Chkdsk X:" (without quotes) where X is your MicroSD drive letter. You will get some outpul that will include something like mine 32,768 bytes in each allocation unit. This means mine is currently at 32k (32,768 bytes).

There's lots of literature you can read online about this and its pretty common. Below is a quote I pulled from one site that explains why larger clusters can increase performance.

What is an issue is how fast your system can read and write files from the hard drive. The larger the cluster size - the larger "chunks" that are fetched from the drive. This speeds up performance. For example, many drives were formatted with 4k clusters. This means to read 32k of data, the system must perform eight fetches - 4k per fetch. If you had instead formatted the same drive using 32k clusters, the system would only have to perform one fetch.

 

[colourfuze]

Will this card work??

SanDisk Ultra II Flash memory card - 32 GB SDHC Memory Card - 1 x SDHC Memory Card

32gb Class 10.. I know 6 will not sure about 10. Thanks

 

[phantomevo77]

Will this card work??

SanDisk Ultra II Flash memory card - 32 GB SDHC Memory Card - 1 x SDHC Memory Card

32gb Class 10.. I know 6 will not sure about 10. Thanks

Uhm... No.. Evo's hold a MicroSD slot

 

[stroths]

EDIT: NM...see there is a thread now for this

Kingston 16GB microSDHC memory card $20 FS @ adorama.com (MSRP $65)

Today only, Memorial Day sale, while supplies last. The site is now showing $39.95, but adding it your cart shows $20. Don't know how long this will last, so jump on it while you can.

This is a Kingston Class 2 16GB and it's free shipping.

Also, it appears to be a class 2 on the picture, but the specs don't say for sure.

 

[Rob_A]

EDIT: NM...see there is a thread now for this

Kingston 16GB microSDHC memory card $20 FS @ adorama.com (MSRP $65)

Today only, Memorial Day sale, while supplies last. The site is now showing $39.95, but adding it your cart shows $20. Don't know how long this will last, so jump on it while you can.

This is a Kingston Class 2 16GB and it's free shipping.

Also, it appears to be a class 2 on the picture, but the specs don't say for sure.

I added it to my card, proceeded with checkout and it still shows as $40.

 

[MisterEd]

They must have just changed it (or caught the error ) because about 5 hrs ago it was $19.99 both on the linked page and in the cart.

 

[KoukiFC3S]

I agree. The video recording is only 20 fps. So a class 2 card would be fine for this.

The only thing I would worry about it trying to play a 720p video from somewhere like iTunes. I think they are 4.5MBps. The class 2 card might not be fast enough. (there might be some stuttering)

But for home brew video using H.264, it somewhere around 1.7MBps (megabytes per second), class 2 is again, fine.

That's write speeds. Read speeds are much higher, even for class 2 cards.

 

[jkid23]

Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't memory work this way
Device A is compatible with microSDHC it takes both microSDHC and microSD as SDHC devices are backward compatible.
Device B is compatible with microSD, it can only take microSD.

Since the evo specification says microSD. Why are people going out and buying microSDHC cards? Is there something I am missing?

 

[stroths]

Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't memory work this way
Device A is compatible with microSDHC it takes both microSDHC and microSD as SDHC devices are backward compatible.
Device B is compatible with microSD, it can only take microSD.

Since the evo specification says microSD. Why are people going out and buying microSDHC cards? Is there something I am missing?

The SD specification is 2GB and under is regular SD. Anything over 2GB is HC (High Capacity). There are a few 4GB that are designed in such a way that they will work on a regular SD device, but most 4GB+ are considered HC.

Almost all modern devices (EVO included) support the HC cards.

 

[iamthelivinglight]

spoke to adorama sold out wont honor sale price on backorders