SanDisk Extreme 60MB/s 32GB SDHC UHS-I U3 Memory Card

Introduction

The SanDisk Extreme 60MB/s is the latest version of the popular Extreme line. It offers a speed boost over the previous Extreme 45MB/s version. The card is advertised as 60MB/s read and 40MB/s write speed and displays the UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) designation. This means the card is capable of a minimum 30MB/s continuous write speed for HD video applications including 4K video recording. This is not to be confused with the older Speed Class designation which this card also has — Class 10 for supporting at least 10MB/s read and write speeds. If all this nomenclature is too confusing, see the explanation by the SD Association.

Performance

We test the SanDisk Extreme 60MB/s UHS-I U3 32GB SDHC card and compare how it stacks up against the older Extreme 45MB/s card. We put the card through our collection of USB 3.0 SD card readers (currently eight) and every one surpassed 75MB/s read speed, with the hightest result of 75.682 MB/s sequential read in the Kingston Multi-Card Reader FCR-HS3. Write speed was similarly above advertised, averaging 55MB/s sequential write in card readers. This puts the write performance of the new Extreme 60MB/s close to Extreme Plus 80MB/s, which averaged 60MB/s write speed in our card reader tests. However the Extreme Plus still holds an advantage; we tested the Extreme Plus above 95MB/s read speed.

Card: SanDisk Extreme 60MB/s 32GB
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

We put the new Extreme 60MB/s through camera tests and its actual performance is an upgrade over the previous card even though its claimed write speed is lower (40 MB/s write vs 45MB/s of the old Extreme). It reached 47.8MB/s actual write speed in the Canon 7D Mark II. It should prove to be a popular card among photographers looking for a quality card with good performance at a reasonable price. For those looking for a faster card, the Extreme Plus 80MB/s and Extreme Pro 95MB/s are also available from SanDisk.

Cameras tested with this card: Canon 5D Mark IV, Canon 5Ds, Canon 6D, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon 70D, Canon 80D, Canon Rebel T6i/T6s, Fuji X-Pro2, Fuji X-T10, Nikon D500, Nikon D750, Nikon D7200, Nikon D7100, Nikon D5500, Olympus E-M5 II, Olympus PEN-F, Pentax K-3 II, Samsung NX1, Sony A7R II, Sony A6000, Sony A6300

The following table contains information encoded in the SD card.

Available sizes and prices

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