SD Memory cards.. are some faster than others?

[Mark_Venture]

So when I got my iPAQ, the only SD memory on the shelf was Sandisk, so I picked up a 256meg SD card and happily went home.

It seemed slow compared to main memory, but I didn't think much of it back then.

Now, I'm putting more and more on the card. More data files, programs, etc. And I am noticing how slow it really seems...

I don't have another SD memory card to compare it to, but compared to the SanDisk Ultra 256 meg CF card I got with my digital camera last christmas, the SD is REALLY REALLY SLOW. Data files saved to the SD card open noticably slower than those saved on the CF card.

Are all SD cards about the same speeds? If I get a different brand, will it be faster? Any suggestions on this? Brand/model? I found a digital camera web site that rates memory speed, unfortunately its list is rather out dated, and only lists CF memory.

I want to use SD memory for my data files and programs because I use the CF slot for the Wi-Fi card.

Thanks.

[patoln]

Are all SD cards about the same speeds?

There are some discussion threads on this if you do a search.
The conclusion was; if you want speed on a 256-card, buy a Panasonic!

Often reffered to discussion:
http://www.kvpug.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1901&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[Thinkingmandavid]

keep in mind the more you put on the card the more it has to sort through.

[Mark_Venture]

keep in mind the more you put on the card the more it has to sort through.
Thanks, I considered this, so I moved the contents of the SD card to a directory on my PC and left only one or two data files on the SD card... They still opened just as slow :(

Still way slower than the almost full CF card that I use in my camera (and ti was full of pictures).

patoln, Thanks for the link!! good read. Yeah it looks like Panasonic 256Meg or Lexar 256Meg (if made in Japan is OEM of panasonic).

Time to go shopping... Unless I can find a 512meg in my price range, I might go with another 256 megger but this time Panasonic or Lexar....

[gohtor]

sandisk is probably near the bottom in terms of performance from other brands. But I like their price and speed is not my primary concern.

I have heard lots of people complain about sandisk memory card problems but my 64mmc 128sd & 256sd worked fine.

If you plan on transfering large amounts of data (from/to pc), try using a usb memory card adapter like the cruzer. xfering data through ppc using activesync goes through some bottlenecks.

[Mark_Venture]

Thanks for the suggestions...

sandisk is probably near the bottom in terms of performance from other brands. But I like their price and speed is not my primary concern..
Just saw Compusa has Lexar 256Meg for the same price as the Sandisk. so if the Lexar they have is the OEM panasonic, it would be faster but the same price. Not a bad deal.
I have heard lots of people complain about sandisk memory card problems but my 64mmc 128sd & 256sd worked fine...
Yeah, I've read that to.. And until last night, all was fine. Now, I have some wierd things happening with my SanDisk card. DIR names messed up, soft boot fixes, but still have problems accessing data once in a while and have to soft boot more often. Good thing I copied over to PC the other night. Gonna try to reformat it and put the stuff back.
If you plan on transfering large amounts of data (from/to pc), try using a usb memory card adapter like the cruzer. xfering data through ppc using activesync goes through some bottlenecks.
Yep. I got a USB 2.0 SanDisk 6-in-1 reader/writer a few months back. The SD card is way slow in that too.

[Mark_Venture]

I picked up a Lexar 256Meg SD card at Compusa. It was on sale for $59 after INSTANT rebate (no mail Ins)...

In normal every day usage, it seems a lot faster than the SanDisk.

I have my iPAQ setup to put the Avantgo pages on the SD card (instead of the default to main memory). Using Avantgo, the pages do open noticably faster. With Ice Computing Shopping List 2.2 it is much quicker to open, display, edit the shopping lists. iPAQ Backup also seemed to complete faster, although I did not clock it with a stop watch.

The thread from those palm users (link posted by patoln) says the Lexar SD memory labeled as made in Japan (stamped on the card itself) are OEM Panasonic and thus are VERY FAST. The Lexar cards made in China (stamped on the card itself) are OEM SanDisk and are really slow. My Lexar is made in Taiwan so I am not sure which it is supposed to be. However, my Sandisk is also made in Taiwan :?: but because of the noticable speed difference, I don't think the lexar I got is an OEM SanDisk.

I did not do any formal speed tests with the cards in my iPAQ, but with the two cards in my USB 2.0 6-In-1 reader attached to the PC I get the following.....

Using SiSoftware Sandra Standard... PC is P4 2.66Ghz (533fsb), 512Meg ram, Asus P4P800DLX motherboard with built in USB 2.0 ports and the SanDisk reader/writer attached...

SD Cards... Lexar 256Meg SD package labeled SD256-231, card has S256C on the back along with made in Taiwan. SanDisk 256Meg SD, I can't see model on it, its normal blue/red that you can by at Circuit City or Best Buy and many other stores. It has made in Taiwan on the back of it.

TEST................Lexar........SanDisk
Drive Index:........5337kB/s.....1195kB/s
Buffered Read:......6MB/s........1538kB/s
Sequential Read:....6MB/s........1565kB/s
Random Read:........6MB/s........967kB/s
Buffered Write:.....1501kB/s.....694kB/s
Sequential Write:...5MB/s........954kB/s
Random Write:.......1890kB/s.....252kB/s

so there is a difference.

[Kowalski]

If you plan on transfering large amounts of data (from/to pc), try using a usb memory card adapter like the cruzer.
i bought 256megs because the cruser was bunddled with it.
cruser gives you opportunity of transfering files between your device and with systems that active syn. not installed.