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SanDisk Extreme 160MB/s UHS-I V30 A2 128GB microSDXC Memory Card Review
Introduction
SanDisk updated their Extreme SD cards with a new higher read speed and A2 performance. The new Extreme 160MB/s UHS-I microSD card offers up to 160MB/s read speed when used in SanDisk's own reader. When used in other UHS-I card readers or even older SanDisk readers its performance is lower. The A2 performance means the card will maintain at least 4,000 random read and 2,000 randrom write operations per second, making it ideal for use in smartphones, tablets and mobile devices for expanded storage. The card is also V30 performance rated to provide at least 30MB/s continuous write speed for 4K video recording.
Extreme 160MB/s V30 A2 microSD cards are available in 32, 64, 128, 256 and 400GB capacities. This review is for the 128GB capacity microSDXC card model SDSQXA1-128G-AN6MA with UPC 619659169664.
Performance
The Extreme 160MB/s A2 128GB microSD card was benchmarked in several card readers. SanDisk quotes a read speed up to 160MB/s read speed using their proprietary card reader, the SanDisk MobileMate USB 3.0 Reader (SDDR-B531). Indeed, the card reached its advertised speed in that reader, however when used in other card readers, including SanDisk's own, and UHS-II readers its performance was much lower. The highest sequential read speed reached up to 169.6 MB/s. In other readers however the card only achieved up to 99.3 MB/s. Sequential write speed measured up to 103.1 MB/s.
Card: SanDisk Extreme 160MB/s V30 A2 microSDXC 128GB
Benchmark: CrystalDiskMark 3.0.3 x64
Program settings: 1000 MB, 5 passes, random test data
Operating system: Windows 10 Pro
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H
Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.40GHz
RAM: 32GB DDR3 1600
| SanDisk Extreme 160MB/s V30 A2 microSDXC 128GB Card Reader Benchmarks | Seq. Read 1000MB MB/s | Seq. Write 1000MB MB/s | Rand. Read 512KB MB/s | Rand. Write 512KB MB/s | Rand. Read 4KB MB/s QD1 | Rand. Read 4KB IOPS QD1 | Rand. Write 4KB MB/s QD1 | Rand. Write 4KB IOPS QD1 | Rand. Read 4KB MB/s QD32 | Rand. Read 4KB IOPS QD32 | Rand. Write 4KB MB/s QD32 | Rand. Write 4KB IOPS QD32 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SanDisk MobileMate USB 3.0 Reader | 169.590 | 103.064 | 130.637 | 63.116 | 3.603 | 879.7 | 2.430 | 593.4 | 3.957 | 966.2 | 2.553 | 623.4 |
| Hama USB 3.0 UHS-II SD Card Reader | 99.278 | 87.352 | 90.972 | 56.384 | 5.651 | 1379.5 | 3.373 | 823.5 | 5.843 | 1426.6 | 3.372 | 823.2 |
| Sony S1 High Speed UHS-II Reader/Writer | 99.016 | 87.476 | 87.367 | 55.692 | 4.471 | 1091.5 | 2.444 | 596.7 | 4.894 | 1194.9 | 2.617 | 639.0 |
| SanDisk Extreme Pro SD UHS-II Reader/Writer | 98.988 | 87.280 | 86.803 | 55.591 | 3.854 | 940.9 | 2.523 | 616.1 | 4.014 | 980.0 | 2.642 | 645.1 |
| Delkin Black Rugged Card Reader | 98.894 | 87.586 | 87.178 | 55.965 | 4.422 | 1079.5 | 2.511 | 613.0 | 4.816 | 1175.9 | 2.683 | 655.0 |
| SanDisk Extreme Pro SD UHS-II USB-C Reader | 98.597 | 87.990 | 77.532 | 56.010 | 4.516 | 1102.5 | 2.488 | 607.5 | 4.758 | 1161.6 | 2.675 | 653.0 |
| SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II USB-C Reader SDDR-409 | 98.587 | 87.850 | 85.766 | 55.748 | 4.468 | 1090.8 | 2.515 | 613.9 | 4.769 | 1164.2 | 2.673 | 652.5 |
| Delkin Multi-Card CFast SD UHS-II microSD Reader | 97.833 | 88.353 | 90.786 | 57.082 | 5.666 | 1383.2 | 3.407 | 831.8 | 5.848 | 1427.7 | 3.382 | 825.6 |
| ProMaster Professional Dual Card Reader SD UHS-II | 97.788 | 88.376 | 81.649 | 56.643 | 5.711 | 1394.3 | 3.378 | 824.6 | 5.853 | 1429.0 | 3.415 | 833.7 |
| Kingston MobileLite G4 UHS-II | 97.615 | 88.197 | 90.740 | 56.857 | 5.687 | 1388.3 | 3.408 | 832.0 | 5.856 | 1429.8 | 3.412 | 833.1 |
| SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II SD Reader/Writer | 97.189 | 88.086 | 91.240 | 57.838 | 5.825 | 1422.2 | 3.397 | 829.3 | 5.879 | 1435.2 | 3.397 | 829.4 |
| Transcend Multi-Card Reader RDF8 Black | 96.447 | 88.682 | 71.820 | 56.532 | 5.349 | 1306.0 | 2.865 | 699.4 | 5.540 | 1352.6 | 3.078 | 751.4 |
| DriverGenius USB 3.1(G1) / 3.0 UHS-II SD Card Reader | 96.094 | 86.983 | 87.869 | 55.757 | 5.526 | 1349.2 | 2.855 | 697.1 | 5.575 | 1361.1 | 3.123 | 762.4 |
| SanDisk ImageMate Pro Multi-Card Reader/Writer | 95.874 | 85.396 | 84.898 | 55.462 | 4.329 | 1056.8 | 2.505 | 611.5 | 4.799 | 1171.6 | 2.595 | 633.5 |
| Verbatim USB-C Pocket Card Reader | 95.429 | 87.696 | 86.345 | 56.932 | 5.733 | 1399.6 | 2.899 | 707.7 | 5.584 | 1363.3 | 2.993 | 730.7 |
| Transcend SD Card Reader RDF5 Black | 95.169 | 87.813 | 87.481 | 56.624 | 4.600 | 1123.1 | 2.557 | 624.2 | 4.851 | 1184.4 | 2.669 | 651.7 |
The 128GB Extreme 160MB/s V30 A2 microSDXC card will be added to upcoming digital cameras tests. Write speed results will be added to the table below when available.
Cameras tested with this card:
The following table contains information encoded in the SD card.
| SanDisk Extreme 160MB/s V30 A2 microSDXC 128GB microSD — Internal Card Information | |
|---|---|
| Serial number (PSN) | 1914429677 |
| Product Name (PNM) | SN128 |
| Product Revision | 8.0 |
| Manufacturer ID (MID) | 0x000003 |
| OEM ID (OID) | SD |
| Manufacture Date (MDT) | 11/2018 |
| Total capacity | 127,865,454,592 bytes |
The internal card register shows this card was made November 2018. The Manufacturer ID 0x000003 and OEM ID "SD" indicate the card was made by SanDisk.