SanDisk Ultra – 400GB – microSD UHS-I card
Cheapest I've seen so far.
I've decided to buy this as backup storage for my Macbook air.
CamelCamelCamel.
Yes I do. I've weighted the pros and cons already.
You may wanna price a portable SSD somewhere else. Though for backup, it's a waste of money.
Well the micro sd card stays in the slot all the time, no need to plug in and out.
And you can buy one of these Sd readers, which does not stick out.
https://www.bynifty.com/products/minidrive
I'm not sure if you're familiar with macs but OWC SSD is the only internal ssd that works in a macbook air
anyways it's personal preference and priorities, my solution is not for everyone.
I back my MacBook air up to an SSD (periodic snapshot) I pulled from one of my upgrades and put into an external enclosure which then goes to a safe place (garage incase house is burnet or burlgled. In between I run a 2TB WD spindle ($100) off USB which I run time machine on and it does journals, incase I need to roll back to specific point in time.
Problem with these micro SDcards is that they are actually physically fragile, have had some get hairline cracks …. I use a lot of micro SD for my raspberry PIs.
Your solution isn't cost effective or reliable.
You don't need or want an internal backup solution. That's not a backup.
SD is a horrible option for backup.
@scuderiarmani: Maybe backup is not the right word. It's just a place to store my files and it stays in my macbook all the time, while my internal 500gb drive is running out of space. The sd card is not to be written or read from constantly. If you travel often as i do, this is a major convenience over carrying an external drive.
Then say you need additional storage.
Regardless, I wouldn't be keeping it in a machine if you value what's on it.
And to the childish Apple fan boy negging, get something better to do in your life.
@billevans: Personal preferences can still be idiotic, like "it's my personal preference to gamble my house on the pokies" or "it's my personal preference to use a micro sd as a backup solution for my computer" or "it's my preference to give my 'not partner' a $130,000 job at the taxpayers expense, because I think she is good at the twitter and facebook and totally not because she lets me put my willy in her".
@scuderiarmani: In addition, i backup to my 1tb HDD weekly and backup and sync with google drive. So I've covered in an event my internal ssd or sd card fails.
Anyways, thanks for your comments. I'm sure others will need a 400gb sd card for other uses.
@Diji1:
I have a wife, I don't play games online and I'm clean shaven. So keep trying.
I just know what is a sensible backup solution. This isn't anything close.
Apple buyers are notorious for overpaying for products.
@billevans: The adapter is cool! Just what I need….. but buy that one for $40…. or buy the same thing on eBay for $2?
@Wallyt99: I bought it from ebay for about $1 3 years ago, so i don't have the actual ebay link. The ones from ebay definitely work. Just make sure it reads SDXC.
You had me cheering you until that inane "Apple buyers are notorious for overpaying for products" comment.
Such a petty generalisation.
What Apple product, ever, was priced less than its competitors equivalent?
Yeah I can generalise, but it's fairly common knowledge Apple products are expensive.
Just go buy a charging cable or a video output cable to see the absurd pricing.
Well now, that's being a bit more expansive. Yes, Apple stuff is more expensive. Is it better? That depends on the buyer and user. I prefer Apple gear, whilst acknowledging there is a LOT of gear cheaper and in many cases better, but it is my choice.
Besides, let's not denigrate ourselves over Ford vs. Holden, Mac vs. PC, or such silliness.
Oh… and I agree an SD card is absolutely not a good idea as a backup solution.
@StingyBritches:
Unfortunately many others seemed to think it was a great option.
Good for them. Perhaps I shouldn't care if they lose their data, but I try to be helpful.
Maybe try a portable 4tb for about half the price?
It's more convenient to have it inside and not need to attach something to it, which adds weight and cables. That's not ideal when you're on the go.
With SD card, it's just always there, as if it was built in. And it performs potentially about the same speed as mechanical HDD, depending on how good the card reader is.
I do agree that the price is not cheap per GB. I am only referring to its convenience in general. As a rule, I find SD cards great to add to devices like this, just not in 400GB due to it being too expensive. I would have gone for something smaller like 200GB or 256GB.
@lostn:
When he's changed his story halfway to suit, additional storage is one thing (and as you said this isn't great value).
Backup is an entirely different story, and to all the people negging me they may actually wanna either read carefully or educate themselves.
@scuderiarmani: Well you were having a dig at Apple users as if this is specific to them.
You had no basis for that. This is just as useable in a tablet, camera, Switch, or smartphone. And your suggested alternative is a portable HDD. Come on, a HDD to a smartphone?
It's a perfectly valid use for Macbooks and any laptops with an SD card slot. "Better" options is debatable. A portable HDD uses up the USB slot and requires you to dangle an device to it, with risk the cable accidentally detaches. That is cheaper, but not "better". Better depends where you value convenience vs price.
Genuine samsung charge cables arent cheap either …… Third party cables are cheap ….for both apple and android.
@lostn:
I had a basis for my argument, he stated he's using it for backup, then he shifted his story to suggest it's for additional storage.
They are completely different scenarios.
Effective backup, isn't a permanently on SD Card inside a machine, that's the complete opposite of backup
If he wants to change his story to needing additional storage, sure, this is an option, but hey it's extremely expensive, slow and unreliable. So yes it has some serious negatives.
What has this got to do with a smartphone, he's using it in a Macbook.
@scuderiarmani: actually, an internal backup is still a backup, it just won't protect against loss of the device.
Also, SD isn't a "horrible" option at all. It depends on how you're backing up, particularly if you have other levels of backup.
Most backup software has the option of differential or incremental backups (or do it anyway) so they will only write files to the backup until the original files are no longer being modified. Once the original file had been done with by the user, it won't be rewritten to the SD card again.
The way users normally create and use files (not databases) is that after a file has been created and the final version written, it is rarely edited again. Although, it may often be read many times for later reference.
This actually means that (quality) SD cards are more often than not, perfectly suited for file backups.
I use them (or USB keys) in many of my clients computers for file level backups. They're particularly great for laptops that travel frequently or aren't connected to the network.
Sure, I would suggest a second hard drive, an external drive, an offsite tape, a dedicated RAID NAS, a SAN, an online backup etc, but not everyone has access to these and they each have a user case.
Being aware of the risks and shortfalls of each though is what matters.
@scuderiarmani:
If the backup is running on the background constantly, the speed is not an issue. He also originally said he decided to use it for a backup. Did you actually know what other solutions the OP had in place before you ranted?
I had a basis for my argument, he stated he's using it for backup, then he shifted his story to suggest it's for additional storage.
Doesn't matter. You posted before he switched his story, and it was not a valid criticism based on what he originally claimed to use it on. Whether he actually uses it for that or not doesn't change the argument.
Portable HDD is not a substitute for an SD card in all use cases. For some cases, yes.
Effective backup, isn't a permanently on SD Card inside a machine, that's the complete opposite of backup
That's still providing some backup. If the HDD/SSD dies but the card does not, you have a backup. If the laptop itself dies, it shouldn't fry your card with it. You can remove the card and retrieve the contents, which is easier to do than with some forms of internal storage which might be soldered on (especially in a smartphone or tablet PC).
If he wants to change his story to needing additional storage, sure, this is an option, but hey it's extremely expensive, slow and unreliable. So yes it has some serious negatives.
I use it these as backup storage too in my Surface Pro. It only has one USB port so portable HDD is out. Also, I don't find that very convenient. I like not having to go and fetch the thing and plug it in. If you get a fast card, it won't be slower than HDD. It'll be about the same speed. It's not as big in capacity for what you're paying, but my 128GB SP4 does not need 4TB to be its backup. I have a 200GB in it, and it's more than enough.
Would I use a portable HDD? For desktop backup, yes. For portables, I'd rather just pay more for a card that becomes part of the device.
What has this got to do with a smartphone, he's using it in a Macbook.
What does "Apple" have to do with anything? He's using it in a Macbook, but your snarky comment about Apple loving people like him applies the same to anyone who has a Windows laptop also. If he had just said it was for his Windows laptop, then your dig at Apple people wouldn't have worked would it? So why bring Apple into this? It's certainly not unique to them.
@lostn:
You are the one who said 'Come on, a HDD to a smartphone?'
Where the hell did I say that? Or do you just want to ignore that?
'Some backup', for $240, I'd want better than SOME backup.
I'm not knocking this for additional storage, yes it's horrendously priced, but I see the benefit.
You are the one who said 'Come on, a HDD to a smartphone?'
You address the relevance of the 'Apple people' comment first, then I'll address this. If he used Windows, would your Apple people comment still apply?
'Some backup', for $240, I'd want better than SOME backup.
I want backup that doesn't need to be removed and inserted every time I use it. Other options can't do that, short of being able to install an internal HDD.
I'm not knocking this for additional storage, yes it's horrendously priced, but I see the benefit.
I'm using microSD as backup storage, not additional storage. It's not the cheapest form of backup, but it offers a convenience over HDD that I'm willing to pay extra for.
I have a few dead SanDisk micro SD cards I used in my Thinkpad for backup. It is utterly unreliable and I'll be do it again. Just buy an $80 external backup disk. I have a few of those too, and none have ever failed. Some are newly 10 years old.
I've had many and none have died.
That's how useful anecdotal evidence is.
It is utterly unreliable
That's a blanket statement made with statistically insignificant data.
@lostn: it is useful enough for me not to do it again. Of course, your experience is so much more relevant… to yourself.
Still about 50 bucks too high.. I'll pull the trigger <$200 I think
Maybe it is just me but I have had many incidents whereby microSD cards just went kaput. I only buy Sandisk and Samsung genuine cards and so far I have had 1 x 64GB sandisk, 1 x 16GB and 2 x 8GB Samsung gone bad. One of the 8GB cards I was using on the RPI for home assistant and after the card went kaput, I googled and found many others complaining that microsd cards also very unreliable in the long run. Just offering some info to share.
Likewise. They aren't built to last imo, same as USB flash drives and heck portable drives. I've hardly ever had a problem with a traditional 3.5' drive though.
Question: How can you tell apart a genuine from a good fake? How do you know yours were genuine?
Well, I only buy from reputable seller like Futu, PCByte, Wireless1, etc. I guess one could go further by checking the serial number, etc with the manufacturer to see if it is genuine.
How do you know they're reputable? What if their supplier duped them? Or the supplier of the supplier duped the supplier?
SD Cards are the same memory as you have on an SSD they just don’t have an onboard controller.
If anything that makes them more reliable than an SSD if you are leaving it in place.
They are flash memory like SSD, but not as fast. There are varying speeds of SSD as you should know.
Wallyt99:
SD Cards are the same memory as you have on an SSD
Maybe, probably not. SATA/NVMe SSDs are hopefully using SLC or MLC NAND with low to moderate cell density. SD Cards are usually extremely high density TLC, which has piss poor durability and speed in comparison. The cheap SD cards are likely using the low quality binned NAND chips, e.g. make a 32Gbit NAND chip -> test it -> find it's a complete piece of junk with 80% bad blocks -> get the controller to mask off the bad blocks -> sell it as a 4Gbit SD card -> profit.
they just don’t have an onboard controller
They do.
If anything that makes them more reliable than an SSD if you are leaving it in place.
Not sure how you came to that conclusion? SSDs are typically built on a more durable process, lower density and less data per cell, and have more advanced controllers that can detect and work around bad blocks.
Edit: not sure why this didn't reply inline…
Just a comment on having an SD card inside the slot all the time. I used to do this but not anymore.
I'm not sure about Apple, but in Windows every time you open Explorer (or any file dialog) it does access the SD card (so the SD card drive shows up). Therefore it's constantly accessed all the time even though nothing's written, which reduces the card lifespan. Moreover, the SD card slot could easily fail due to the constant access. Again, I'm not sure if somehow Macbook's card slot is more reliable.
The same happens to your SSD btw. And if Windows does that, more than likely Mac does it too. Otherwise, if you decided you wanted to open up SD drive, it wouldn't be there.
That's definately not true… You can tell this simply by the case that your mechanical disk's are not whirring everytime you access explorer but rather only when you access the actual disk's itself.
Good point. It takes a few seconds to access a HDD unless you have WD Red or some type of NAS drive like mine is. That doesn't spin down when inactive.
100MB/s "transfer" speed.
But what is their claimed write speed?
I believe it's stated as up to 160mbps. Which you can take with a grain of salt I'd imagine.
I think I'll be asking for a mountain of salt on that one. It's only UHS-1.
The packaging itself only says "Up to 100 MB/s**."
Asterisks probably refer to read speeds only.
I have had one in my Note 8 for a few months - haven't benchmarked it or anything but it feels pretty fast when transferring to and from it.
UHS 1 only guarantees a sustained write speed of 10MB/s. So if you are thinking of using this in a decent camera, think again. It will not write fast enough for 4K.
The Sandisk Ultra range has historically been 15-20MB/s write. Unless it has improved with A1. But then if it did, they would make it UHS-3.
Since there's no UHS-2, and it is writing less than 30MB/s, I'm going to guess that its max write speed is 20MB/s or thereabouts.
Down to US$185 now (AU$238)
Pretty price I say since JB wants $449 for it. https://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers-tablets/all-computers--t…
Just got a camelx3 alert - this is now at 179.99 USD + postage. Lowest ever price.
I've decided to buy this as backup storage for my Macbook air.
Geez apple must love you types. You do realise there's better options right?