What Class SD Card Should I Get?

[Mudvayne622]

So Im planning on getting a 32GB card for my X before Froyo is released but im not sure about which Class to get. Whatever came with the phone is plenty fast enough for me. I dont transfer much onto it very often so im not concerned about transfer speeds. But i do watch movies on my phone regularly( im just guessing that the class of the card has something to do with video playback). What would you guys/girls recommend?

 

[DaRkL3AD3R]

Class 4 minimum, that's what the default one is. Problem is finding a class 4 32gb. If you find one for less than $200 please post it here

 

[moosc]

The class 2 32gb from Vzw is fine don't let all the hype scare. There is a good discussion on this in the Accessories subforum. I've watched a boat load dvd movies and do not have a issue. As mentioned before the real slow down comes when you transfer from computer to sd card.

 

[GlueFactoryBJJ]

I have only been able to find two Class 4, 32GB microSDHC cards. One is by TopRam and is being sold on eBay for ~$135 with a 5 year warranty.

T3t 32GB MICROSD MEMORY CARD MICROSDHC CLASS 4 SDHC SD - eBay (item 280535396728 end time Aug-15-10 00:03:15 PDT)

The other is being sold by Amazon.com and is a Centon brand for ~$78, also with a 5 year warranty (per Centon's website).

Amazon.com: Centon 32 GB Micro SDHC Class 4 Flash Memory Card 32GBRSDHC4 (Black): Electronics

The pricing seems to be surprisingly low for a class 4 micro SD card. Especially considering the pricing of many of the brands of class 2 cards (Sandisk, Kingston, etc.). However, the price on that Centon is unreal AND is being sold by Amazon, so it actually may NOT be a fake. Also the Centon's part number matches that on their web site, but I have not heard of them before.

For the purposes of a SD card in a phone, the class 2 SHOULD be fast enough, even when recording 720p video. Definitely fast enough for video playback and music.

Scott

 

[Mudvayne622]

Thanks guys i might just go with a class 2 from Amazon. I bought a 16gb class 2 from Amazon (i think i payed $45) that i used on my old Omnia and i had no problems with it.

 

[mikesmith]

Newegg.com - Kingston 32GB Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) Flash Card Model SD4/32GB

Here's a Kingston Class 4 32GB for $79.99 with free shipping and Newegg usually doesn't charge tax. (at least not here in NY)

Here's a bunch more from class 4 to class 10 32GB:
Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,Memory,Flash Memory,32GB,Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC))

 

[doctorlove316]

Newegg.com - Kingston 32GB Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) Flash Card Model SD4/32GB

Here's a Kingston Class 4 32GB for $79.99 with free shipping and Newegg usually doesn't charge tax. (at least not here in NY)

Here's a bunch more from class 4 to class 10 32GB:
Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,Memory,Flash Memory,32GB,Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC))

It doesn't appear that these are MicroSD cards though.

 

[mikesmith]

It doesn't appear that these are MicroSD cards though.

Ah.

My bad.

 

[lemcoe9]

I was about to say, $75 for a Class 4 microSD card. Sign me up!

 

[bzh027]

Once again, the class is going to be largely irrelevant with recording and playback of movies, etc. Lots of misinformation out there. Only metric that you can really differentiate them with is transfer speed.

 

[DaRkL3AD3R]

Once again, the class is going to be largely irrelevant with recording and playback of movies, etc. Lots of misinformation out there. Only metric that you can really differentiate them with is transfer speed.

So if transfer speed is the only differentiate out there, and the OP is looking for a whopping 32GB for his cell phone, what exactly does one interpret he'll be doing with it?

I expect with a need for the full 32GB he either wants to max out his phones capacity for the hey-say of it, or he wishes to load it up with media. If he's looking to load it up with media (and make the most of that 32GB) he's going to need as fast a card as possible as yes there is a fairly large difference. Transferring an MP3 here or there and a few pictures won't be a big deal, but transferring gigabytes of data over to this thing will be significantly faster on a higher class card, and thats where the money worth is.

Please don't call it misinformation though, as it certainly isn't. At best its misguiding, which wouldn't be anyones fault without knowing exactly where the OP needs to go with his information.

 

[Mudvayne622]

I plan on loading it up with all my music(14gb) and probably a few movies. Transfer time really doesnt matter to me since i wont be needing to put a movie on there quickly. 1 movie now (about 700mb) only takes 2 minutes to transfer. Oh and still have space left over for photos and apps.

 

[GlueFactoryBJJ]

The class of flash cards does make a difference in the transfer speed. There is supposed to be an approximately linear relationship between class and transfer speed. Therefore, a Class 4 card will be about twice as fast as a Class 2 card.

However, for all practical purposes, the Class 2 card SHOULD be fast enough in both read and write to meet all the performance requirements of what the DX needs (writing 720p video being the most demanding). As for transfers (like music, video, etc.), start it in the early evening and you will have it filled by morning.

I'm planning on filling mine with ~20GB of music (mostly for me) and ~10GB of video (mostly for the kids to keep them quiet on trips).

Scott

 

[buxleyp#AC]

The only reliable place where I've found a 32GB microSD card (of any class) in stock has been through Verizon directly. I picked up a 32GB SanDisk class 2 when they were running their special ($100, or $75 with corporate discount).

The class specifies the minimum write speed (not read). A class 2 should have a min write speed of 2 MB/s, while a class 4 should have a min write speed of 4 MB/s. It's quite possible to have a class 2 card outperform a class 4 card, but usually the higher class the card the faster the write.

FWIW, I ran hwtest on my default 16GB SanDisk class 2 (my X didn't come with a class 4) and compared it to the 32GB SanDisk.

16gb Sandisk class 2
Writing speed: 3.85 MByte/s
Reading speed: 13.2 MByte/s

32gb Sandisk class 2
Writing speed: 5.37 MByte/s
Reading speed: 13.5 MByte/s

Note that while both are rated class 2, my 32GB actually performs faster and is well above a class 4 minimum write. YMMV.

Glue is right: for most purposes, including the 720p HD recording on the X, a class 2 card is fine.

 

[GlueFactoryBJJ]

Just a quick update on the Amazon.com 32gb Centron card. I tried to order it. After a couple weeks they said they couldn't get the card and cancelled the order.

I've found a couple cards on ebay for under$100 and class 4, but they are generics and low to fair feedback sellers. For just over $100 you can get a 32 gb card from a good, high feedback seller.

Scott

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