Which SDHC Class?

[MakerDad]

I'm thinking of getting a SDHC card for my Pilot to load up with videos, but I do not know which "class" to buy? Can I go with the cheaper Class 2 cards or do I need more expensive class 6 or class 8?


TIA

[CrowdAds]

[dhartsoc]

I went with a Class 4 card (4Gb) and at this point have not regretted the choice. Best I can tell it doesn't constrain performance.

Dana

[covertrussian]

Get class 6 ONLY. Anything slower will take longer for the MP3 player to boot up.

[dhartsoc]

I can't say I've noticed a delay with my Class 4 card but I suppose it depends on the number of files on the card. Mine is used for video so the number of files is much lower than if there was music on the card.

Originally Posted by covertrussian

Get class 6 ONLY. Anything slower will take longer for the MP3 player to boot up.

[MakerDad]

Thanks for the information. It's good to know that if I can get the class 4 at a much lower price, it will still work fine for video (which is what I want to use it for). I'm glad that I do not need to go with class 8.

At the moment, Amazon has less than $1 difference between the Kingston 8GB SDHC Class 4 and Class 6, so I will most likely go with the class 6.

[mattschuette]

As far as I know, the SD Card Association specified only three classes in the SD 2.0 spec (see http://www.sdcard.org/about/sdhc/). These are Class 2, 4 and 6, which correspond to 2, 4 and 6MB/s minimum write speeds. The cards often go faster, but I assume the SD Card Association stipulates that cards cannot go slower and still use the respective class rating.

The price difference is so subtle between classes 4 and 6 anymore, that I would just go with class 6. If you see a Class 8 card for sale, you can be sure it's not a standard card and may be junk.

If you really want something quick, SanDisk has Ultra II and Extreme III lines of SDHC cards that offer speeds well over 6MB/s... Looks like the Ultra IIs get Class 4 and the Extreme IIIs Class 6, probably because the 15MB/s and 20MB/s rated speeds are not guaranteed minimums but average or burst speeds. I just picked SanDisk because I know their products a little better... many of the reputable companies have higher-end cards with speeds well over 6MB/s. Look for cards designed for cameras or video recorders.

For the Pilot, unless you are doing a lot of recording or tons of transfers, you would probably want to be most concerned about the read speed. That would likely improve the startup times, but I've not done any testing at all.

[covertrussian]

I got this card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820208377

Full of music takes about 24 seconds to start.

It shouldn't be as bad with videos though

[MakerDad]

You've convinced me. I just ordered the same Transcend 16GB from Amazon. I was thinking of getting an 8GB + a separate USB adapter, but this is a nice package with both and has twice the memory.

[covertrussian]

haha sweet