Kingston 64GB MicroSDXC Class 10 (SDCX10/64GB) Memory Card Review

Price / Where to Buy:

US – Approx. $50 – Kingston 64GB MicroSDXC Card on Amazon

I’ve been stuck with an 8GB Class 4 microSD card for the almost 10 months I have been with my smartphone. Yes, I have plenty of internal storage at 11GB (supposedly 16GB) but as a fan of lossless music and managing many social media channels, I have come to rely on my smartphone as more than just making calls, SMS and emails. The level of content creation that my position demands plenty of storage as you can never know when that next viral video will happen. For today’s review we put the spotlight on the Kingston Digital 64GB MicroSDXC Class 10 Flash Card (SDCX10/64GB) to the test, a UHS-I Class 10 card which boasts 64GB of storage. Read on and see if the card could be your phone’s next upgrade.

FEATURES/BENEFITS

• Compliant  with the SD Card Association specification
• Versatile when combined with the adapter, can be used as a full-size SDHC/SDXC card
• Compatible with microSDHC & microSDXC host devices; not compatible with standard microSD-enabled devices/readers microSDXC cards are not compatible with microSDHC-enabled devices/readers

Specifications

• Capacities* 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
• microSDHC/SDXC card dimensions
  • 0.43″ x 0.59″ x 0.039″ (11mm x 15mm x 1mm)
• SD adapter dimensions
  • 0.94″ x 1.26″ x 0.08″ (24mm x 32mm x 2.1mm)
• High-speed class rating
  • Class 10 UHS-I: 10MB/s minimum data transfer rate
• Operating temperature -13°F to 185°F (-25°C to 85°C)
• Storage temperature -40°F to 185°F (-40°C to 85°C)
• Warranty/support lifetime warranty, free technical support

Closer Look

User Experience & Conclusion

Taking parts of our storage device testing suite, we will be measuring the potential performance of the Kingston SDCX10/64GB using ATTO Disk Benchmark and Crystal DiskMark as well as testing with our standard real-world miscellaneous files copy test (3.1GB of random files ranging from 1KB to 8MB with a couple of large files interspersed among the directories). For these tests we will be using Kingston’s MobileLite Gen 3 USB3.0 card reader.

Kingston makes no outright mention of the performance of its microSD products, except in the specsheet where it mentions the minimum write speeds that the cards can do. The Kingston SDCX10/64GB shows a 45.5MB/14.9MB per second read/write performance. Note that to meet Class 10 specification, a flash memory device should deliver at least 10MB/s write performance in most situations. The Kingston SDCX10/64GB delivers almost 15MB write performance at 64KB file sizes and upwards, which is usually the standard file sizes these cards will encounter giving us a good glimpse of what to expect from the microSD card. On to Crystal DiskMark:

We see the ATTO results echoed in these tests as well with sequential test results giving us the same 45/14.9 MBs of performance. Noticing the small 4K file performance, we still get great numbers but for the most part these can be ignored for this specific product. Now for actual real-world testing:

It took the Kingston SDCX10/64GB a total of 6 minutes and 14 seconds to accomplish our miscellaneous copy task. If this was a primary storage test, it would automatically be at the bottom of the charts but given its position that’s not the case. As a microSD card intended for portables that usually keep data ranging from 2MB onwards, these test in particular heavily stresses small file writes. What we do see though is the card still averages 8.6MB/s through the process maintaining a level of performance near its Class 10 specification outside of its intended application.

In further testing, we take our Sony Xperia Z and do some HD video captures and burst shots to see how the card performs in native phone usage. Comparing to the Kingmax SDHC 32GB, the Kingston SDCX10/64GB gives a more noticeable level of responsiveness during successive picture taking. Video recording is also quick and rapid, with the large capacity adding the obvious advantage of recording longer videos. Overall, the experience was smooth and gave our smartphone a more responsive feel when using the camera.

In closing, the Kingston Digital 64GB MicroSDXC Class 10 Flash Card (SDCX10/64GB) is an excellent choice if you’re after large capacity storage in your phone coupled with high performance. If you’re the kind that love to download a lot of images, videos, music and games in your smartphone, you’re probably the kind that expects much from their smart device. This need requires expanded storage that can keep up with all that content consumption and the Kingston SDCX10/64GB is there to keep you satisfied.

Price / Where to Buy:

US – Approx. $50 – Kingston 64GB MicroSDXC Card on Amazon

Backed by a lifetime warranty and with an impressive price tag, we award the Kingston Digital 64GB MicroSDXC Class 10 Flash Card (SDCX10/64GB) our B2G Silver Award and B2G Value Award.