MicroSD, MicroSDHC Benchmark: Performance Test Of Famous Brands

MicroSD and MicroSDHC memory cards manufactured by famous companies like SanDisk, Kingston, Samsung, Transcend, Toshiba and halfway popular TwinMOS have been analysed and benchmarked to reveal the performance delivered by their memory cards. The comparison of performance test reports of flash cards will help users choose the best product for their needs.

Brands analysed: HP, SanDisk, Kingston, Transcend, Samsung, Toshiba, TwinMOS
Memory cards tested:
1- HP MicroSDHC Class 10  32 GB
2- SanDisk MicroSDHC Class 4  8 GB / 16 GB
3- Kingston MicroSDHC Class 10  32GB,  Kingston MicroSDHC Class 4  16 GB / 32 GB,  Kingston MicroSD  2 GB
4- Transcend MicroSDHC Class 4  16 GB, Transcend MicroSDHC Class 10  32 GB
5- Samsung MicroSDHC Class 4  4 GB
6- Toshiba MicroSDHC Class 4  8 GB
7- TwinMos MicroSDHC Class 6  4GB

Benchmarking tool used: CrystalDiskMark
Operating system: Windows 10 & Windows 7 Ultimate x64

Setup:

Test file used for benchmarking purpose was kept 100 MB in size for all the tested memory cards. Flash cards were fully empty and FAT32 formatted. QD32 for few memory cards was tested after formatting with NTFS file system. Sequential read and write, 512k random read and write, 4k random read and write and 4k QD32 random read and write have been analysed for all these memory cards. ‘Red Bridge’ card reader was utilized for benchmarking purpose.

Results:

HP

HP MicroSDHC 32 GB (Class 10) Memory Card

Report: In our test, HP MicroSDHC 32 GB Class 10 memory card offered 77.92 MB/s of average read speed and  15.49 MB/s of average write speed.

SanDisk

1- SanDisk MicroSDHC 8 GB (Class 4) Memory Card

2- SanDisk MicroSDHC 16 GB (Class 4) Memory Card

Report: In our test, SanDisk MicroSDHC 8 GB Class 4 memory card offered 20.88 MB/s of average read speed and  5.39 MB/s of average write speed. MicroSDHC 16 GB Class 4 memory card offered 20.90 MB/s of average read speed and 5.53 MB/s of average write speed.

Kingston

1-  Kingston MicroSDHC 32 GB (Class 10) Memory Card

Report:  Kingston MicroSDHC 32 GB Class 10 memory card offers an average read speed of 44.42 MB/s and average write speed of 10.77 MB/s.

2-  Kingston MicroSDHC 16 GB (Class 4) Memory Card

3- Kingston MicroSDHC 32 GB (Class 4) Memory Card

4- Kingston MicroSD 2 GB Memory Card

Report:  Kingston MicroSDHC 16 GB Class 4 memory card offers an average read speed of 20.81 MB/s and avergae write speed of 5.38 MB/s. Kingston MicroSDHC 32 GB Class 4 memory card offers 20.89 MB/s of average read speed and 5.42 MB/s of average write speed. Kingston MicroSD 2 GB has an average read speed of 19.43 MB/s and 10.65 MB/s of average write speed.

Transcend

1-Transcend MicroSDHC 16 GB (Class 4) Memory Card

2- Transcend MicroSDHC 32 GB (Class 10) Memory Card

Report:  Transcend MicroSDHC 16 GB Class 4 memory card offers an average read speed of 20.85 MB/s and average write speed of 5.61 MB/s. Transcend MicroSDHC 32 GB Class 10 memory card offers average 20.81 MB/s read speed and average 16.33 MB/s write speed.

SAMSUNG

1- SAMSUNG MicroSDHC 4 GB (Class 4) Memory Card

Report: The Samsung MicroSDHC 4 GB Class 4 memory card we analysed offered an average 20.81 MB/s read speed and average 5.85 MB/s write speed.

Toshiba

1- Toshiba MicroSDHC 8 GB (Class 4) Memory Card

Report: Toshiba MicroSDHC 4 GB Class 4 memory card offers an average 18.26 MB/s read speed and 5.18 MB/s write speed.

TwinMOS

1- TwinMOS MicroSDHC 4 GB (Class 6) Memory Card

Report:  TwinMOS MicroSDHC 4 GB Class 6 memory card offers average 18.96 MB/s read speed and average 6.65 MB/s write speed.

Important to Note:
Some of the storage space of flash card is utilized by the file system and therefore not available to users. Sequential access matters the most in case of all types of memory cards.

MicroSD card is technically a bit different from MicroSDHC card. They both have similar shape and design but MicroSDHC is subjected to “Class” system. Class is used as a standard to represent the standard minimum sequential write speed of a memory card. For example, Class 2 represents minimum sequential write speed of 2 MB/s. Similarly, Class 8 represents minimum write speed of 8 MB/s.

FAT32 format is widely supported by digital cameras, mobile phones, tablets and other devices. Changing default FAT32 format of a MicroSD or MicroSDHC card to NTFS might not be supported by a device, and it also does not alter the predefined speed of a memory card.

Beware of counterfeit MicroSDHC and MicroSD cards. Even renowned online market places like Amazon and Ebay have sellers who are selling fake memory cards. Counterfeit SanDisk and SAMSUNG MicroSD cards have flooded the markets around the world. It’s only because they have no proper system made available to consumers for verification of their memory products. Kingston is providing such facility with the help of which you can verify whether your flash product is genuine or fake. Other companies should also follow the same foot steps and introduce such online verification systems for the sake of consumers.

3 Comments

  1. Karim

    Thank you for providing the analysis.

  2. Anonymous

    Never heard of this before.

    • Talal

      Now, you have heard :)