Sandisk Secure Digital cards

[ZaphodB]

Hey all,

I'm looking to buy a secure digital card for my Toshiba e310, and up till now I'd been primarily looking at Sandisk cards; they're the only brand sold by nearby computer stores, I've had good experiences with Sandisk cards in the past (albeit all compact-flash cards), and they're cheap (always a plus, given I'm but a poor, starving university student). However, when I did some searches regarding Sandisk cards on this forum, I turned up a lot of horror stories related to them. Are the Sandisk cards really that bad? Keep in mind that I'd be purchasing one from a local store, so it wouldn't be hard to return should it fail, and I won't be keeping anything vital on it. I'd prefer to go with Sandisk if only for the price (a local store has a 256MB card for $122 Canadian), but if the cards are really that bad then I can probably make my meal card stretch a little and shell out the cash for a better brand. Thoughts? Comments?

Thanks for any help.

[dh]

I have a SanDisc 256MB SD card and it has been perfect. I have heard of problems, but Sandisc probably sell more cards than anyone else and the failure rate could be average.

[dhettel]

I've still got the first Sandisk card I purchased, and it works just as good today as it ever did.

I also have purchased several SD cards by SanDisk. Do yourself a favor, get something else. I've had nothing but problems. And until I purchased another brand, I didn't know how bad my working SD cards by SanDisk where. SD cards that appeared to work, slowed my iPAQ down so much that I thought it had locked up, when it was writing to the SD card.

There is a reason for the post you've seen.

David

[davidspalding]

I have a Viking 512 MB CF card. There was a comparison of card read/write speeds (more important for digicams, but intriguing anyway) in which Vikings scored much hgher than Sandisk. Add to that that I've read from a lot of other people (anything but a scientific consumer poll) who exp. problems with Sandisk cards.

I'd shop around and see how much cards from a more reputable brand like Viking or Lexar(?) cost.

One example, Viking has a rebate on until the end of the month, so this 256 MB card at Amazon is $67 with free shippin' (you'd have to have a buddy in the US order this for you, alas):

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00007IFMJ/korovamultimediaA
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005MIS8.01.RB08.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

(Please note, the rebate is good in US and Canada, and from any authorized dealer. Go ahead, print it out. Do a search of Canadian retailers for Viking SD256M. Happy hunting.)

[CTSLICK]

I've used a Sandisk 128 MB SD for about a 7 months, first in my EM-500 and now my Axim. It gave me grief once after I used it in a SanDisk Cruzer to move a ton of files between PC's (I loaded it up 3 times!). After I was done I deleted all the files and attempted to reload the PocketPC files but for some reason the SD thought it was still full despite the fact that it showed that no files were on it. But a quick reformat with Flash Format and its been fine ever since.

I have no speed comparisons for you since its all I have ever used. I am going to be giving a Lexar 256 MB SD a try here in a few days...we'll see how they compare.

[trachy]

I have a 256Mb SanDisk SD card, and I love it. I especially like the Cruzer that I got with it. I use it with my H3835, laptop with ME, and my XP desktop, and have had good experiences with it on all three.

Like dh said, the amount of problems people have with SanDisk is probably proportional to the number on the market. When you're cheaper than everyone else, the law of averages catches up with you quicker.

[SnAPPUrU-nyan-ko]

I think I'm on my 4th-5th returned sandisk 256 MB SD card. They're cheap and have a long warrenty period, so wee :3

[Thefo]

I've decided to go with Lexar 128/256 SD instead of Sandisk as I'm getting tired of returning the defective units (six so far). The Lexar card costs a little more but I notice that I/O is faster and so far the Lexar cards are proving to be very reliable.

[foldedspace]

Buy.com is offering the 256mb Lexar SD card for less than 50 bucks after rebate.

[ZaphodB]

Thanks for all the comments, I think I'll avoid buying a SanDisk card now.

Anyway, I called all the nearby computer stores (I'd prefer to buy the card locally, even if it is slightly more expensive, because I live in a somewhat remote location and it's a pain to return products to online stores). One is selling a 256MB Lexar card for $132 Canadian, and another is selling a 256MB Kingston card for $141 (with the advantage of being in stock; the Lexar card would have to be ordered in). Has anyone used a Kingston SD card before? Are they any good?

Thanks for any help.

[NeoLogic]

Yea.... Umm, let me tell ya something about Sandisk. If you go to some websites, and look at thier product list. You will find that their generic house brand cards cost more than Sandisk's cards. That's without any sort of rebates or anything.

You get what you pay for.

[davidspalding]

I have Kingston RAM in my HP Omnibook 800CT, works fine. It's another brand that I'd have more confidence in. FWIW....

[Dave Beauvais]

I think I'm on my 4th-5th returned sandisk 256 MB SD card. They're cheap and have a long warrenty period, so wee :3
It's nice that they have a long warranty, but when the turn-around time for a warranty replacement is almost two months, what's the point? It took me almost a full month just to get an RMA number and another month after they received my defective card to get the replacement.

--Dave

[rdef]

I have a Lexar and a Sandisk, both 256mb. The Lexar has noticeably faster I/O.

I can backup all my files onto the Lexar in 3 minutes. It takes 10 on the Sandisk.