Smartphone Thoughts: Memory Card Shoot-Out: Four 512 MB Secure Digital Cards Compared

Results: Write 256 KB


Figure 5: 256 KB/s data write test.

Once the results started to come in for the write tests, I knew this was where the differences would really show up. As you can tell from the chart above, the differences when writing 256 KB chunks of data are drastically different from reading 256 KB chunks. The consumer grade Delkin eFilm managed to write at 1714 KB/s, while the eFilm Pro card blasted away at 5052 KB/s. The speed crown on this test goes to the Sandisk Ultra II card at 5682 KB/s, but the Simpletech card did surprisingly well at 2764 KB/s.

WINNER: Sandisk Ultra II

Results: Write 1000 KB (1 MB)


Figure 6: 1000 KB/s (1 MB) data read test.

The results of the 1 MB data write test were similar to the 256 KB test, but the differences were slightly more pronounced. With the larger file size, the Sandisk Ultra actually increased in performance, breaking past the 6 MB/s mark and coming in at 6040 KB/s write speed. The Delkin eFilm Pro came next, scoring exactly the same as the previous test: 5052 KB/s. Both the Simpletech and Delkin cards were a little slower than the 256 KB test, hitting 2560 KB/s and 1638 KB/s respectively.

WINNER: Sandisk Ultra II

Results: Read 16000 KB (16 MB)


Figure 7: 16000 KB/s (16 MB) data read test.

This last test has some surprising results: across the board, all of the cards were faster at writing 16 MB data chunks than they were at writing 1 MB data chunks. The Sandisk Ultra II delivered on its name by dishing out a punishing 6552 KB/s. That number looks familiar doesn't it? It's the same number from the 16 MB read test, which leads me to believe that the Sandisk Ultra II card is actually faster than 6552 KB/s, but my setup is limiting the measurement of exactly how fast this card can go. The Delkin eFilm Pro clocked in at 5564 KB/s, a full half-megabyte faster than it pulled off on the 1 MB write test. The Simpletech increased over 1.2 MB/s and pounded the 16 MB data files away at 3726 KB/s. The Delkin eFilm card brought up the rear at 2286 KB/s, but that's still a good 0.6 MB/s faster than the 1 MB test. Assuming that the performance of writing 2-4 megabyte files is closer to the 1 MB test than it is to the 16 MB test, it seems that most of us aren't quite using our cards to their full speed potential with smaller files.

WINNER: Sandisk Ultra II