Storage benchmark question

[StoneRyno]

I was curious about the performance difference between the internal storage and SD card on my epic so I did a google search and found an app called AndroBench. I installed it and ran the test on each and the results are as follows:

internal:

SEQ RD 14.86MB/s
SEQ WR 7.02 MB/s
RND RD 3580.55 IOPS
RND WR 1404.92 IOPS

sd card:

SEQ RD 14.05 MB/s
SEQ WR 3.4 MB/s
RND RD 745.05 IOPS
RND WR 120.38 IOPS

The sd card is the one that came with the epic. I knew it would be slower but wasn't quite expecting a huge difference in all but the one. I've read that getting a higher class sd card improves performance and high enough class sd card would actually be better than using the internal storage. What I'm wondering is it worth buying a replacement sd card? I've reached a point where quite a bit of apps have to be on the sd card due to the limited internal storage space even with the significant gain from using CM7/CM9. Over 30 apps on the sd card with less than 100MB of internal free. This amount goes down significantly as the cache increases occasionally triggering the storage running out of space message while doing stuff. I can only assume some of the lag feel after boot and when using some apps is because of the apps on the sd card. Thoughts?

 

[daehttub]

I just replaced by stock 16Gb Class 2 Micro SDHC card in my Epic 4G with a $19 Sandisk 32Gb Class 4 Micro SDHC card from Amazon. It's night and day in terms of performance of SD card based apps. The most noticeable benefit is the faster availability of SD card based apps after a reboot/power-on. As an added benefit, I can dump my entire iPod music collection into my Epic 4G now. Best $19 I've spent. Should have done this ages ago.

 

[ratsttam]

The "Class" relates DIRECTLY to what the card is guaranteed to do as far as speed. Class 2 is 1/2 the speed of a class 4, class 4 is half the speed of a class 8. The internal memory is equivielent to a class 10. Replacing the card will make your loading of pictures, apps, and the ability to record in full 720p possible. Is it worth it? For some it is, for others, not so much.

BEWARE:! Buy your card from a reputable dealer online or a brick/mortar store. There are a LOT of "fake" cards, either branded as a higher class than they are (and are usually class 2 but labeled as class 8), or are modified smaller capacity cards (shows 32gb free, will corrupt anything saved after 16gb for example). If the price seems a little too good to be true, _probably_ is.

 

[StoneRyno]

Thanks for the tip. I usually buy my stuff from newegg or other well known online places. However occasionally a local store will have a sale that tops the online places for best deal. I also tend to avoid unknown or virtually unknown brands. I've gotten burned in the past with that. I have a standard size sd card my netbook doesn't recognize (win7pro) yet my pc (win7pro) does. Using the same card reader on both as well. I guess perhaps I should run the apps that are on the sd card from internal storage and the run them from the sd card to see if there is a significant enough difference to justify the purchase of a replacement sd card.