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Using an SD card to expand storage

D

didztran

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 30, 2013
20
0
Hi,

I have 2013 macbook air and i'm considering using an SD card to increase my storage and put all my music and some videos on it. I was wondering if anybody tried this and how this affect the battery life. I guess the speed of the SD card does affect power consumption, but is this solution viable?
 
didztran said:
Hi,

I have 2013 macbook air and i'm considering using an SD card to increase my storage and put all my music and some videos on it. I was wondering if anybody tried this and how this affect the battery life. I guess the speed of the SD card does affect power consumption, but is this solution viable?
Click to expand...

You should take a look at 'the nifty minidrive'.
 
I use this 128 gig PNY StorEDGE SD card in my mid-2013 MBA. You ask about how it affects battery life and I can't comment since I don't have a clue.

The performance of the PNY card is "slow" in comparison to internal storage, but it's very acceptable for my use cases - audio/video media and documents.

This card does not fit flush to the edge of the MBA like another that I've seen posted somewhere in these forums, it's not an issue for me.
 
Last edited:
Just for comparison's sake, here are 2 black magic disk speed tests I just ran on my MBA. First is internal storage, second is the PNY SD card.
 

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Dweez said:
Just for comparison's sake, here are 2 black magic disk speed tests I just ran on my MBA. First is internal storage, second is the PNY SD card.
Click to expand...

The PNY card is about as fast as your average HD in the old MacBooks!
 
I assume you have the 2013 13-inch MBA, since the 11-inch does not have the SD card slot. I have the same model and also use PNY's 128GB StorEdge, specifically for my Time Machine backups. It works reliably and appears to have a minimal -- if any -- drain on the battery. It does stick out the side of the MBA by a few millimeters, but it's hardly noticeable. A bargain at 80 bucks.
Rich
Rochester, NY
 
TjeuV said:
As always, you'll find complaints about anything on the internet. If only people would express their positive experiences a bit more.
Click to expand...

The above is a very general statement of opinion only.The link I posted gives positive and negative experiences. My experience with the Nifty MiniDrive is that they were very aggressive in their marketing but considerably behind in getting the product out, and that there were some problems. I posted a link that appears to gave more positive comments than negative. An informed, reasonable research of a product is different from accepting internet chatter or one person's personal opinion. What I was suggesting, if you read my post, is do some research. Why do you have a problem with that?
 
http://www.amazon.com/Patriot-Autob...6711285&sr=8-1&keywords=patriot+autobahn+32gb

I use this in my 64GB 11" air. I've had it for about a year and a half, almost as long as I've owned the computer. Because there is no SD card slot I didn't really have a choice, so I'm using one of my USB slots. It's definitely not the fastest drive, but it's just fast enough for me to store my iTunes library, iPhoto library and any misc. things I don't need directly on my laptop. I keep it plugged in 24/7 and haven't experienced any battery drain because of it. Because of the aluminum coloring and the size, it's barely noticeable.
 
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