Can an SD card stand to be constantly used, as if it were an SSD

wdaleherring · Jul 20, 2011, 12:48 PM

I will be getting a 13 MBA and actually didn't realize how much more it was for only double the storage. Anyway, I was thinking about ordering a 64GB SD card (for about $90 on Amazon) and just "permanently" sticking that in there to store my iTunes and such... do you think it could handle the constant use?

peskaa · Jul 20, 2011, 12:57 PM

Yes, it will handle it, but 1) the SD card will be sticking out the whole time and 2) SD cards aren't that fast, nowhere near as much as a true SSD (SanDisk do up to about 40MB/s)

wdaleherring · Jul 20, 2011, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peskaa

Yes, it will handle it, but 1) the SD card will be sticking out the whole time and 2) SD cards aren't that fast, nowhere near as much as a true SSD (SanDisk do up to about 40MB/s)

As long as it can perform as fast a an HDD I'll be good... (does it?) And damn, really? I've never messed with the Airs so I didn't know that it stuck out and didn't go flush. Hmmm....

Beaverman3001 · Jul 20, 2011, 01:04 PM

Not even close to being flush unfortunately.

sparkie7 · Jul 20, 2011, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peskaa

Yes, it will handle it, but 1) the SD card will be sticking out the whole time and 2) SD cards aren't that fast, nowhere near as much as a true SSD (SanDisk do up to about 40MB/s)

Delkin do 80/90MB/s SDHC cards

wdaleherring · Jul 20, 2011, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sparkie7

Delkin do 80/90MB/s SDHC cards

What does the average HDD read/write at?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beaverman3001

Not even close to being flush unfortunately.

HUGE bummer. Man... I really don't want to fork over $300 more for the 256...

peskaa · Jul 20, 2011, 01:20 PM

[QUOTE=wdaleherring;12982512]What does the average HDD read/write at?[QUOTE]

Circa 80-110MB/s, depending on the drive, file etc. Laptop drives a bit slower. So even if you do pick up a top end SDHC card you won't be hitting those speeds.

You could use an SD card for storing something like an iTunes library, documents etc., namely things that don't need the fastest speeds.

wdaleherring · Jul 20, 2011, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peskaa

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdaleherring

What does the average HDD read/write at?

Circa 80-110MB/s, depending on the drive, file etc. Laptop drives a bit slower. So even if you do pick up a top end SDHC card you won't be hitting those speeds.

You could use an SD card for storing something like an iTunes library, documents etc., namely things that don't need the fastest speeds.

How do you think that would work with my AppleTV streaming from it?

peskaa · Jul 20, 2011, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdaleherring

How do you think that would work with my AppleTV streaming from it?

I'd hazard not too well, but depends on the content you're streaming. You'd be better off with a small external HD.

Philflow · Jul 20, 2011, 01:26 PM

Bigger SSDs last longer and perform better than smaller ones.

On top of that SSDs tend to get slower as free space runs out.

Might be worth it to get the 256GB.

Duke15 · Jul 20, 2011, 01:27 PM

Where did you see a 64gb SD card for 100$ wouldnt mind picking one up?

stevenpa · Jul 20, 2011, 01:34 PM

A few issues with SD cards.

-Reliability - Memory cards fail at a pretty high rate

-Speed- Even a class 10 card will be slow if you have it almost filled up, no cache or anything on them.

-Like others said, it will stick out

Just get an external for much less money that will be faster and much more reliable.

wdaleherring · Jul 20, 2011, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duke15

Where did you see a 64gb SD card for 100$ wouldnt mind picking one up?

Amazon, I didn't go looking for it, I just linked you to the search. Laziness at its best.

wdaleherring · Jul 20, 2011, 01:38 PM

Edit: Oops! Double post. Ban me now.

Well this really sucks.

I'm not too familiar with SSDs as I've never had a machine with one. So does this mean that if my drive (the MBA one) is 80% full, it will start running slower?

stevenpa · Jul 20, 2011, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdaleherring

Edit: Oops! Double post. Ban me now.

Well this really sucks.

I'm not too familiar with SSDs as I've never had a machine with one. So does this mean that if my drive (the MBA one) is 80% full, it will start running slower?

A little bit but not that much. TRIM support helps.

Duke15 · Jul 20, 2011, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdaleherring

Amazon, I didn't go looking for it, I just linked you to the search. Laziness at its best.

Awesome thanks, hopefully its the same price in Canada

fixitgood · Nov 16, 2012, 10:59 AM

My mid-2011 MacBook Air recognizes and uses a Komputerbay 64 GB SDXC card just fine. It's a $54 class 10 card from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008AN1DHI) and I formatted it Mac OS Extended (Journaled). However, I only get read speeds around 33 MB/s and write speeds around 15 MB/s from this card.

dezeeb · Nov 16, 2012, 11:11 AM

There was a recent Kickstarter campaign for this: http://theniftyminidrive.com

They've not sent the rewards out yet so I'm not sure how well it actually performs but this would be a perfect solution for you when they actually ship.

Orange Crane · Nov 16, 2012, 11:15 AM

SD cards are terribly unreliable. Make sure you have backups of whatever data you're doing this with.

Acorn · Nov 16, 2012, 11:52 AM

I tried this with a netbook I had and the speed was horrible. It was a class 10 card but it still was slower then molasses. never ever again will I waste my time with that.

dcorban · Nov 16, 2012, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orange Crane

SD cards are terribly unreliable. Make sure you have backups of whatever data you're doing this with.

I haven't found this to be true at all, and I have extensively used SD cards for years. However, I have always used Sandisk brand cards. I am well aware that many of the lower priced, off-brand cards have a high rate of data loss and almost never perform to their rated speed.

To respond to the OP, an SD card will not be a good replacement for larger internal storage if you are truly accessing over 128GB of data on a frequent basis. Personally, I moved a few dozen GB of infrequently used documents and files to an SD card, allowing me to use the default 128GB drive and still have 40GB free space. This is with a 40GB music library, 15GB photo library, and 10GB of video.

Penn Jennings · Nov 16, 2012, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdaleherring

What does the average HDD read/write at?

HUGE bummer. Man... I really don't want to fork over $300 more for the 256...

A typical 2.5 HDD will do 80-95 MB reads and writes (actual). At least thats what I see with my 2010 MBP 13 and 2011 MBP 15, both with 7500 RPM drives.

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevenpa

A little bit but not that much. TRIM support helps.

I don't TRIM is necessary as it once was.

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdaleherring

I will be getting a 13 MBA and actually didn't realize how much more it was for only double the storage. Anyway, I was thinking about ordering a 64GB SD card (for about $90 on Amazon) and just "permanently" sticking that in there to store my iTunes and such... do you think it could handle the constant use?

You PROBABLY don't need blazing performance for iTunes if you are just playing movies and music. A fast SD should work fine for speed. I'd be more concerned reliability the physical aspects of this solution. I think that the solution should work fine.

Be sure that you are using time machine and that the SD is included in the backups. As long you backup regularly you risk is pretty low.

Give a shot, what do you have to lose. If it doesn't work, send the SD back. :-)

Jul 20, 2011, 12:48 PM	#1
wdaleherring Banned Join Date: Jul 2011	Can an SD card stand to be constantly used, as if it were an SSD I will be getting a 13 MBA and actually didn't realize how much more it was for only double the storage. Anyway, I was thinking about ordering a 64GB SD card (for about $90 on Amazon) and just "permanently" sticking that in there to store my iTunes and such... do you think it could handle the constant use?
	0

Jul 20, 2011, 12:57 PM	#2
peskaa macrumors 68020 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: London, UK	Yes, it will handle it, but 1) the SD card will be sticking out the whole time and 2) SD cards aren't that fast, nowhere near as much as a true SSD (SanDisk do up to about 40MB/s) __________________ rMBP 15"(2012) 2.3 i7 \| 16GB \| 256GB \| 650M iMac 27"(2011) 3.1 i5 \| 8GB \| 1TB \| 6970M DS211j 2x2TB
	0

Jul 20, 2011, 01:20 PM	#7
peskaa macrumors 68020 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: London, UK	[QUOTE=wdaleherring;12982512]What does the average HDD read/write at?[QUOTE] Circa 80-110MB/s, depending on the drive, file etc. Laptop drives a bit slower. So even if you do pick up a top end SDHC card you won't be hitting those speeds. You could use an SD card for storing something like an iTunes library, documents etc., namely things that don't need the fastest speeds. __________________ rMBP 15"(2012) 2.3 i7 \| 16GB \| 256GB \| 650M iMac 27"(2011) 3.1 i5 \| 8GB \| 1TB \| 6970M DS211j 2x2TB
	0

Nov 16, 2012, 10:59 AM	#17
fixitgood macrumors newbie Join Date: May 2012	Speed test of SD card in MacBook Air My mid-2011 MacBook Air recognizes and uses a Komputerbay 64 GB SDXC card just fine. It's a $54 class 10 card from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008AN1DHI) and I formatted it Mac OS Extended (Journaled). However, I only get read speeds around 33 MB/s and write speeds around 15 MB/s from this card.
	0

Nov 16, 2012, 11:52 AM	#20
Acorn macrumors 68020 Join Date: Jan 2009	I tried this with a netbook I had and the speed was horrible. It was a class 10 card but it still was slower then molasses. never ever again will I waste my time with that. __________________ 2013 Macbook Air
	0

Jul 20, 2011, 01:04 PM	#4
Beaverman3001 macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2010	Not even close to being flush unfortunately.
	1

Jul 20, 2011, 01:26 PM	#10
Philflow macrumors 65816 Join Date: May 2008	Bigger SSDs last longer and perform better than smaller ones. On top of that SSDs tend to get slower as free space runs out. Might be worth it to get the 256GB.
	0

Jul 20, 2011, 01:27 PM	#11
Duke15 macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada	Where did you see a 64gb SD card for 100$ wouldnt mind picking one up?
	0

Jul 20, 2011, 01:34 PM	#12
stevenpa macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2011	A few issues with SD cards. -Reliability - Memory cards fail at a pretty high rate -Speed- Even a class 10 card will be slow if you have it almost filled up, no cache or anything on them. -Like others said, it will stick out Just get an external for much less money that will be faster and much more reliable.
	1

Jul 20, 2011, 01:38 PM	#14
wdaleherring Thread Starter Banned Join Date: Jul 2011	Edit: Oops! Double post. Ban me now. Well this really sucks. I'm not too familiar with SSDs as I've never had a machine with one. So does this mean that if my drive (the MBA one) is 80% full, it will start running slower?
	0

Nov 16, 2012, 11:11 AM	#18
dezeeb macrumors newbie Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Manchester, UK	There was a recent Kickstarter campaign for this: http://theniftyminidrive.com They've not sent the rewards out yet so I'm not sure how well it actually performs but this would be a perfect solution for you when they actually ship.
	0

Nov 16, 2012, 11:15 AM	#19
Orange Crane macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jul 2012	SD cards are terribly unreliable. Make sure you have backups of whatever data you're doing this with.
	0

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