SD Cards and TT3

[HBL]

I just bought the T3 and I'm looking for advice on an SD card. I purchased a Kingston 512MB card from Newegg, but after some reading in these forums I discovered that the Kingston is Toshiba based :(

My understanding is toshiba cards run pretty slow in the T3. I'm thinking of returning the Kingston and reordering something like the Transcend. I'm planning on using the SD card quite frequently and I need a really good card. Are there any problems running a 1GB card?

Recommendations Plz!!

Les

:)

[Gekko]

I hear that Panasonic SD cards are the fastest. I use Sandisk for backup only which is fast enough for me since my auto backups with BBVFS happen daily at 2am.

[Tam Hanna]

I use an old HAMA card with 64MB, and it is fast enough for me. It is dependant on what you want to do with your card. Ifr you only need it as an MP3 store, every card will do... If you want to do more write-intensive stuff, you will need a fast card-same for reading data in fast.
Something to complicate your search: Many manufacturers buy up SD cards at different producers and just label them-its always a gamble buying from those...

[Vidge]

You probably know this already but there are only 3 SD card manufacturers-Sandisk, Toshiba and Panasonic. All oI thers are rebrands of these. I only use Panasonics in my T3 & I've had no issues with them or their speed.

[Tam Hanna]

What.. Just three?
I thought that there were more. But well, one never stops to learn.

[tanker_bob]

There are more resellers/repackagers, but not more OEM manufacturers. All the rest use these three chipsets. Panasonic is by far the fastest. I have an SD card review on PDABuyersGuide (http://www.pdabuyersguide.com/tips/PNY_Panasonic_SD_cards.htm) with benchmarks on my T3 of the Toshiba and Panasonic chipsets, and there's an excellent collection of benchmarks for all devices here (http://palmclub.nl/tips/vfsbenchmark). After research, testing, and bad experience w/slower cards, I now only buy Panasonics for my T3.

[HBL]

After even more research. I ordered a Sandisk Ultra II 512MB SD from Memory On The Move. I felt the premium price on the Panasonic cards was just too much. The Kingston card will be RMA'd back to NewEgg tomorrow. Thanks to all who posted.

So far, I've found the T3 to be simply amazing. I mirgrated from a clie TJ37. The Wifi was nice, but I found it to be of limited use on a 320X320 screen.

So far I've successfully loaded my most frequently used programs

Cloak
Docs To Go
Key Suite
AvantGo
Ultrasoft Money gave me a bit of a problem. I negelcted to completely delete an old version before installing an upgrade. All is well now.
ZLauncher is my first new program. It does a bewildering amount of stuff, but I'm having fun figuring it out. Now if i can just find out how to set a pic of my grandkids as background...but that's another thread :)

Les

[HBL]

OK I ran VFS Mark on my new Sandisk Ultra II SD 512MB Card.

This is what i got

VFSMark Results Sandisk Ultra II 512MB 12/27/04

File Create: 545%
File Delete: 248%
File Write: 42%
File Read: 725%
File Seek: 1072%
DB Export: 190%
DB Import: 857%
Record Access: 709%
Resource Access: 698%

VFSMark: 565

Why am I getting such a lousy write score :confused:
Others have posted to the forums with read scoreds
around 138 or so with the same card.
Since this is a brand new T3 I'm assuming the update for
SD cards is installed....or is it??? How do I tell? :(

I've run the test twice with almost identical results.

[tanker_bob]

From the results I've seen on the web, I'd say your results are about average for a Sandisk. Toshiba-based cards usually write at about 6-10 on a T3, Sandisks around 40-55, and Panasonics around 145-165. I've seen these results enough that I use them to ID card chipsets for unmarked SD cards.

[WildCelt]

I would definitely NOT go with a Kingmax. I have a 1GB one I bought for cheap, but am now regretting it. I read several reviews on it (mostly positive), but in the real world, its very slow. Here's my VFSMark results:

File Create: 74%
File Delete: 71%
File Write: 13%
File Read: 725%
File Seek: 907%
DB Export: 46%
DB Import: 740%
Record Access: 724%
Resource Access: 711%

VFSMark: 445

Perhaps its not fair to compare a 512MB card with a 1GB one, so can anyone post VFSMark results with their 1GB card?

[HBL]

Wildcelt,
No doubt you got it from Newegg. I was almost seduced by those reviews. Looks like the only way to go is with a Panasonic based card.

Bob,
I don't doubt what you say, but I'm still wondering how some people managed to get good write scores with the SanDisk II

[tanker_bob]

Don't know. Haven't seen much data from the SanDisk II. HBL's post above seems to confirm my premise on his 512 MB card, though.

[tanker_bob]

Here are results from a friend of mine:

VFSMark score for a new (empty) Panasonic 1 GB SD Card tested on a T3:

File Create: 371%
File Delete: 106%
File Write: 148%
File Read: 713%
File Seek: 983%
DB Export: 278%
DB Import: 803%
Record Access: 841%
Resource Access: 752%

VFSMark 555%

Card had 64.0 KB used, 944.6 MB Free.

[WVOz1970]

With all the repackagers out there, is there any way to know which ones are using which chipsets?

[tanker_bob]

The only way is to plug it into a PDA and execute CardInfo. I have yet to see a repackager put the chipset make on the package. To make it worse, repackagers seem to switch chipsets at the drop of a hat or even use multiple chipsets.

Discounted price, however, can be an indication. Generally speaking, the cheapest chipsets are Toshiba, followed by SandDisk and Kingston (there is some indication that they make their own but I'm not sure), topped out by Panasonic. Panasonics are rarely cheap, but always worth it IMO.

[HBL]

I'm going to chalk it up to card to card variance. It would be nice if there are any Sandisk II owners out there who can run bench marks to test my theroy.

In the meantime I'll transfer large files by way of my internal card reader and do backups late at night. I will also be on the lookout for any good deals on a Panasonic card.

[applejosh]

I got a new 1GB SD card for Christmas (Lexar 32x). Here are the results plus those from my 256MB card (Lexar "normal" speed?).


(PXA Clocker set to underclock to 200MHz)

Lexar 256MB SD card (blue - made in Japan)
VFSMark Results 256GB

File Create: 114%
File Delete: 111%
File Write: 38%
File Read: 533%
File Seek: 786%
DB Export: 46%
DB Import: 625%
Record Access: 583%
Resource Access: 556%

VFSMark: 376


Lexar 1GB 32x SD card (blue - made in USA)
VFSMark Results 1GB

File Create: 285%
File Delete: 259%
File Write: 47%
File Read: 618%
File Seek: 694%
DB Export: 175%
DB Import: 552%
Record Access: 646%
Resource Access: 629%

VFSMark: 433


OK, this time with PXA Clocker off (default 400 MHz)

VFSMark Results 256MB

File Create: 129%
File Delete: 98%
File Write: 30%
File Read: 533%
File Seek: 786%
DB Export: 47%
DB Import: 625%
Record Access: 574%
Resource Access: 540%

VFSMark: 373


VFSMark Results 1GB

File Create: 294%
File Delete: 268%
File Write: 66%
File Read: 644%
File Seek: 694%
DB Export: 178%
DB Import: 556%
Record Access: 635%
Resource Access: 609%

VFSMark: 438


Not really much of a difference (and I bet I'd get different results each time, regardless of if I used PXA Clocker).

[arizona cactus]

http://store.yahoo.com/notebookdrivesoutlet/panasonic-001g3.html


this seems like a decent price. cheaper than what i paid for my panasonic 512mb last year....prices keep falling..

[Sid]

You probably know this already but there are only 3 SD card manufacturers-Sandisk, Toshiba and Panasonic. All oI thers are rebrands of these. I only use Panasonics in my T3 & I've had no issues with them or their speed.
Who actually makes Lexar then?
[Edit]
Panasonic. This info is listed when I selected Info from the menu when I was reading the SD Card.

[applejosh]

This info is listed when I selected Info from the menu when I was reading the SD Card.

Just out of curiosity, using what app?

[WVOz1970]

Just out of curiosity, using what app?

If I use the "Card Info" app and scroll all the way down, it shows the chipset for my Viking SD card. (Toshiba, unfortunately).

[applejosh]

At the bottom, mine says...

SMI
Unknown
Secure Digital Card
Device Id: blah blah blah

So would it be an SMI based card (who I never heard of) or is my card just weird (aka unknown)?

Thanks,

[WildCelt]

Wildcelt,
No doubt you got it from Newegg. I was almost seduced by those reviews. Looks like the only way to go is with a Panasonic based card.


Gee, how did you know? :)

I did read reviews from other places as well, but it is obvious they didn't use them in a Palm device. Live and learn, I guess.

[WildCelt]

Lexar 1GB 32x SD card (blue - made in USA)
VFSMark Results 1GB

File Create: 285%
File Delete: 259%
File Write: 47%
File Read: 618%
File Seek: 694%
DB Export: 175%
DB Import: 552%
Record Access: 646%
Resource Access: 629%

VFSMark: 433


Wow, those results are similar to my Kingmax (supposedly 60x). Has anyone tested a Panasonic 1GB card?

[Sid]

Just out of curiosity, using what app?
The built-in launcher.

[applejosh]

The built-in launcher.

OK, that just launches Card Info. I get the SMI thing and Unknown.

[Sid]

OK, that just launches Card Info. I get the SMI thing and Unknown.
Hmm...
Have you tried ejecting and reinserting the card, or a different SD Card?
Other than that, I have no further info, sorry.

[AWS]

I just got a T3 and had the same question. I wish I had found this thread before I purchased.

However, I found a 1GB card at eCost.com. It wasn't the cheapest but they claimed to be waterproof, shockresistant and high speed. The VSFMark File Read score of 760% is the highest of those listed above. This is more important to me for purposes of watching videos and listening to music. Some other threads complain of jerkiness of video and music playback on a T3 which I think would be partly due to a low read speed of an SD card.

-------------------------------
VFSMark Results

File Create: 266%
File Delete: 244%
File Write: 54%
File Read: 760%
File Seek: 907%
DB Export: 164%
DB Import: 770%
Record Access: 841%
Resource Access: 817%

VFSMark: 535

288.3 MB used
687.2 MB free of 975.6MB
-----------------------------------

The card specs:
Mfr Part # : AF1GSD
Manufacturer : ATP Electronic

"1GB Secure Digital Card - 60x
Besides being waterproof and ESD proof, ATP SD flash cards are rated at 60x, over three times faster than generic SD cards. This means snappier camera operation, faster file transfers, and more!"

It costs $91.33 right now at:
http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecsplash/shop/detail.asp?dpno=511359

AWS

[henrytaylor]

I have a Lexar 1GB in a T3. The card has only 281 mb of space free (694 used). My VFSMark test avg. (3 tries):
File Create: 240
File Delete: 104
file Write: 62
File Read: 760
File Seek: 907
DB Export: 165
DB Import: 693
Record Access: 754
Resource Access: 752

VFS Mark: 503

I have an older T3 and had to install the SD Card fix.

Henry