MLC MicroSD Cards

[parklawn]

The only thing that has piqued my interest in this whole discussion thus far has been the reference to the Mars bar.

 

[reverend]

Here's a battered Mars bar as seen in various fish and chip shops across the UK!!

 

[parklawn]

We had them here a while back. Didn't catch on though.

 

[Yooshaw]

@Yooshaw I never mentioned SLC as it's getting rare in microSD cards these days and is hard to get hold of in the UK but that is the most reliable type available and used to have 10 times the write cycle capability of MLC. It's only available in the smaller sizes though and I've got to admit I do prefer using a larger card which is why I went down the MLC route. Also if you look at some of the speeds of the SLC cards some are not great - look at the Delkin Industrial range for example. I've no idea about the speeds of the Panasonic ones as there aren't a massive amount of figures out there.

In theory, if you've got a 64GB MLC card that should last about half as long as the SLC card would. In practice like Nigel said without physically testing multiple cards of the same type we just have to guess a lot of the time.

TLC is also known as 3 bit MLC and in reality SLC > MLC > TLC.

Not sure where you read about TLC being more reliable than MLC but that's wrong - maybe it's in that EETimes link but it's not working from here.

@Nigel I did find an SD card destruction tool which I'm going to sacrifice a couple of my cards to and see how long it takes to kill them

I totally agree with the compatibility thing - it's a pain in the arse having to keep trying different cards but on the plus side now I have a selection it makes testing any awkward cameras a bit easier.

The Mini 0806 for example worked with everything I threw at it and that's great as far as I'm concerned

I am starting to wonder if some of the cheaper cards actually do have decent wear levelling and ECC etc as the speed some are failing at is suggesting they don't!

Thanks for the explanation Reverend, appreciate it!

 

[reverend]

The SLC stuff is a really good point though mate, it does feel like there's a massive shift over to cheap TLC at the moment as they're all cost driven, to be honest I've got TLC cards here that have been fine for six months plus but we seem to see worrying time times when loads of cards keep flipping to read only.

The Transcend Premium 300x cards seem to be the brand doing it at the moment - 12 to 18 months ago it was more Sandisk Ultra cards doing it.

It will be another brand doing it soon - it's a right pain in the ass

 

[reverend]

The Lexar 633x 64GB cards are on Amazon Lightning deals as of 14:30 today in the UK if anyone wants to try and get a bargain!

 

[reverend]

I don't know if any of you managed to get them from the Amazon Lightning deal but they were £25.99 which was a bargain!

 

[Nigel]

I don't know if any of you managed to get them from the Amazon Lightning deal but they were £25.99 which was a bargain!

Samsung Pro MLC 64GB for even less: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291421534821 - an even bigger bargan

(This is a hard thread to find! A search for "MLC" doesn't work like most three letter word searches and it is in "General Discussion" instead of the "Memory" or "Components" sub forum, can something be done...)

 

[jokiin]

Samsung Pro MLC 64GB for even less: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291421534821 - an even bigger bargan

(This is a hard thread to find! A search for "MLC" doesn't work like most three letter word searches and it is in "General Discussion" instead of the "Memory" or "Components" sub forum, can something be done...)

use Google to do a site search when looking for anything 3 letter and you'll have much better success

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Are there many MLC 128GB microSD cards out there?

 

[Nigel]

Are there many MLC 128GB microSD cards out there?

The Lexar 633 is available in 128GB but I'm not convinced that the 128GB version is genuine MLC with the corresponding extended lifetime... Twice the capacity will result in double the lifetime anyway in loop recording.

 

[Noodle]

Hi Folks,
This 128Gb Lexar card caught my eye as being both large and the right tech and so I checked with an online chat representative from Lexar. Answer wasn't positive I'm afraid:

"Unfortunately, I found out that it is possible for our memory to be manufactured with TLC technology. I apologize for the bad news"

I was asking specifically about the 128Gb 633x Lexar card, but I fear it could be applicable to any card. I've bought a couple of Samsung EVOs for Panorama X2, Let's see how long they last...

 

[reverend]

Yeah it's strange - Lexar UK refused to say either way to me as they said it's an industry secret, but in Korea they're actually marketed by Lexar as MLC, or at least the 64GB one is.

Maybe they just can't make the 128GB small enough or they're changing them out as they get popular to save costs and increase profit - unfortunately this is the sort of thing that happens when they put the bean counters in charge

It would be so much easier as a consumer if they were more transparent about stuff like this for sure.

 

[Nigel]

Maybe they just can't make the 128GB small enough or they're changing them out as they get popular to save costs and increase profit - unfortunately this is the sort of thing that happens when they put the bean counters in charge

I think they can't fit 128GB of MLC in a micro SD card so make it out of TLC knowing that twice the size will generally last twice as long anyway. Having got a few reviews of the smaller cards to mention them being MLC they then keep quiet and refuse to say what they actually are.

At least Samsung make it clear, their Pro card simply isn't available in 128GB.

 

[reverend]

I just spotted a review of the 128GB Lexar card and although the review still says it's an MLC card the write speed is half that of the 64GB card across the board.

http://ourberries.com/2015/04/23/reviewed-lexar-high-performance-uhs-i-633x-microsdxc-128gb/
http://ourberries.com/2014/11/18/reviewed-lexar-high-performance-uhs-633x-microsd-64gb/

It looks like all bets are off with the 128GB cards - in their Samsung Evo 128GB review they also mention that there have been reports of that card melting when doing prolonged data transfers - looks like we'll be hearing of issues when they're used in hot environments with dashcams soon then.

http://ourberries.com/2015/05/05/reviewed-samsung-evo-microsd-128gb/

 

[Deleted member 11048]

Does anyone know if the 'EU' version of the Lexar High-Performance UHS-I cards [300x] (64GB) is also MLC as the part number is slightly different to the one mentioned by reverend at the start of this post, LSDMI64GBBNL300A vs LSDMI64GB1EU300A ??

As shown here: http://www.mymemory.co.uk/Micro-SDX...rmance-Micro-SDXC-UHS-I-U1-Card-300x---45MB_s for £14.28 delivered.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Are the Lexar 1000x cards also MLC? (same/better longevity as 633x?)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00U77V5IW

 

[In the Hoos]

I ran a Matego MG600G for six weeks (continuous,24h/day), for motion detector surveillance, and it fills this transcend 64GB card every 9 days in a loop; 1043 ~one minute videos. I have good results with it so far; no errors. So I add it to your list.

Transcend 64 GB MicroSDXC Class 10 UHS-I/U3 95 Mb/S MLC [TS64GUSDU3]

As manufacturers are producing cheaper microSD cards there is a move to cheaper TLC memory (also known as 3 bit
MLC) which although can work short term may not last as long as expected and results in warranty RMAs where possible from the vendor / manufacturer.
...

Barun Electronic’s Gold Flash PRO (64GB) MLC
Memorette (memento) Standard premium (8GB) MLC
Lexar High-Performance UHS-I cards [300x] (64GB) MLC [LSDMI64GBBNL300A]
Lexar High-Performance UHS-I 633x MicroSD (64GB) MLC [LSDMI64GBBNL633R]
Samsung PRO [New 2014 Series] (64GB) MLC [MB-MG64DA]
Sony High-Speed R95 UHS-3 (64GB) MLC [SR64UXA]
PNY Turbo Performance High Speed MicroSD (64GB) MLC [P-SDUX64U190-GE]
Transcend Ultimate 600x UHS-1 (32GB) MLC [TS32GUSDHC10U1]

Please add any more cards that are confirmed MLC to this list!

 

[Chokaay]

The Lexar 633x 64GB cards are on Amazon Lightning deals as of 14:30 today in the UK if anyone wants to try and get a bargain!

I don't know if any of you managed to get them from the Amazon Lightning deal but they were £25.99 which was a bargain!

Are there many MLC 128GB microSD cards out there?

The Lexar 633 is available in 128GB but I'm not convinced that the 128GB version is genuine MLC with the corresponding extended lifetime... Twice the capacity will result in double the lifetime anyway in loop recording.

Just wanted to comment that this is a GREAT microSDXC card (much better than Sandisk IMO). I have 5 running in 5 different Street Guardian SC9665GC dash cams without any issues for 8 months now (California weather, very hot summer days, cold nights). Holds between 1-3 months worth of footage depending on your time on the road. At USD$42.99 (reg street price USD$57.95) it's a no-brainer!

Just remember to re-format your microSDXC card into FAT32 first before using in your Street Guardian SC9665GC. To do it on your computer, you can use one of these apps:

FAT32 Format: http://www.pendriveapps.com/format-fat32-larger-than-32gb/
FAT32 Formatter: http://tokiwa.qee.jp/EN/Fat32Formatter/index.html

 

[Chokaay]

Are the Lexar 1000x cards also MLC? (same/better longevity as 633x?)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00U77V5IW

For double the price of the 633X? I don't know about longevity, but unless you need the increased write speeds (i.e. recording 4K, 60fps) then I would get the 633X or wait for a price drop.