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32gb class2 or 16gb class6+ SDCARD

I'm trying to decide if i should go for space, or speed.
For those of you that bought 32gb cards, are they class2? and if so do apps and such run off it fine, playing movies?
Class 6 is much more fast, and a class6 16gb card is still half the price as a class 2 32gb card.
Just looking for guidance here, do we need more then class2 for our phones.
Plan on putting movies and apps and stuff on the card.

I have a 16GB class 2 card in my Cappy, and I can play 720p video off it without a single stutter, and I never did install the lagfix, so class 2 SHOULD be fast enough, depending on what you want to do with it.
But right now, the cost of the 32GB cards is, I think, prohibitive. It costs > 3x what I can get a 16GB card for, and thus far, I have not filled my card yet.

I would go with a faster speed for the bigger size card, class 2 would be too slow if you are read/write onto it constantly; For the best bang of your buck, the Polaroid 16GB microSD (made in Japan by PNY) from Frys is going for under $20 (after rebate); Even though it is labeled as a Class 2 card, but under most SD benchmark app, it is detected as a Class 4 card (4.5 MB/s Write/15 MB/s Read under the 300MB file R/W test in SD Card Speed Test)

I would rather take a 2GB class 6 over a 32gb class 2. Class 2 is so unbelievably slow its unbearable. I use my phone as a usb drive very often. In my previous phone I had an 8gb class 2. It was so slow I thought the card was broken. So I RMAed it and the new one was the same. I realized that it just takes like 8min/gb to transfer to it. (and no its not faster in this phone)
Class 4 is standard, anything less is a waste of silicon and plastic.
Class 6 is about as fast as your average-quick USB thumb drive.
Yes class 2 is fast enough to run programs and play back video, but you'll spend a lifetime transferring those things.
Not worth it IMO. Get an 8gb class6 if cost is an issue. Also, don't go with any crappy random manufacturers. I find that a class 6 from 'craptasticMEM' is nowhere near the speeds it should be, and in fact usually slower than a clas 4 I have from kingston.

The class rating has nothing to do with playback speed, only write speed. Copying files is faster, but how often are you loading up your SD card from your computer?
I am using class 2 and it is recording video just fine. I am not sure why above poster claims "class 4 is standard" - that would imply that class 2 is sub-standard. It is not, it just has slower write speed.
Keep in mind that if you lay out the big bucks for a class 6 32GB card today, it will half the price in a few months.
Now in my HD Camcorder it requires Class 6 to record 1080P - our phones have no such requirement, so anything above class 2 will help in initial data transfer from PC - after that you may never, ever see any benefit.

alphadog00 said:
... I am not sure why above poster claims "class 4 is standard" - that would imply that class 2 is sub-standard. It is not, it just has slower write speed.
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Yes, sorry you're correct. Class 4 is standard in my gauge of memory cards/usb drives. All the classes "should" perform fine. The higher classes are obviously faster (with significant brand to brand variation). I find that they are faster at everything though. Not just write, but read as well. A class 6 card is as smooth as the internal memory in the captivate. A class 2 card is abysmal at everything (in my experience). I say class 4 is standard because class 2 is really bad...

eatkabab said:
Yes, sorry you're correct. Class 4 is standard in my gauge of memory cards/usb drives. All the classes "should" perform fine. The higher classes are obviously faster (with significant brand to brand variation). I find that they are faster at everything though. Not just write, but read as well. A class 6 card is as smooth as the internal memory in the captivate. A class 2 card is abysmal at everything (in my experience). I say class 4 is standard because class 2 is really bad...
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It could be my blindness - not physically, but the ignorance of not having a class 4 or 6 to compare to my class 2. My class 2 works fine for me, but if the class 6 stuff gets cheap I will head on over to it.

alphadog00 said:
It could be my blindness - not physically, but the ignorance of not having a class 4 or 6 to compare to my class 2. My class 2 works fine for me, but if the class 6 stuff gets cheap I will head on over to it.
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My 32GB Class 2 reads/writes as smoothly as the internal card on the captivate as well.

locsplitter said:
My 32GB Class 2 reads/writes as smoothly as the internal card on the captivate as well.
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lol no
internal is like class 10 i believe

locsplitter said:
My 32GB Class 2 reads/writes as smoothly as the internal card on the captivate as well.
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Click to collapse
its not healthy to lie

you guys are missing the fact that the class ratings are a MINIMUM rating. a lot of brands will perform MUCH faster than what they have printed on them. just saying something is class X is pretty much pointless. it's just a guideline that is being loosely followed. benchmark and move on

If your running apps off of your card than believe me there is noticable difference between a class 2 and a class 6, and yes dont go for a no name.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

demize! said:
If your running apps off of your card than believe me there is noticable difference between a class 2 and a class 6, and yes dont go for a no name.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
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I don't believe you. It 100% fully depends on the card. Some class 2's are faster than class 6's. Ratings are lies.... benchmark ftw!

True that. Ive found significant differences by brand. However, there is definitely a noticeable difference between a class 2 and a class 6 card.
What you get depends on personal requirements more than anything else. Faster or more storage?

[Q] Why class 6 SD card?

Hi all,
I've read in a few places that if you want to run apps from your SD card that you should have a class 6 SD card. Can anyone explain why this is? I've currently got the one that came with the phone, which is class 2. Just want to understand why I need it before splashing out the cash
Thanks

It's all about speed. Class 6 is faster than Class 4 is faster than Class 2. If you are happy with the performance with your Class 2 card, no need to splash out the cash.

yeah its just about speed, the higher the class the faster the r/w speed, you dont really need a class 6 these days tho, maybe in the old days of the g1/hero but not now

There's quite a bit of discussion on this and I'm honestly quite confused over this as well.
The higher classes just means faster write speeds but same read speeds. Certainly, this shouldn't affect the performance of apps that are installed on the card; unless the card is being used for swap memory.
Anyway, I've heard some users with 32GB microSD card (only available in class 2) using app2sd with no ill-effects. I've recently purchased one myself and will be swapping it out later tonight.

newbie on Android here.....may I ask....Im currently using a 16Gb mem card....If I change it to a 32Gb, what are the files that I need to copy to the new card, so that the apps/games currently installed will still run? I noticed there are so many folders inside my memory card now.....which one should I transfer to my new card? Or should I need to re-install the apps?
thanks..

dinoalbert said:
newbie on Android here.....may I ask....Im currently using a 16Gb mem card....If I change it to a 32Gb, what are the files that I need to copy to the new card, so that the apps/games currently installed will still run? I noticed there are so many folders inside my memory card now.....which one should I transfer to my new card? Or should I need to re-install the apps?
thanks..
Click to expand...
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are you using apps2sd? or just running a stock like rom?

9 out of 10 users on this website would not be able to tell the difference in speed by running apps on a class 4 or class 6 cards.

AndroHero said:
are you using apps2sd? or just running a stock like rom?
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I am using an OTA Froyo but already rooted....

Before the usual flamers get to write on this topic to say high-class cards are useless, it really comes down I think to the time you have available to wait for USB transfers. On a class 2 it takes AGES. I bought a class10 16gb and it's an absolute life changer (i do have a lot of public transport so I make heavy use of my phone as a video player)

phentex said:
Before the usual flamers get to write on this topic to say high-class cards are useless, it really comes down I think to the time you have available to wait for USB transfers. On a class 2 it takes AGES. I bought a class10 16gb and it's an absolute life changer (i do have a lot of public transport so I make heavy use of my phone as a video player)
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Another reason to have a class 4 or faster card in the phone is to have reliable 720p 25fps video recording. On my Class 2 with a2sd+ recording stutters.

thanks for the responses. from what i read previously, it talked about class 6 cards being less likely to be unmounted and causing problems to running applications. does this mean anything to anyone?!

Kashban said:
Another reason to have a class 4 or faster card in the phone is to have reliable 720p 25fps video recording. On my Class 2 with a2sd+ recording stutters.
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This is the reason when I eventually get the money I'll be getting a 16GB class 4 or 6 card. At the moment 720p is fairly pointless to me since I can't get smooth recordings with my SD card.

Have no issues with my 16Gb Class-2 sdcard. R/W speed enough to handle 720p recording and rockplayer playing avis perfectly.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

iLHaNroID said:
Have no issues with my 16Gb Class-2 sdcard. R/W speed enough to handle 720p recording and rockplayer playing avis perfectly.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
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Are you running A2SD or a2sd+ on your phone? If not, that may be the reason.
The more apps and widgets and stuff is moved to the sd, the more r/w-access happens to the card, which has serious impact on video recording. I really wish the internal memory of the Desire wasn't so small. What the heck did HTC think by putting only 560 MByte internal storage into their android flagship? The SGS has 5 GiBytes!

jstegeman said:
It's all about speed. Class 6 is faster than Class 4 is faster than Class 2. If you are happy with the performance with your Class 2 card, no need to splash out the cash.
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Incorrect!
The class of the card doesn't tell you the speed of a card - it tells you the *minimum* sustained write speed on a card which is completely unfragmented
A good quality class 2 card can and often will be faster than a poor quality class 6 card.
The two Sandisk Class 2 card I use both write at around 7.5mb/s, which is faster than the class 6 minimums.
Regards,
Dave

foxmeister said:
Incorrect!
The class of the card doesn't tell you the speed of a card - it tells you the *minimum* sustained write speed on a card which is completely unfragmented
A good quality class 2 card can and often will be faster than a poor quality class 6 card.
The two Sandisk Class 2 card I use both write at around 7.5mb/s, which is faster than the class 6 minimums.
Regards,
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's interesting info! Would explain why I have far fewer problems than most people report with 720p recording onto my class2 card.
So the real answer is: Benchmark your write speed before making any big purchasing decisions on SD cards.

Kashban said:
Another reason to have a class 4 or faster card in the phone is to have reliable 720p 25fps video recording. On my Class 2 with a2sd+ recording stutters.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so a class 4 good enough for 720p? i have a class 2 right now and the recording is just horrible.. i thought that my phone was broken and have changed many custom roms

Bought a C6 16gb to replace C2 4Gb - definitely faster as USB drive - both Sandisk

[Q] SD class X for heavy 720p recording?

Going on a long long trip and only have room for my Dinc.... Will a class 4 card get the job done or do I need to get a class 6?
Thanx!

That really just matters when copying/writing the initial file and on read times.
For video saving or video playback, it might save you and extra few seconds during the save or load times, but it shouldn't matter at all.
I have a 16GB class 2 card, ran the SD card speed test app, and it came out as a class 4 card.
I notice perfectly fine speeds on my card. I never seem to think to myself, "this thing is damn slow." If you do something like sync 500+ songs to the card at one time, sure it may take a little while to initially find them, but after that there's no wait.
Hope that helps.

Irieone said:
Going on a long long trip and only have room for my Dinc.... Will a class 4 card get the job done or do I need to get a class 6?
Thanx!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just made a post about class and brand in the accessories section. Take a quick look at that. But class shouldn't really save much time unless you are recording really long videos, the most it will save you is maybe 2 seconds TOPS after finishing video recording. My sandisk 16GB class 2 saved videos in 2.5 seconds or less.

ok, thanks for that info. i was under the impression that the write speed of the card was a limiting factor in bitrate/framerate. Therefore I would get better video quality using a faster SD card. I have seen posts where peeps complain about jerky video @ 720p and the class 2 card is most always the culprit.
Sent from my ERIS using XDA App

Irieone said:
ok, thanks for that info. i was under the impression that the write speed of the card was a limiting factor in bitrate/framerate. Therefore I would get better video quality using a faster SD card. I have seen posts where peeps complain about jerky video @ 720p and the class 2 card is most always the culprit.
Sent from my ERIS using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well considering it isn't attempting to write the video as it is recording, class does not apply to this. Framerate/bitrate is controlled by the recording software and the camera itself. SD card just stores the finished product.

More for less, or same for more?
Rather than pony up the extra benjamins for a higher class card, why not get the/a bigger 32 Gb class 2 card, like the one from Verizon?
I have it, it too tests @ class 4, I've had no issues whatsoever.
My $0.02

cool, thank u for that 2 cents.
Sent from my ERIS using XDA App

smtom said:
Rather than pony up the extra benjamins for a higher class card, why not get the/a bigger 32 Gb class 2 card, like the one from Verizon?
I have it, it too tests @ class 4, I've had no issues whatsoever.
My $0.02
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Click to collapse
Well it depends if someone needs faster transfer rates or higher capacity, as well as cost difference. 32gb cards are going for 75 to 90 bucks still being that they are still relatively new, while a 16gb class 10 from kingston is about the same price, maybe even cheaper with transfer rates at least 3 times faster than any class 2. All in preference.

So as far as media playback goes, will I notice much of a difference on class 4 vs class 6 on a 32 GB card? The speed difference is really in file location, not playback right?

Basically, yes.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

[Q] Micro SD, which one?

Hi,
I want to buy a 32 gb micro sd for my Atrix, but I see there are different Classes....
I saw in TheCellGuru a 32 gb Class 2 for about 75 bucks. But I remeber I had a Class 4 8gb, so what is the difference?
Can my Atrix read any 32gb card? Should I look for another one?
Thanks!

The higher the class the faster the SD card.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

Thnx. But can Atrix read any class? What class should I get?

dragoncius said:
Thnx. But can Atrix read any class? What class should I get?
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Click to collapse
if you can live with the slower speed, den the 32gb is fine.

But whats the deal with speed? Does it affect performance on the phone or just data transfer time when moving files to and from the micro sd?
Enviado desde mi Motorola Atrix™ usando Tapatalk

IIRC, class speed also affects how fast the SD loads on your phone.

Thnx. So, lets say I never turn off the phone, and the sd card will load only once, getting a 2 class sd isnt a bad idea. Am I right?
Enviado desde mi Motorola Atrix™ usando Tapatalk

Can someine confirm if Atrix supports Class 6 32 gb micro sd?
Enviado desde mi Motorola Atrix™ usando Tapatalk

Yes an ATRIX will support a class 6 32gb SD ( finally moto adds ATRIX as a word in their keyboard lol)
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

neer2005 said:
The higher the class the faster the SD card.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Slight correction: the higher the minimum speed guarantee. A class number defines the absolute minimum write speed of an SD card. Devices can read the class from the card and with that can set some expectations in the software for how long things should take.
So with that, there are Class 2 cards that actually, out of the box, perform better than cards with a much higher class. Will they forever, once worn and fragmented? Maybe not.
It's all very vague, exactly what the manufacturers want

I had a class 2 8GB card and now have a class 4 32GB card ($45 on amazon with their goldbox deal, kingston) and the class 2 is like 2 mbps faster than my class 4... maybe i should have gone with the class 2...

I have a Lexar 32Gb class 10, it's working despise of some bad comments around it, so far, so good. The class of the card is about the reading speed - the higher, the better (in theory).

I have the 32g class 10 lexar but it failed on my once and I needed to reformat it. If I had to by another one I would stick with sandisk. They are pretty solid.

Generally class determines the speed of Read and Write.
Class 4 is usually the minimum requirement for HD recording as it requires faster writing abilities.
Not all microSD have the same speeds as each company varies with speed even if they are the same class. Some class 4 could actually be faster than class 6.
Beware of fake microSD as usually that may be one of the reasons that it could be slower or even die out within the first week of usage.
I would recommend using SD Tools in the market place as soon as you receive your card.
https://market.android.com/details?id=ales.veluscek.sdtools&feature=search_result
Just be patient with the deals, there's always a lower price.

Careca_RS said:
The class of the card is about the reading speed - the higher, the better (in theory).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Write speed, not read speed. The whole "class" thing is confusing enough without people giving incorrect information. Sorry to be so pedantic.
Here it is direct from the source (PDF): http://www.sdcard.org/developers/te...lified_Specification_Ver3.01_Final_100518.pdf
Also from the source, a simplified overview: http://www.sdcard.org/developers/tech/speed_class/
Class is based on write speed because SD cards (well MMC) of course were originally conceived of for use with digital cameras and camcorders, where write speed is critical, but read speed much less so.

_kansei_ said:
Write speed, not read speed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeap. That's what I meant.
Thanks for the correction

Thabks everyone! I will wait and be on the look for a nice deal. Thnx!
Enviado desde mi Motorola Atrix™ usando Tapatalk

I just tested my 16GB class 2 MicroSD (Patriot brand, off newegg) that i've had for a year or two. The minimum write speed during the benchmark was 10.5 MB/s, i.e. Class 10 speeds. Read speeds were 16MB/s. I'm pleased
Since there's a high variance, all you can do is buy a card based on brand reputation and the class rating and hope that it's actually faster than the class suggests. Does it need to be faster? I dunno, I only use my card for media storage.

Mgamerz said:
I had a class 2 8GB card and now have a class 4 32GB card ($45 on amazon with their goldbox deal, kingston) and the class 2 is like 2 mbps faster than my class 4... maybe i should have gone with the class 2...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
greetings, im new to the forums (and the atrix, only had this baby for two days now), but i can shed some light on the matter.
with the microSD cards, the class tells you the minimum write speed. class 2 = 2mb/s minimum. class 4 = 4mb/s minimum. hence your class 4 is meant to be 2mb/s faster than class 2.
at the moment, i use a class 10 16gb from kingmax. for the most part, most people wont notice the difference between most classes, but if you want to take lots of photos in rapid succession or if you plan to film 720p footage directly to the SD card, or even if you watch really large videos, its generally better to go for a higher class.
sure, you can still take a 5-8mp photo and save it to a class 2, but at class 2 speeds, it would take ~1 second for the photo to save. on a class 10, it takes ~0.2 seconds for the same photo to save (assuming all else remains the same), which can come in handy for quick snaps. but given the amount of ram we have on the atrix, i'd assume it would buffer to ram first and copy later so it wouldnt be much of an issue.

I took a chance....
I took a chance and bought some Chinese 32GB cards supposedly rated for Class 10.
I ran a test on one of the cards , placing it inside my phone, using SD tools (from the market)
It reported write speeds of 4.0 MB/s and read speeds of 5.3MB/s. In theory that's about a class 6 but there are supposedly latency issues that creep up as the cards get larger.
I need to compare that number to known cards before I say anything about the source. I'd be curious to see test results from this app on other atrix's with other microSD cards.
I do notice that it is faster loading everything than my SanDisk 16GB class 2 card. My camera works faster too: faster to load the pictures and faster to take them.

[Q] Best SD card for Dinc2

Hey -
I want to upgrade to a 32gb card, what is the best brand? I know that some are faster or slower than others - how do you choose an SD card?
Thanks.

By class speed then the storage
Sent from my Incredible 2 using XDA App

I don't think I would ever see a difference in the speeds available in "classes" on my phone unless it was a defective card. I picked up this card on amazon and have been very happy.
Sure, I'd love a class 10 card but I don't think the DInc2 can even do anything with that. Nor can my bank account take it
I'm a little surprised the prices haven't come down further.

The only way you will benefit from a class 10 card is if you do photography in raw format with a requirement for rapid snapshots or 1080p video recording in a higher quality. You'd be better off saving the money by getting a good quality class 6, or even a class 4.
I'm using a Kingston Class 4 32gb card without many issues. I did have a weird issue with the 720p recording at one time, but I haven't tested with CM yet to see if it was possibly a software glitch.

Your phone will perform poorly with a class 10. Higher classes have faster sequential access times at the expense of random access lag, and the vast majority of what your phone will be doing is random access.
The only things that benefit from class 10 is things like cameras, that write huge files (sequentially) all day.
The short answer is get a class 4 or 6, Sandisk tends to have good random access stats.

Just for reference, the DINC2 comes with a a SanDisk class 4.