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SanDisk Extreme 80MB/s UHS-I U3 128GB SDXC Card Review

SanDisk Extreme 80MB/s UHS-I U3 SDXC 128GB Memory Card

Note: The Extreme 80MB/s and Extreme 60MB/s cards are being replaced by a new Extreme 90MB/s line. The new cards are being tested and reviews with speed test results will be posted soon. Preliminary tests of the Extreme 90MB/s 128GB card indicate similar performance to this Extreme 80MB/s 128GB card.

Introduction

The Extreme is the entry level high-performance card from SanDisk. As of 2015, the Extreme line consisted of the Extreme 60MB/s, Extreme Plus 80MB/s and Extreme Pro 95MB/s. The Extreme has long been a popular choice when performance is desired at a reasonable price. In mid-2015, Sandisk introduced the Extreme 80MB/s in 128GB and 256GB capacities with 80MB/s read speed and 60MB/s write speed. These cards are positioned in the same line as the Extreme 60MB/s cards (60MB/s read and 40MB/s write speed) that are offered in 16, 32 and 64GB capacities since around mid-2014. The Extreme 80MB/s is rated the same as the the Extreme Plus 80MB/s cards, which were available before the Extreme 60MB/s line was introduced and at the time of this review (September 2015) the Extreme Plus 80MB/s are being sold in 16, 32, 64, and 128GB capacities.

The Extreme 128GB UHS-I U3 SDXC card tested for this review is suitable for both high-megapixel digital photography as well as high definition and high-definition video. The card carries the UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) designation that guarantees at least 30MB/s continuous write speed making them suitable for recording 4K video. SanDisk quotes the a maximum 60MB/s write speed. Visually, the card shares the gold label of the Extreme 60MB/s cards.

SanDisk Extreme 80MB/s UHS-I U3 SDXC 128GB Memory Card Back

Performance

In USB 3.0 card readers, the SanDisk Extreme 128GB SDXC card was tested with read and write speed benchmark tests. The highest sequential read speed measured 85.2 MB/s, comfortable above the 80MB/s speed on the label. Its sequential write speed measured as high as 80.4 MB/s. This is impressive considering SanDisk quotes the write speed at only 60MB/s. The 128GB card also performed slightly faster than the 256GB capacity card.

Card: SanDisk Extreme 80MB/s 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 80MB/s 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
Transcend Multi-Card Reader RDF8 Black85.15380.41277.71172.6388.6502111.93.250793.47.7201884.73.100756.9
Lexar LRWM04U-7000 UHS-II Reader85.15380.20381.25868.0348.6822119.62.929715.08.0351961.82.674652.8
Delkin Dual Slot SD UHS-II and CF Card Reader85.02979.77080.79267.7969.1982245.72.948719.68.1031978.22.679654.0
Transcend SD Card Reader RDF5 Black84.95380.22278.16167.8307.3161786.12.327568.16.2081515.52.188534.2
Kingston FCR-HS4 Card Reader84.87780.09980.79268.1018.7192128.72.928714.98.0651969.12.679654.1
Transcend Multi-Card Reader RDF984.86479.57080.21729.1608.8442159.32.938717.38.0941976.12.674652.8
Lexar Professional Dual Slot Reader84.73380.15477.68572.2218.6442110.53.687900.27.6801874.93.353818.6
Lexar Professional Dual Slot UHS-II Card Reader84.72779.25779.81928.8448.7602138.63.300805.67.8661920.53.154770.1
Kingston Multi-Card Reader FCR-HS384.61779.51660.23351.6798.9572186.72.952720.78.0111955.82.671652.2
SanDisk ImageMate All-In-One USB 3.084.53579.83173.32761.7725.5211347.92.129519.74.9581210.51.997487.7
Delkin Travel Reader84.49479.56477.91628.9388.6362108.42.937717.08.0721970.72.661649.7
Lexar Professional Workflow SR184.48179.89277.63468.1788.6962123.12.936716.87.7881901.42.684655.3
SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II SD Reader/Writer84.48179.50480.05767.5728.7402133.72.918712.58.0111955.82.657648.8
Delkin Universal Memory Card Reader84.48179.79478.09729.4259.1432232.22.684655.28.1251983.72.517614.5
Lexar Professional Workflow SR2 UHS-II84.46780.13681.25868.3679.0952220.42.923713.78.0421963.52.654648.0
Sony MRW-E90 XQD 2.0 / SD UHS-II Card Reader84.22379.09076.83267.1398.6002099.72.539620.08.1511990.02.467602.3
Kingston MobileLite G4 UHS-II84.20979.52280.00467.7628.7222129.42.933716.17.9871949.92.647646.2

In cameras the 128GB Extreme 80MB/s card offered very good performance. Among SD cards tested in the Canon 5Ds, this card performed similarly to the top-level UHS-I cards from Sony, Samsung and Transcend. It averaged 67.3MB/s during continuous shooting, which was only a few MB/s slower than the 71.7 MB/s average measured using the top-level 128GB SanDisk Extreme Pro. Additional camera write speed results are added to the table below when available.

SanDisk Extreme 80MB/s 128GB
Tested in Camera
Write Speed
(MB/s)
Canon 80D74.1
Nikon D50072.1
Canon 5D Mark IV71.9
Fuji X-Pro269.0
Canon 5Ds67.3
Fuji X-T1058.7
Olympus PEN-F41.0
Pentax K-3 II37.0
Sony A7R II36.1
Sony A630034.0

Cameras tested with this card: Canon 5D Mark IV, Canon 5Ds, Canon 80D, Fuji X-Pro2, Fuji X-T10, Nikon D500, Olympus PEN-F, Pentax K-3 II, Sony A7R II, Sony A6300

The following table contains information encoded in the SD card.

SanDisk Extreme 80MB/s 128GB SD — Internal Card Information
Serial number (PSN)6506783
Product Name (PNM)SE128
Product Revision8.0
Manufacturer ID (MID)0x000003
OEM ID (OID)SD
Manufacture Date (MDT)03/2015
Total capacity127,864,930,304 bytes

Available sizes and prices

Compare prices on the SanDisk Extreme 80MB/s card. The lowest prices are highlighted in the table below. Prices are updated daily.

CardSize
GB
Lowest
$ / GB
Prices
AmazonB&H PhotoAdorama
SanDisk Extreme 80MB/s128$0.13$16.99Check price
SanDisk Extreme 80MB/s256$0.62$159.84Check price