yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
All Samsung cards were measured directly after taking them from their packages, i.e. as empty and new as they can be. The Sandisk card was otherwise just as new, but I took few test photos before running AndroBench. (I also later formatted the Sandisk in the phone, but results didn't really change.)
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] mojoehand:
With the recent price drop on Amazon ($45), I ordered two 256GB Samsung EVO Select cards. When they arrive, I'll run the same benchmark on my T-Mobile Note 9 and my WiFi Tab S4.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
I fought a valiant mental fight, lasted about a day... but lost it, to myself. Could not leave this task half done, so, I have 5 more various types of 128GB capacity on the way for more testing :P I should have them early next week. And going to buy one more locally.

Capacity of 128GB so that they are most comparable to the earlier ones, big enough to (usually) get the highest speeds of the same series, and yet cheap(?) enough to not break my budget. I also limited to name-brand types which have advertised A1 or A2 and high rates, but left one super-expensive type out. No Transcends, though, as it only has one that series that fit the requirements (300S-series), but that is apparently not yet available on amazon.de.

After I know which one seems to work the best with my phone, I'll perhaps order larger variants of the same type and test those, too. Depends on their prices.

P.S. I added exact product codes on the previous results, after I found Sandisk's website on their microSD cards (https://www.sandisk.com/home/memory-cards). I knew the ambiguity in that business was bad, but I didn't know it was that bad, borderline criminally misleading. Samsung has "Plus" vs. "+" variants in multiple name-lines, etc. And even different product codes for different regions (and separate codes for Amazon in some cases)!? It is so bad that most merchants I browsed through were selling at least one card type that was specified incorrectly or had some product data from a wrong variant with the same name (or not exactly the same name in case of "Plus" vs. "+").
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] mojoehand:
Here are the results for the two Samsung EVO Select 256 GB cards I just got. The first pic is from my Note 9, the second is from my Tab S4.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] Mr. Orange 645:
This is consistent with the speeds I got on my brand new 128GB EVO Select that I just received tonight.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
I would still like to know which SOC/CPU each one has. Might have an effect...
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
enxynos here.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] Da-BOSS:
It is on my signature :)
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
Yep, after I made that request for info, I started digging through any bits of info that could reveal it, like signatures, mentions of carrier, etc. I managed to get couple SOCs solved that way, but there are still 3 unknowns and 2 assumptions. I know the SOC for sure of 3, and my own, of course.

I have so far results of 7 my cards, and added 4 other Exynos results from here in the same table I'm collecting my results, (though Da-BOSS' results are not fully comparable due to the tweaks (-: ). 2+2 results of mine are those Evo Select/Plus things that should be essentially the same cards, i.e. put together I should say "5 of my cards". However my 128GB Evo Select may be a "monday piece", as so many measurements are giving significantly lower results than expected.

(Here's the google sheet with results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rs8S2yreJYYms6ik8NgoGagZ_6OKrU5bu1FotHJVz6g/edit?usp=sharing)

Total 8 more cards are on still their way, 5 of which should come tomorrow or tuesday, 3 more probably a week later. Once I measure those, based on the results and prices, I might order 1-3 more higher capacity versions.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] Da-BOSS:
I salute you the amazing effort that you did:good: it will surely help me in the future when I want to buy a higher capacity of MicroSD :) as 64gb that I have it for 5 years became soo old fashioned for todays standard:D
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
does the lexar 1000x have extraleads on the back like the adata v90? also when testing do you test in a micro to sd card adapter because i havint seen any readers that can tap in to those cards performance directly on the micro sd. you need to use the micro to sd adapter that came with it.( my adata had it and also has the extra leads on the adapter too)

i use the kingston uhs ii high speed reader

https://www.kingston.com/en/flash/readers/fcr-hs4

and only the sd card slot with the special adapter can run the adata premiere up to v90 specs.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
The results google sheet should have the details.

Both Lexar 1000x and Adata card are UHS-II (I've listed as U-II), and must have the extra connections (or otherwise it would be false marketing). And they both indeed have those connections.

For both of those cards, I measured first via the MobileLite G4 microSD slot (which is only UHS-I), and separately in the SD-slot (which supports UHS-II) with the UHS-II compatible SD-adapters that came with each card. The microSD slot results indicate what the cards could reach with UHS-I if the system is good enough otherwise. (The phone obviously isn't reaching the full potential of that interface, not even close.)
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
ok just checked your spread sheet. what are you using as a card reader on the PC? and what software are you benching with?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
The reader is mentioned in my previous reply, and the reader, software and its settings (where non-default) are in the google sheet (currently on row 42).

"and with Kingston MobileLite G4 on USB 3.0 (on my PC) on microSD UHS-I slot unless marked otherwise, CrystalDiskMark 6.0.2 (3 runs, 50MiB, defaults, random rates with 8/8 queue/threads)"

Oh, that has a small omission; I'm running the x64 version of it. Fixed.

I deliberately left the details of my PC out, as the purpose wasn't to try and make some kind of "standard" test, but to list enough information for others to have an idea how the measurements were made. And the reason I tested on PC at all was to try and find how good speeds I could get from each card, to confirm that the lower speeds on Note 9 were not caused by the cards, but the phone. That is, some kind of values for "the cards themselves can do at least this fast".

(If I wanted to get "good" measurements on the PC, I'd have done more runs on PC, too, and cleaned up the system from background software etc. Even without cleanup, background CPU load was only around 1%.)

The results for different cards are only comparable with each other on that sheet; not between my and someone else's system. For example, afaik, my USB 3.0 connection isn't the fastest (quite old motherboard), others might have newer and better stuff and get a bit higher results. YMMV...
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
guess i need a better pair of glasses i missed this info also.

thanks
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
Received Samsung Evo Plus 256GB and Kingston Canvas React 512GB, made the tests, and results are added to google sheet and commented on the earlier big reply.

(Only the Sandisk Ultra 400GB should still come "Soon(tm)", after that it will likely be a 1-3 months waiting for the last Lexar card.)
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] Emerald Core:
There is also a 400gb sandisk extreme microsd card
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
That particular Sandisk Extreme 400GB is something I just can't find available in shops I would consider buying from.

(EDIT: a second search trip found one quickly, and not totally expensive, but not really cheap, either. But 50€ cheaper than last time I found it, so now it could be considered...)

There are many cards, big and small, I didn't (and will likely not) test. E.g. all 4 different series of Sandisk cards I tested at 128GB have 400GB top models. Most of them are just way too expensive, as the price jumps up a lot. Some cards that I skipped I expected to not get good results, some are too expensive, and many of the 400/512GB variants are simply not available (yet), at least not without large bump in their prices. One particular card I was interested but was a bit pricey had a very nice bargain during the Black Friday week, but I didn't realize it was just one day discount and missed it.

From those 4 Sandisk 400GB models, Ultra was available at relatively cheap price, Extreme Pro at relatively expensive price. The two others I had hard time to find.

Of those cards that I tested, I listed all higher capacity variations advertised by the manufacturer on the "Extras" sheet, whether I could find them in shops or not. For example, Lexar High-Performance 633x 512GB has been announced like a month ago, but I could not find it in any of the usual shops. Even the 256GB variant is on a short supply.

Note also that many places that claim to sell one card type or another for cheap, are actually selling an older version of it (with lesser speeds). That was the big pain in hunting some of these cards (especially Samsung and Sandisk), to try and find out the exact model. Sometimes they nicely list the product codes, sometimes I had to look at product photos. Sometimes the product photos don't match the manufacturer's photos, even for a reputable shop like Amazon itself. This mix of older and newer models is why I have also included the exact product codes and manufacturer and shop links - so anyone can compare their own bargain findings to mine for double-checking the exact models.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] Emerald Core:
What's the best micro SD card which is large 400/512gb and fast ? Sandisk or Lexar?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
As you can see from those results, I have so far measured only one such large card, so I do not know what would be "best" even if your requirements were known. As the results show, the speeds can change from card size to next in the same series of cards, so I can not tell how good would those cards be that I haven't measured yet. One can only predict/estimate/guess based on the lower capacity results.

So, it depends what you need/want more: fast sequential speed (mostly video recording related) or high random access rates (apps on SD or processing lots of small files etc.). Though due to Note 9 limiting the highest video mode and burst photos to internal storage recording only, the requirements for microSD card's sequential speeds are actually somewhat low (any of the cards I have tested should manage well, at least in the begin with a fresh card). And if you look at my results, remember that they are for a Note 9 model with Exynos SoC; the Snapdragon versions may have different results, though typically better.

From the current data I have, If you look for "best", I can only say what you do NOT want. Skip Samsung's Evo Plus/Selects - that is when they get properly available. Those Samsungs don't seem to have especially good results in general, but they'd still work fine, even if not the best.

Edit: Note also that Lexar 633x 512GB seems to be mostly unavailable for now, so it won't be a choice until later.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
The last ordered cards (except the expensive and near unobtainium Lexar 256GB) have arrived, tested, and results have been added (to google sheet), and the family shot updated (in the earlier large message). Tab S3 results for the 400GB cards are missing because I seem to have "misplaced" the slot opening tool (and need to find it or dig up the Tab S3's tool). (EDIT: suddenly, it came to my mind that Tab S3 has magnetic spots under it, and the tool could have been caught by them... And sure enough, there the tool was, hiding attached to the tablet. So those test results to be added in a moment.)

I also added a reordered set of averages which show differences between capacity variants of the same series/type.

The bigger message: https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=78293826&postcount=64

The google sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rs8S2yreJYYms6ik8NgoGagZ_6OKrU5bu1FotHJVz6g/edit?usp=sharing
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] hayabusa1300cc:
Here's mine. Snapdragon.View attachment 4665948View attachment 4665949
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
Helps a lot if you could also tell the SoC of the phone (Snapdragon / Exynos), as they seem to have quite big differences.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] sullytrny:
From phone to SDx depending on the card I get 55-85mbs

From the SDx to the phone 225mbs. That's why the 512 version is the best way to go, nothing is faster than internal memory

Wifi Lan 5mbs
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
Managed to find a decently priced PNY Elite-X from EU (but only for 128GB model), so that got tested, and results added to the sheet and the earlier big message. In short, it is basically 20% cheaper Lexar High Performance 633x (although prices may have changed since, I didn't check). For links, see few replies earlier/above. (The main difference is that PNY advertises 100/-; Lexar 95/45; both actually reaching 90/65 on my PC setup.)

I won't be ordering PNY's 256GB version for testing, since I'd have to order it from USA, and it will likely be just the same as the already ordered (and now reordered) Lexar's 256GB. Price difference between them is also small.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
The Lexar 633x 256GB card arrived (Amazon's variant of it, judging from the product code) and got tested, results added to the big thread and in the google sheet. The random rates are lower than on the 128GB variant (even bigger difference on PC), except on the very first run, during which it gave the highest random read rate of all. Still, good results, but the price is high.

Makes it tempting to order and test the PNY 256GB card, too, if that one would keep the high random rates of the 128GB variant. Maybe some day. But for now, no more cards ordered or on the way.

Links:

The bigger message: https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=78293826&postcount=64

The google sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rs8S2yreJYYms6ik8NgoGagZ_6OKrU5bu1FotHJVz6g/edit?usp=sharing
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
Good news:

* I got the Samsung Evo 512GB and tested it. Results indicate it to be quite a good card.

* Seems the firmware updates after the earlier tests have improved the SD card interface rates. (EDIT: later findings seem to indicate that it was something else.)

Bad news:

* Most of the earlier results are thus no longer representative of the current state of Note 9 Exynos. (EDIT: I guess the results are somewhat unpredictable on long term.)

* I have to retest the cards ... (Did Kingston 512GB and Lexar 633x 128GB for an early peek.)

Longer version:

So, I got the Samsung Evo 512GB, tested it. Quite a step up in some values, so I decided to check if the firmware updates since the previous tests made some improvements and had part in the good results. At least the already slightly used Kingston 512GB got now much improved results, too, so it seems firmware updates may indeed have an effect. (EDIT: Apparently something else caused the better results.)

Therefore, I need to rerun all the tests on my Note 9 again (I still have most of the cards), though I'll do them once I have the courage to do the big update. I'll check few more cards before that, just to get an idea what to expect, and to have a comparison.. just in case the big update gives a regression. (E.g. Lexar 633x 128GB got quite a nice boost, too, only seq writes still being in the lower category.)

Anyway, Samsung 512GB, with the firmware version I am still using, gives quite nice read speeds, decent sequential write, and average random write.

So, most of the values in my sheet are no longer valid as is, though they should still be relatively comparable (except that Samsung 512GB which has no older results to compare with). Once I get them tested again, the numbers might be more representative of the current state of things.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
is your phone rooted?( i guess you are on Pie now?)

and that 512gb card, is it worth its price?

i remember telling myself to never buy an other samsung sd card again....

also are you formatting your cards before hand?

if so what block size and file system?

i use extfat 8192 bytes.( i have both huge size single files and small so i went for something in the middle for block size)

thanks for all your efforts!

it is well appreciated
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
Nope. No rooting, stock on ARL3 / 1st Dec security, afaik the last version before One/Pie (they skipped January here). That is why I mentioned that I'll do the bulk of retesting after I update to Pie. But I'll wait until they get over this real beta testing period ;)

Seems so. It has similar price to the Kingston Canvas React (per gigabyte), is faster in reads, a bit slower in sequential writes. Note though that my tests do not cover reliability, or how the performance degrades over more use.

(Edit: of course depends on the particular prices when buying. The Samsung card dropped a lot in price in one month... maybe Kingston will React (pun intended) with their pricing.)

Yeah, the lower capacity models of Evo seemed to be quite the disappointments. (At least the ones I got.) But I have to retest those smaller ones, maybe the performance issues on those were caused by issues in the previous firmware or something.

Nope, no formatting. I think they are all exfat by default, but no idea which block sizes in each. I did try formatting one card with the phone default stuff, but the results didn't change. So all cards were tested (almost) straight out of the package (except the new run with the Kingston, as it has been in use since then). And few cards got tested first on Tab S3, then on Note 9 (so not necessarily literally straight out of the package to Note 9 in every case, but close enough).
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
ok thanks for the input!
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
I retested bit more than half of the cards with the last non-Pie version (ARL3).

In short:

Overall, random read (IOPS) rates show the biggest improvements. Random write rates show the smallest improvements, except on cards that were already much faster than others, they are now even more faster. Relative performance differences between cards didn't change much, but the differences between versions are a bit different per card. Some values didn't change almost at all, while many got somewhat equal bumps up. Seems Adata's seq write speed decreased a tiny bit, but I only made one measurement with it, so it could have been a random thing.

The lower capacity Samsung Evo Plus look still like crap (relatively speaking), the two UHS-II cards are still dead-slow with random writes.

The firmware updates on Tab S3 (latest update is still on Dec 2018) didn't seem to change results, so I didn't retest more than few cards on that device.

Links:

The old bigger message: https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=78293826&postcount=64

The google sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rs8S2yreJYYms6ik8NgoGagZ_6OKrU5bu1FotHJVz6g/edit?usp=sharing
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
im eyeing this:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._sdux512u3100pro_ge_u3_pro_elite_microsd.html
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
looks likes deals galore;

https://bgr.com/2019/03/12/128gb-microsd-card-sale-on-amazon-samsung-sandisk/
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] pantypants:
try a faster card.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
the issue is the phone.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] 6thtry:
I decided to test one more of the previous cards, the PNY Elite-X 128GB, one of the fastest ones... But got pretty much the same old results. That was... odd... so I decided to retest the Lexar 633x 128GB, which gave the overall best results in the previous set of test runs (with the ARL3 firmware). And its results were now also back to earlier lower levels. And then the Samsung Evo Plus 512GB retests gave also lower results than before (but of course I have no results of that with the older firmware to compare to).

So, I guess the firmware upgrade didn't affect anything after all, and the observed increase in results was caused by something else. But I have no idea what, since I haven't really changed any significant settings etc. And I don't think ISP (finally) enabling the VoLTE would affect SD interface speeds back to the same old values.

At this point, I'd just say, hardware could do more, firmware is semi-unpredictable crap.

Maybe I should try running the tests in an ice bath... Naah, it needs to work properly in the warmth of hand, and I have run the tests while the phone lays over the table with free air below, too, so (over)heating should not be an issue here.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
you could do a freezer run.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] TheInfiniteAndroid:
First I would look to say thank you & good job on the comprehensive testing you have done..

I'm a little confused because you have said to avoid the Samsung Evo Plus/Selects however the 256gb version seems to compare very closely to the SanDisk Extreme Plus

The 128gb Extreme Plus a few posts back had this performance:

Read - 72.4

Write - 46.7

Read IOPS - 1,430

Write IOPS - 624

Then from the Google Doc spreadsheet the 256gb Evo Plus had this performance:

Read - 78.0

Write - 42.4

Read IOPS - 1,530

Write IOPS - 720

The 256gb Evo Plus matches if not exceeds the 128gb Extreme Plus from that information, no?

Or should I just avoid both of these completely?

They are both on Amazon currently on sale for £40 each..
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] TheInfiniteAndroid:
It's crazy you linked one specifically as that's the one I was looking at, so are you saying at this price it's worth it over the SanDisk?

This one specifically:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Extreme-microSDXC-Adapter-Performance/dp/B07FCMRBTM

With the current sale, the Extreme & Extreme Plus etc. Are all basically the same price, the Extreme Plus I linked about is £40

I believe the Samsung one you linked (the one in consideration) is a official one right? & The correct one?, Based off the SanDisk inconsistencies you mention above would you be able to recommend either or should I look for something else, any recommendations around the same price point would be great appreciated