CF and SD Memory Speed - Any Thoughts?

[Keeper]

Dear Forum,

I've just received my hx4705 and I've been wanting to purchase some Compact Flash (CF) and Secure Digital (SD) memory. My topic is regarding the speed of the memory, specifically the CF. I've already decided to purchase the fastest SD thats available as I'm looking to watch videos and such. My indecision is with the CF mem speed. Is it worth double the price for the extra speed? It seems as though it would. 200% price vs. 500% speed difference. (roughly). Anybody have any experiences they'd like to share?

Keeper

[Nurhisham Hussein]

I'm not certain i get you - are you refering to hi-speed versus low speed CF cards? or between CF and SD? In any case for both, the hi-speed cards will be limited by each slot's IO, which are both considerably lower than most hi-speed cards are rated for (though there is a difference between read/write speeds).

The biggest advantage of a hi-speed card is if you're planning on transferring large amounts of data (movies, pics, mp3s) through a card reader - believe me there's a huge difference in write speed between normal and hi-speed cards, and between a USB2.0 card reader and cards in your PDA (even with the hx4705's USB 2.0 interface). Hi-speed cards will also be an advantage if you're planning to use the card with other devices, like a digital camera. Again this applies to both SD and CF.

[Keeper]

hishamh,

My apologies for not being clear enough. I'm trying to determine if I should spend $120 (or more) rather than $55 for a high speed CF card for my IPaq HX4705 pocket pc.

I realize that it is dependant on the speed of the I/O but I don't know what the speed of the I/O is. I called HP twice and asked pretty much the same question and got 2 different answers. The first guy said "stick with the standard speed CF and you can use the faster SD". The second gent replied "This device supports the latest technology". Does anybody know where I can get some low level or hard specs on the HX4705?

Keeper

[Nurhisham Hussein]

IIRC, the max throughput supported by the PPC CF interface is between 24x to 30x (sorry can't remember offhand what the spped is like in terms of MBs). More than sufficient for most media, though you'd have trouble with high bit rate movies.

FWIW, I have a 45x 1GB Transcend CF in my Loox 720. I'd be willing to spend a little bit more for a higher speed card than the standard (so that I'm sure to make full use of the CF interface speed limit), but not $120. I think I paid about $80 for mine. Like I said, unless you're planning to use the card in other devices, or need a fast transfer via card reader, it's probably not worthwhile getting a very high speed card, as opposed to a slightly faster one or a normal speed card.

[Keeper]

hishamh,

Having not the knowledge of the CF interface speed for my particular device, I opted for the fastest stuff. I ended up buying a 1Gig SanDisk Extreme III (133x) for $88.99 final price. At least it will be full speed in the card reader.

FYI
1x = 150 KB/sec = .000143 MB/sec
45x = (45 X 150 KB/sec) = 6.75 MB/sec
133x = (133 X 150 KB/sec) = 20 MB/sec

Thanks,

Keeper

[Nurhisham Hussein]

You're welcome - that's a pretty good deal, and FWIW probably worth the money in the long run!