Kingston 16GB  SDHC Class 10 microSD card Review
OCWorkbench 16 Mar 2010

Tests

The microSD card is put to the test against a Kingston 4GB Class 4 card we have.

We used two benchmark software tools to gauge the performance in read and write. The first we used is the CrystalDiskMark and the second is SiSoft Sandra Removal Storage benchmark

CrystalDiskMark

The benchmark runs the test in Seq read/write, 512k read/write, 4k read/write.

In the 4GB Class 4 test, we can see a Read of 20MB/s and a write a 7.16MB/s. That is pretty good for a Class 4 card. When it comes to smaller blocks of 512K and 4K, the performance dips in the writing to 2.9MB/s and 0.039MB/s. Reading 512K is still at 20MBps.

16GB Class 10

With the 16GB Class 10 card, we can see that sequential read is 19.8MB/s which is almost consistent with the 4GB card at 20MB/s. With 4K block, the read is slightly slower at 3.2MB/s. A check on the write, we can see the sequential writing seems to be almost 2 times faster than using a 4GB card. It writes at 12.45MB/s. Writing 512k and 4K blocks are slower though. It proves that Class 10 card can write with a minimum of 10MB/s sequentially.

SiSoft Sandra Removal Storage Benchmark

In this test, we benchmark the 4GB card first and the software make references to USB sticks available in the market.

The benchmark gave it a rating of 433 ops/minute for the 4GB/Class 4 microSD card

4GB/Class4

16GB/Class10

With the 16GB/Class10 microSD card. SiSoft Sandra benchmark compares it with some of the faster USB drives in the market. It scored 3564ops/min which almost 8 times faster than the Class 4 card.

Conclusion

Kingston's microSD performance up to its specifications and gives us the higher speed and capacity. Camera buffs might not notice the difference but HD video users should appreciate the speedier performance in the Class 10 card.

Everything comes with a cost. The Kingston Class 10 16GB card isn't as cheap as the Class 4 or Class 6 cards in the market. The 16GB Kingston SDHC Class 10 card (Kingston part#: SD10/16GB) has a suggested retail price of $129.00 (MSRP U.S.) while the 32GB card (Kingston part#: SD10/32GB) has a suggested retail price of $245.00 (MSRP U.S.). The cards are backed by a lifetime warranty, 24/7 tech support and legendary Kingston reliability.

So, if you want something that is speedy and has the capacity, this card would be a good choice for you. I am definitely jumping in as my TX1 requires a lot of space for the MJPEG files for HD recording. The BUSY (writing) icons disappears within 2 seconds compared to 5-8 seconds using the older Class 4 cards. As it is a microSD, a SD jacket is also provided to compatibility with older readers.

Pros

• Fast response

• High capacity

• SD jacket

• Life time warranty

Cons

• Price

Ratings

Here are my ratings out of 10.

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