What type of micro SD card for large amount of write cycles?

[tfe]

The Dash Cam I use will record all the time when driving and probably when standing still too.
That results in a massive load of videos and therefore a massive writing onto the micro SD card.

Should I get a specific type of micro SD card, one that can handle more writing to each storage sector before it corrupts?
Do these have a specific designation/name/ technology branding?

 

[Mtz]

Normally you should buy a card from High Endurance series. The technology used is MLC but I saw this thing written only on Viofo cards.

As normal cards some time ago Transcend were very recommended cards but today I see so many designs of Transcend cards (not High Endurance) which confuses me.: black, grey, red, gold, etc. To buy a Samsung Evo is much easy compared to a Transcend.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[DT MI]

Also, keep in mind the size of the card is a factor in determining usable life. All else being equal a 64GB card will (theoretically) last twice as long as a 32GB because each cell gets written 1/2 as much, 128GB = 4 times as long, 256GB = 8 times as long, etc.

 

[Mtz]

Also in theory I can say that after the card is full, because only the oldest video is erased, will be no difference if the card is small or big.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[Nigel]

Normally you should buy a card from High Endurance series. The technology used is MLC but I saw this thing written only on Viofo cards.

Yes, there are not many MLC cards available now, the Viofo ones seem good.

Samsung Pro Endurance will give a similar number number of write cycles before wearing out, not sure it is real MLC though, I think it may get it's long life by playing tricks with VNAND (3D) memory, but it is also good.

Those are limited to 128GB though, if you choose a Samsung Evo Plus/Select 256GB then you only get half the write cycles per cell because it is cheaper memory but there are twice as many cells, so maybe it has a similar number of writes per card and your loop recording takes twice as long to loop. I guess the Viofo MLC and Samsung Pro probably still last 50% longer, but there is no way to be sure without many years of testing, and the result will be out of date before we get it.

Most of the other endurance cards, such as Sandisk, don't seem to have long lives, based on their specified write cycles!

 

[DT MI]

Also in theory I can say that after the card is full, because only the oldest video is erased, will be no difference if the card is small or big.

enjoy,
Mtz

Yes there will be a difference. The life of a card is based on the total number of write cycles for a given memory cell. If a 32GB card will hold 4 hours of video it means the entire card will get overwritten every 4 hours. A 64GB card will hold 8 hours of video so will get overwritten once every 8 hours, thus it will take twice as long for the card to reach it's end of life based on the number of write cycles it experiences.