- The microSD card survey tested 200 models to discover falsifications, performance gaps and resistance failures
- False missing was common in cheap high capacity cards, discarding data beyond true limits
- Name brand cards generally exceed models outside the brand in speed, reliability and total writing resistance
A man has taken the task of trying microSD cards at a level that most users would never entertain.
In the course of a year, the Matt Cole technology enthusiast bought and tested 200 different models, ranging from 8 GB to 1 TB, with a particular approach to identifying falsifications, testing performance and measuring durability.
Fifty -one of those cards failed during the tests.
Write more than 100 TB of data per day
Cole is the creator of The big microSD card surveya deep and evolving reference report (and a serious work of love) that began in July 2023.
He built a test platform with eight machines and almost 70 card readers who run continuously, writing more than 100 TB of data per day.
To date, the configuration has written more than 18 data petabytes to the cards under test conditions. Impressive, all your effort is self -financed, although you have a Amazon desire list if someone wants to buy more cards to try.
Cole’s goal was to understand how these small storage devices differ between brand, price and origin.
One of its main objectives is to identify “False Flash”, where a card tells the host device that has more storage than it really has.
A 1TB card could really only store 8 GB. Once that real limit is reached, the new data is lost in silence. It also highlights “Flash Squimpy”, where a card is technically real, but provides a less usable space than the announced, a common problem even among the brand cards.
Your survey does not stop at capacity. Cole also tested if the cards are up to their announced class class ratings, such as U1, U3 or V30.
He performed random and sequential I/O tests, then tracked the resistance through the repeated writing and reading cycles.
Some cards survived more than 20,000 cycles, while others failed before reaching 500. Temperature monitoring was also part of the process, although it is not yet clear how much heat the long -term performance affects.
Among the best microSD cards were Kingston Canvas Go! More 64 GB, PNY Pro Elite Prime 64GB, Sandisk Extreme 64GB, DELKIN Devices Hyperspeed 128GB and Samsung Evo plus 64 GB.
These models performed well in multiple metrics and approached the announced specifications.
Cole’s blog includes pictures and summaries to help buyers to quickly find reliable options and, frankly, is an impressive job. It is not over yet. The tests continue incessantly, with more cards in the tail, hopefully including some of the most capacity models.
