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Performance of Memory Sticks and SD cards on the Air

S

satkin2

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 31, 2010
169
0
Hi,

I'm very tempted by the new Airs but the price increase from the 128gb to 256gb does seem a lot.

I'm currently using a White 2007 MacBook, so I'm sure that any upgrade would result in a noticeable boost. My only concern is the amount of storage on the Airs.

At the moment I'm using 209gb of my 500gb hard drive, but this is holding all of my iTunes library, which looking at the iTunes folder is currently 112gb (≅68gb Music). If this wasn't there then I'm looking at 97gb, so the 128gb drive would be fine.

I know that my music is in iCloud, but I like to have a local copy too. How do current Airs perform with memory sticks and SD cards. Would for example storing my music on a 64gb SD card show much noticeable impact?

Equally the same could apply for other big libraries such as iPhoto or iMovies. I'm fine having these off my machine when they aren't being used, e.g.: I split my iPhoto yearly so I've only got the latest on my machine anyway.

I'd hate to buy under spec and regret it, but equally I don't want to spend the extra £250+ when I could get this extra storage space cheaper with SD cards or memory sticks.

Any advice from current Air users or people who've tried this approach would be really helpful in my decision making. Thanks.
 
I'd like to know as well. My plan is to buy the 128GB/8GB 13" air and then use a 128GB SD drive for only about $100
 
I think it would be best to take that extra Apple is charging and buy a 2TB external hard drive instead. Granted, it takes more room, but e problem with SD that I can see is that the end juts out, so if you leave it plugged and forget about it, you can cause damage.

I think you should get the additional space only if you feel you need everything with you wherever you are. If not, an external would be better IMO.
 
kylera said:
I think it would be best to take that extra Apple is charging and buy a 2TB external hard drive instead. Granted, it takes more room, but e problem with SD that I can see is that the end juts out, so if you leave it plugged and forget about it, you can cause damage.

I think you should get the additional space only if you feel you need everything with you wherever you are. If not, an external would be better IMO.
Click to expand...

Solution?
 
rygamble said:
Solution?
Click to expand...

I was rooting for this but Settled with the Sandisk Cruzer Fit 32GB Mini USB

All I can say is...its great...Read Speed is 17-22MB/s and Write is 4-6MB/s. I don't plan to move files on and off of it so for that reason its great.

On a SDHC/SDXC you can get read/write speeds of 30MB/s from what I have heard but never seen it with my own eyes...I'm sure SDXC would be a better bet but for now this drive is cutting it for me.
 
Satnam1989 said:
I was rooting for this but Settled with the Sandisk Cruzer Fit 32GB Mini USB

All I can say is...its great...Read Speed is 17-22MB/s and Write is 4-6MB/s. I don't plan to move files on and off of it so for that reason its great.

On a SDHC/SDXC you can get read/write speeds of 30MB/s from what I have heard but never seen it with my own eyes...I'm sure SDXC would be a better bet but for now this drive is cutting it for me.
Click to expand...

I found this one, it says up to 45 for both write AND read

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171573
 
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You can get guaranteed 10 MB/s write 64 gb SDXC cards on eBay from legit sellers. It's not a limiting factor when streaming movie/music/photos at all. Combine it with a $100 USB 3.0 1-2 TB external HDD and you're all set. Gives you a device to backup to, clone your drive, and still have tons of storage leftover for permanent stuff. Plus the SD card for extra on-the-go storage. That's what I'll be doing.
 
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