- The microSD card survey tested 200 models to discover counterfeits, performance gaps and endurance failures
- False flash was common in high-capacity high-capacity cards, throwing data beyond real limits
- Brand cards on the brand have generally outperformed out -of -branded models, reliability and total writing of writing
A man took the task of testing microSD cards at a level that most users would never entertain.
During a year, Matt Cole, passionate about technology, bought and tested 200 different models, ranging from 8 GB to 1 TB, with a particular accent on the identification of counterfeits, performance test and durability measure.
Fifty -one of these cards failed during the tests.
Write more than 100 TB of data per day
Cole is the creator of The big investigation on microSD cardA deep and evolving reference report (and a serious work of love), which began in July 2023.
He built a test platform with eight machines and nearly 70 card readers operating continuously, writing more than 100 TB of data per day.
To date, the configuration has written more than 18 data petacts to the cards under test conditions. Impressive, all his effort is self -funded, although he has a list of Amazon wishes if someone wanted to buy him additional cards to test.
Cole’s objective was to understand how these tiny storage devices differ from a brand, a price and an origin.
One of its main objectives is to identify the “false flash”, where a card indicates to the host device that it has more storage than really.
A card of 1 TB could really store only 8 GB. Once this real limit is reached, new data is silently lost. It also highlights “skimpy flash”, where a card is technically real, but provides a space less usable than announced, a common problem even among brand cards.
His investigation does not stop at capacity. Cole also tested if the cards were up to their announced speed class notes, such as U1, U3 or V30.
He carried out sequential and random E / S tests, then followed endurance through repeated writing and reading cycles.
Some cards have survived more than 20,000 cycles, while others failed before reaching 500. Temperature surveillance was also part of the process, although it is still not difficult to know how much heat affects long -term performance.
Among the best microSD cards, there was the Kingston Canvas Go! Plus 64 GB, Pny Pro Elite Prime 64 GB, Sandisk Extreme 64 GB, Delkin Devices Hyperspeed 128 GB and Samsung Evo Plus 64 GB.
These models worked well on several measures and got closer to the announced specifications.
Cole’s blog includes graphics and summaries to help buyers quickly find reliable options and it is frankly a magnificent job. He hasn’t finished yet either. The tests continue tirelessly, with more cards in the queue, hopefully, in particular some of the most important capacity models.
