UHS class
UHS bus version supported by the memory card.
UHS is a communication technology used in SD/microSD cards of the (micro)SD HC and (micro)SD XC standards. It allows you to significantly increase the speed of data exchange compared to previous standards; at the same time, media supporting this technology is quite compatible with equipment that does not have UHS — except that speeds in such cases will be limited by the capabilities of the card reader, and not by the card itself.
As for versions, their names consist of two parts: UHS generation (I or II) and class (1 or 3) — for example,
UHS-I Class 1. Actually, this is the most modest version of UHS found in modern memory cards; in addition to it,
UHS-I Class 3 and
UHS-II Class 3 are popular. The UHS generation determines the maximum data transfer rate (usually meaning read mode) — it is 104 MB / s for version I and 312 MB / s for version 2. “Class”, in turn, determines the lowest (guaranteed) write speed : it is at least 10 MB / s for Class 1 and at least 30 MB / s for Class 3. Different versions of UHS are quite compatible with each other, except that the speed in such cases will be limited by a slower standard.
Note that for UHS cards, other paragraphs may also indicate more advanced characteristics — for example, the video recording class (see below) V90 for a UHS-II Class 3 card. There are no
...contradictions here: the speed of 90 MB / s provided by such a card in write mode, fully satisfies the “at least 30 MB / s” condition provided for UHS Class 3.Application class
The application speed class that the memory card corresponds to.
When working with applications that use a memory card (for example, mobile games), information is written and read not in a continuous stream, as when recording video or copying data, but in separate small fragments, moreover, from random sections in the memory of the drive (the so-called random write / read). So a high video recording class (see above) does not always mean good performance when working with demanding games and other resource-intensive programs. Therefore, in the characteristics of memory cards, they began to separately indicate the speed class for applications.
The key indicator for assigning one or another class is the minimum number of IOPS (input / output operations per second) that the media can provide in random write and read mode. The following classes are relevant today:
—
A1 — at least 1500 IOPS for reading and 500 IOPS for writing;
—
A2 — at least 4000 IOPS and 2000 IOPS, respectively.
The speed of continuous recording (for example, when shooting video) in both cases must be at least 10 MB / s (often it turns out to be even more — see “Speed class”, “Video recording class”).
In the future, we can expect the appearance of new, more performant classes for applications. Also note that this parameter significantly affects the price of the card.
Read speed
The maximum speed of reading data from a memory card.
Any modern memory card provides sufficient reading speed for simple everyday tasks — like copying photos from a camera to a laptop. Therefore, it makes sense to pay attention to this parameter mainly in cases where the card is purchased for professional use, or if high speed is critical for you — for example, if you often have to copy photos from the camera in a hurry. In doing so, two points should be taken into account. Firstly, the corresponding speed must be supported by the card reader where the card is used. Secondly, this paragraph indicates the theoretical maximum — in perfect conditions; the actual reading speed may be lower (if we are talking about cards with UHS, this speed can be estimated by the UHS class, see above about it). Nevertheless, it is quite possible to compare different models of cards by this indicator: differences in theoretical speed usually quite correspond to the difference in actual speed.
Write speed
The maximum speed for writing data to a memory card.
High write speed is important for tasks that involve storing large amounts of data in a limited amount of time. However, note that this paragraph indicates the theoretical maximum speed for perfect conditions; in fact, this value can be noticeably lower. Therefore, the characteristics of memory cards also indicate the minimum guaranteed write speeds in different modes — the general speed class, the UHS class, the video recording class and/or the class for applications. All of them are described in more detail above. However, you can also evaluate the capabilities of the carrier by the overall speed: other things being equal, a card with a higher theoretical speed will work faster in fact.
As for specific values, speeds
from 4 MB / s and
from 6 MB / s are practically not found nowadays,
from 10 MB / s and from
16 MB / s can be called average indicators,
from 50 MB / s — above average, and the fastest models have a maximum write speed of
100 Mbps or more.
Adapter included
An additional
adapter is included with the memory card.
The adapter is a device with which the card can be installed in a non-native format card reader. Nowadays, microSD cards are mainly equipped with such a device — adapters are designed to install such media in a slot for a full-size SD card. This is convenient primarily for exchanging data between portable gadgets like a smartphone / tablet and larger equipment like PCs and laptops — for example, to copy pictures from a smartphone camera to a computer or music from a computer to a smartphone.
Card reader included
The presence
of its own card reader in the delivery set of the card.
Such a card reader is usually a miniature memory card reader connected to a computer via a USB port. When installed in such a device, the card actually turns into a USB flash drive and can be used even on those computers where there are no card readers — a free USB connector is enough.
