Sandisk 512 MB Secure Digital Ultra II (SDSDH-512-901, Retail Package)
by SanDisk

List Price: $49.99
Our Price: $12.99
You Save: $37.00 (74%)
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Category: CE
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Digital Photo Product Details

• Faster write speed means less time between shots
• Ready for rapid-fire shooting
• High-density flash memory and optimized controller technology lets you save large image files faster
• Lifetime Warranty

• Targus DMC111 Digital Memory Card Case - Black (Koskin)
• Transcend TS-RDM3R All in 1 USB 2.0 Multi Card Reader (Red)
• Digital Concepts CR-80 32-In-1 Digital Hub Reader
• ZIO CORPORATION DM25800 READER, CAMERAMATE, 10 IN 1, USB 2.0
• SanDisk 2 GB SDSDX3-2048-901 Extreme III SD Memory Card (Retail Package)

Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sandisk 512 MB Secure Digital Ultra II (SDSDH-512-901, Retail Package)

Customer Review: Performance is worth the price premium.
Summary: 4 Stars

linux-2.4.22 (with ehci to enable usb2.0) connected to . . .
usb2.0 hub connected to . . .
SanDisk SDDR-88 usb2.0 memory card reader

commands for the write test:
- mount -o noatime,sync /dev/sda1 /flash_memory
- cat testfile > /dev/null
- time cp tesfile /flash_memory

The first command forces any writes to the flash_memory to happen immediately, so there is no caching going on. The second command reads through the ~50MB testfile and caches it into memory (no need to access the hard disk). The third command actually copies the test file to the memory card and times it.

commands for the read test:
- umount /flash_memory
- mount -o noatime,sync /dev/sda1 /flash_memory
- time cp /flash_memory/testfile /dev/null

The first command unmounts the flash memory and clears the cache. The second command mounts the flash memory so the computer can access its files. The third command actually copies the file, which must be read directly from the card because we cleared the cache, and times the copy.

The read and writes tests were performed multiple times, and the results varied little between iterations. The 512MB card was completely empty, and the 256MB card had a small 3MB file.

The SanDisk Ultra II card turned in some impressive numbers:
writes: 4.95MB/sec (5048.2KB/sec)
reads: 8.19MB/sec (8389.96KB/sec)

For comparison, here are the numbers for the SanDisk 256MB non-ultra card:
writes: 0.86MB/sec (876.44KB/sec)
reads: 1.53MB/sec (1570.69KB/sec)

If you need performance, then the SanDisk Ultra II series is the way to go. The Ultra II reads and writes more than five times as fast as the plain-vanilla SanDisk secure digital card. In my case, I will be using the card to store MP3 files for a portable audio device, and waiting around while moving MP3s is not how I want to spend my time. So, I bought the Ultra II. Your needs may vary. Buy accordingly.

Also, I realize that other manufactures market "high-performance" memory cards, but since I don't own one, I can't recommend/jeer them here.

Description of Sandisk 512 MB Secure Digital Ultra II (SDSDH-512-901, Retail Package)