CF vs. SD Memory Card

[davee4422]

I just made the switch to the Axim from my Visor (it died after 3 great years). Now that I have the bugs worked out, thanks to reading this forum!, I need to ask a question that may sound quite dumb. What's the difference between a Compact Flash card and a Secure Digital Memory card? I want to expand my ability to keep files and maybe even MP3 files, and I don't know which one to get. I don't foresee getting a CF camera or a wireless device. Thanks from a newbie!

[davee4422]

I just made the switch to the Axim from my Visor (it died after 3 great years). Now that I have the bugs worked out, thanks to reading this forum!, I need to ask a question that may sound quite dumb. What's the difference between a Compact Flash card and a Secure Digital Memory card? I want to expand my ability to keep files and maybe even MP3 files, and I don't know which one to get. I don't foresee getting a CF camera or a wireless device. Thanks from a newbie!

[Jason Dunn]

The real difference is price - you can get a bigger CF card for less money than an SD card, so if you don't need a wireless card, get a big CF card. :-)

[davee4422]

That is sort of what I thought. But the basic function of them are pretty much the same, in terms of storage? One isn't necessarily better than another one for storing?

[eternalblue]

what about read/write speeds, which performs better?

[PPCRules]

Originally Posted by davee4422

I don't foresee getting a CF camera or a wireless device.

Even though SD memory will cost you more, I'd leave the CF slot open for two other reasons beside camera or wireless.

1) It doesn't seem to be very common among people here, but I use a CF modem everyday, for Avantgo and Mazingo updates without having to mess with a PC. I just connect to my ISP, start up these two apps and walk away. The update gets done by the time the PPC powers down, disconnecting my connection. (I can also ActiveSync to my work PC through RAS, but I don't do that everyday.) Got another CF modem a couple weeks ago for $30 (after rebate).

2) Got a digital camera? If it's SD, you might want to put your PDA memory in the CF slot, so you can transfer pictures. But if it's anything else, or you don't have a digital camera yet, I'd leave the CF open. You can adapt any other memory type (including SD) to work in your CF slot, but I have yet to see a memory stick or even an XD adapter that fits in an SD slot.

[Gallivant]

I only had to pay $5 more for my 256 meg SD card over CF, and it keeps my CF slot open for future stuff. If you need a lot of space, go CF, but for a smaller amount, keep your CF slot free for a hypothetical huge card. I can definitely see myself picking up a 1 GB card in a year or so when they're cheap, and this way I don't have to lose my current 256.

[Roosterman]

In my experience with speed, CF is faster for write. I have a 256 CF and 128 SD. It took longer to copy mp3's to the SD even though it is half the size. May be some difference in manufacture also. The CF is from PNY and SD is Sandisk. I have read that Sandisk's write speed is slower. Reading though I notice no difference. Good luck.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Originally Posted by Roosterman

In my experience with speed, CF is faster for write. I have a 256 CF and 128 SD. It took longer to copy mp3's to the SD even though it is half the size. May be some difference in manufacture also. The CF is from PNY and SD is Sandisk. I have read that Sandisk's write speed is slower. Reading though I notice no difference. Good luck.

Keep in mind that SD cards that are 256MB and up are at least 4x faster than 128MB SDs. I have a 256MB and 2 512MB SD cards. They all perform very well.