SanDisk 128 GB Format for Speed?

[JeffBusse]

I purchased on of the SanDisk 128gb SDXC which claim 30 mb write speed.
I'm only getting around 15 in the Surface Pro 2. Is there a best way to format this to get better speeds at writing?
It's great for read and that's whats important as I put all my music and videos on it but it just takes a bit to transfer over.


Surface Pro 2 i5 8gb 256gb
Type Cover 2
incipio feather case
SanDisk Ultra 128GB

 

[Jeffrey]

Welcome to the Forum. I believe the speed is limited to the speed the SD slot supports. The SP2 may not support 30mb.

 

[GoodBytes]

exFAT will give you the best performance as you don't carry all the extra stuff from NTFS.
Please note that exFAT format may not work on other devices. Windows Vista and up, no problem.

You must remember that write speed mentioned on the package is the absolute best the chip can get to under absolute ideal conditions. Not an average and real word results.

 

[andrew.zaitsev]

I'm format only NTFS

 

[benjitek]

I think the speed ratings are like smartphone battery life estimates, ambitious statements.

I have the SanDisk Extreme Plus 64 GB microSDHC Class 10 UHS-I Memory Card rated @ 80MB/s and my transfer speeds are typically between 55-60, without reformatting in something other than the way it came: exFAT

 

[be77solo]

SanDisk Ultra's are slow, you're getting about all it can do. I've got a 64gb and it writes the same as what you are seeing regardless of formatting I've tried.

By comparison, the Extreme Pro level cards are faster and get 50-70 writing like Benjitek mentioned... but they aren't available in 128gb yet and are usually about twice as expensive.

I have also had great luck with the Samsung Extreme cards for others curious, not quite as fast as the fastest SanDisk Extreme Pro but almost and totally stable and cheaper.

 

[Rvacha]

I can't speak for speed since I stopped using SD due to the high CPU issue, but I can say this - if your machine exhibits freezes/crashes I wouldn't touch anything other than NTFS, regardless of speed impact (if any). NTFS is the only format I have used/would ever use on an SP2

 

[JeffBusse]

Thanks for the info here, I'll check into the high CPU but I don't think its effecting me. Battery life is good, fans rarely run except for after effects or premiere rendering.

Great forum here, and thanks again, I guess I'm waiting for an extreme version, but till then this seems to work. I'm using exfat, but may run tests then switch to ntfs and see if there's any difference.

 

[benjitek]

...if your machine exhibits freezes/crashes I wouldn't touch anything other than NTFS, regardless of speed impact (if any). NTFS is the only format I have used/would ever use on an SP2

Maybe the freezes/crashes were a problem with the older 4200 CPU SP2's -- I've had my 4300 520GB SP2 for a couple months now and I've not experienced a single lockup -- had the exFat-formatted card inserted since day 1.

 

[be77solo]

Maybe the freezes/crashes were a problem with the older 4200 CPU SP2's -- I've had my 4300 520GB SP2 for a couple months now and I've not experienced a single lockup -- had the exFat-formatted card inserted since day 1.

Nah, exFAT works just fine on all the Surfaces, from my old Pro 1 to my original Pro 2 with 4200 and a replacement with 4300.... all worked the same, 100% reliable.

Only issue with SD cards and the Surface Pro 2 (both 4200 & 4300 cpu's) is an annoying random 20-30% CPU usage problem with System/System Interrupts... almost impossible to notice unless you keep Task Manager open all the time, which I do until this problem is fixed.

 

[javispedro]

almost impossible to notice unless you keep Task Manager open all the time

It also makes the SFPro hot to the touch, even if you've just been starting at the start screen.

 

[MCube74]

So exFat is better for Surface Pro 2 then NTFS and Fat32?

I have a Samsung 64GB MicroSDXC UHS-1 card rated at 70mb/s read and 20mb/s write.

Just wondering which file system do I format my MicroSDXC card?