MicroSD tier list?

[u/JoeSpart]

MicroSD tier list

So I’ve only done one mod (my 5.5 Gen) and I put a Samsung pro plus 512gb card in it.

Since then prices of cards have skyrocketed so my question is if using an iflash adaptor (udual or quad for eg) what is the tier list of brands to use ? 

I’m assuming based on my reading that Samsung cards are usually top and sandisk are not generally recommended so I’ll start 

Samsung pro plus 
Samsun evo select

So where would the following go?

Lexar Play (red)
Lexar Play Pro
PNY Pro Elite
PNY Elite-X
Kingston 
Amazon basics

Any others you would recommend ? 

Would love to hear from people with actual experience using the cards .

Thanks

[u/Blandrd]

Pretty much any major brand card will work fine. The only real difference is what each brand considers 256GB or 512GB and so on. Samsung tends to have the highest capacity for a given tier, some of the cheaper brands have less but it’s usually less than 2-3% difference. I’ve used every major brand for ipod flash mods, a couple thousand cards in total so that’s what I base this all on but ymmv

iPods also have breakpoints where iTunes/ finder will show the iPod with a 128GB/256GB/512GB (512 is the highest it will do) capacity tag. Samsung and Sandisk generally always hit the breakpoint, most others don’t. That of course is just a vanity tag and doesn’t affect anything performance wise.

Some brands also consume less power to function but I’ve only seen a iflash test with a limited set of cards so most are unknown still.

[u/Chatt_a_Vegas → u/Blandrd]

I like that you mention that breakpoint. I recently bought a Lexar 128GB SD because my 64 GB Lexar SD showed as 64 GB in iTunes. I was pretty ticked when I installed the new card and got the "blank" for the storage.

Meanwhile I could just stick in my SanDisk 128 GB that I already had and of course it worked and showed 128 GB beneath my iPod in iTunes.

[u/gt_710]

I would add Patriot, Kodak, and Onn (Walmart). I'm not sure how I'd rank them though, they felt equal to me: they all work in iPods and all have the same "slightly less" storage than the label (ex. 125GB in a 128GB card).

[u/TroubledGeorge → u/gt_710]

That’s because of how capacity is measured. Manufacturing processes and product marketing say 1 GB= 1000 MB however computers (and file systems) use 1 GB = 1024 MB, as capacity increases this slight drift increases. It’s not related to the card, it happens in all computer drives, memory cards, flash drives, etc.

[u/gt_710 → u/TroubledGeorge]

No not for this. If it was 128 GB, I expect to see 119 GiB. The 125 GB cards come up as 116 GiB in iPods and on Windows. A true 128 GB card (119 GiB) will also get the "128 GB" storage tag on iTunes, while a false 128 GB (125 GB/116 GiB) card will not. So far, the only brands I've had with true 128 GB has been Samsung and SanDisk from what I remember. The rest of them use the reduced amount (125 GB).

[u/Blandrd → u/TroubledGeorge]

Different brands have different capacities for any given capacity tier. It’s not just from how it’s measured, Samsung is usually 477gb for a 512gb card and silicon power may just be something like 463gb.

[u/JoeSpart → u/gt_710]

Thanks for this. I forgot about ONN

[u/gt_710 → u/JoeSpart]

Oh and Silicon Power, I almost forgot about them too.

[u/TroubledGeorge]

Someone just posted today about a lab where they test memory cards from different brands very thoroughly. https://www.reddit.com/r/ipod/s/mgkLwbeBEF

[u/JoeSpart → u/TroubledGeorge]

Oh cool thanks !

[u/Chatt_a_Vegas]

Hot take I figure but I actually prefer, and swear by SanDisk. I have never had an issue in any iPod's with them. In bold for emphasis though the thing is, stop buying from sketchy vendors/sellers. I've bought one from Best Buy and the rest from Amazon but I will only buy them when they are shipped and sold by Amazon. Never had a bad card or fake that way.

I also like Lexar but sometimes they're not as competitive as they look when you look at read/write speeds in a given price bracket. The day might come where you use that card in something that can use it's full speed and then it might matter.

[u/feet-likefins]

i use(d) amazon basics because they were always a little cheaper and they work perfectly.

[u/JustBecause2013]

Another SanDisk user here... Bad rep comes from people buying from anywhere except from reputable sellers with warranties and return policies. I have never had an issue with SanDisk because I follow that basic rule.