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Sony MRW-E90 XQD 2.0 SD UHS-II Card Reader Review

Sony MRW-E90 XQD 2.0 SD UHS-II Card Reader

Introduction

The Sony XQD 2.0 SD UHS-II Card Reader (MRW-E90) reads both XQD and SD cards. It supports XQD 1.0 and 2.0 cards. SD support includes standard SD, SDHC and SDXC including UHS-I and UHS-II.

The Sony reader case is made of grey plastic . The card slots are recessed on the of the reader, each with its own red LED access light. The lights are rather dim and can be difficult to see. The reader measures about 4 x 2 x 1/2 inch There is a USB 3.0 Micro-B port on the back of the reader and a short 20-inch USB 3.0 cable is included.

Both XQD and SD card slots provide a push-to-eject function. When a card is flush inserted it is nearly flush with the front of the reader. Pressing it will release it about 1/4 inch.

Sony MRW-E90 XQD 2.0 SD UHS-II Card Reader bottom

There are no feet or pads on the bottom of the reader so it will slide around on a surface. The reader tested is marked "Made in China." The Sony MRW-E90 has a 1 year warranty. Supported operating systems include Windows 7 (SP1), Windows 8, 8.1 and Windows 10, as well as Mac OS X 10.8, 10.9, 10.10 and 10.11.

Sony MRW-E90 XQD 2.0 SD UHS-II Card Reader side

Performance

The Sony MRW-E90 provides very fast speeds for reading XQD cards. Write speeds were somewhat limited compared with the speeds measured in XQD devices. The highest read speed was with the updated Sony G-Series 440MB/s (read speed) card, which measured a 349.5 MB/s benchmark. UHS-II cards provided up to 249.7 MB/s sequential read speeds. While UHS-I cards provide read speeds up to 93.5MB/s, just slightly below those of the fastest SD card readers. Since it supports both XQD 2.0 and UHS-II SD cards, this reader is an excellent companion for cameras such as the Nikon D500 that use both card types.

Since the reader has no microSD slot, microSD cards were tested in an adapter, and UHS-II microSD cards were tested using a UHS-II SD to microSD adapter.

Reader: Sony MRW-E90 XQD 2.0 / SD UHS-II Card Reader
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

Sony MRW-E90 XQD 2.0 / SD UHS-II Card Reader
Card Benchmarks
TypeSequential
Read
(MB/s)
Sequential
Write
(MB/s)
Sony G-Series 440MB/s XQD 64GBXQD349.467206.474
Lexar Professional 2933x XQD 64GBXQD318.426121.998
Sony G-Series 400MB/s XQD 64GBXQD315.598130.177
Sony M-Series XQD 32GBXQD298.35739.829
Sony M-Series XQD 64GBXQD289.14362.094
Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II 64GBSD249.661238.992
Transcend Ultimate UHS-II U3 64GBSD248.802169.453
Sony M Series UHS-II 128GBSD248.00892.663
Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II Rev E 64GBSD247.685227.704
Hoodman Steel UHS-II 64GBSD247.306180.992
Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II Rev E 32GBSD246.666228.722
SanDisk Extreme Pro 300MB/s UHS-II 128GBSD246.116203.055
Sony SF-G 300MB/s UHS-II 32GBSD245.885220.405
SanDisk Extreme Pro 300MB/s UHS-II 32GBSD245.138202.800
Toshiba Exceria Pro UHS-II 32GBSD244.994211.087
Sony SF-G 300MB/s UHS-II 64GBSD244.224222.651
Lexar Professional 1800x microSD UHS-II 64GBmicroSD244.110204.560
Toshiba Exceria Pro N502 64GBSD243.543221.125
Sony SF-G 300MB/s UHS-II 128GBSD243.402221.312
Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II Rev B 128GBSD242.389200.973
Sony M Series UHS-II 32GBSD240.720114.286
AData Premier One UHS-II V90 256GBSD239.812212.176
Transcend 700S UHS-II V90 64GBSD239.538201.185
ProGrade 250MB/s UHS-II V90 64GBSD239.428221.944
Angelbird AV Pro V90 64GBSD239.237221.382
Adata Premier One UHS-II V90 64GBSD239.046220.081
Lexar Professional 1800x microSD UHS-II 128GBmicroSD238.964105.863
Delkin 1900x UHS-II 32GBSD238.69250.944
Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II 32GBSD238.232221.569
Verbatim Pro II Plus UHS-II V90 64GBSD237.288209.631
Delkin Power 2000x UHS-II V90 64GBSD237.208199.368
Integral UltimaPro X2 UHS-II V90 64GBSD236.886213.494
Delkin Power UHS-II V90 128GBSD236.779198.293
Transcend Ultimate UHS-II U3 32GBSD236.592173.980
Lexar Professional 1800x microSD UHS-II 32GBmicroSD236.352208.402
Sony Tough UHS-II 64GBSD235.927215.623
Sony M Series UHS-II 64GBSD235.39799.504
Panasonic MicroP2 UHS-II 32GBSD233.22449.925
SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II 275MB/s microSDXC 64GBmicroSD232.758105.906
Delkin Prime UHS-II V60 64GBSD232.47492.860
SanDisk Extreme Pro 280MB/s UHS-II 32GBSD230.786189.428
Sony S-Series 168MB/s XQD 32GBXQD198.125150.183
Lexar Professional 1400x XQD 64GBXQD193.876157.491
ProGrade 200MB/s UHS-II V60 64GBSD166.309108.156
Lexar Professional 1000x UHS-II Rev C 64GBSD166.25689.385
Angelbird AV Pro V60 64GBSD165.599109.603
Lexar Professional 1000x UHS-II 256GBSD156.50492.827
Lexar Professional 1000x UHS-II Rev C 128GBSD155.34590.912
Lexar Professional 1000x UHS-II 32GBSD154.27083.752
Lexar Professional 1000x UHS-II Rev B 32GBSD153.30184.590
Lexar Professional 1000x microSD UHS-II 32GBmicroSD151.94652.996
Lexar Professional 1000x UHS-II 128GBSD151.50683.659
Lexar Professional 1000x UHS-II microSD 64GBmicroSD151.20153.685
Lexar Professional 1000x UHS-II microSD 128GBmicroSD143.18958.985
Lexar Professional 1000x UHS-II 64GBSD136.40982.898
SanDisk Extreme Plus 100MB/s A1 microSDXC 64GBmicroSD94.11987.622
SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s U3 V30 64GBSD94.01754.221
SanDisk Ultra 80MB/s microSD 128GBmicroSD94.00150.690
SanDisk Extreme Plus 95/90 MB/s U3 V30 microSDHC 32GBmicroSD93.95087.163
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s U3 V30 256GBSD93.92587.901
SanDisk Ultra 80MB/s microSD 64GBmicroSD93.90820.396
SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s U3 V30 32GBSD93.85853.589
SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s U3 V30 128GBSD93.82466.048
Kingston Canvas React V30 64GBSD93.82479.776
SanDisk Extreme 100MB/s A1 microSDHC 32GBmicroSD93.79071.371
Kingston Canvas React V30 256GBSD93.78278.935
Kingston Canvas Go! V30 256GBSD93.78278.492
Kingston Canvas React V30 128GBSD93.73279.293
SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s U3 V30 microSDXC 64GBmicroSD93.69870.664
SanDisk Extreme Plus 100MB/s A1 microSDXC 128GBmicroSD93.69886.659
SanDisk Extreme Plus 90MB/s U3 V30 64GBSD93.66565.828
SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s U3 V30 256GBSD93.66565.036
SanDisk Extreme Plus 95/90 MB/s U3 V30 microSDXC 128GBmicroSD93.66586.345
SanDisk Extreme Plus 95/90 MB/s U3 V30 microSDXC 64GBmicroSD93.64088.042
SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s U3 V30 microSDXC 128GBmicroSD93.64064.000
SanDisk Extreme 100MB/s A1 microSDXC 128GBmicroSD93.60664.141
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s U3 V30 128GBSD93.59888.138
SanDisk Extreme 100MB/s A1 microSDXC 64GBmicroSD93.58971.658
SanDisk Extreme Plus 90MB/s U3 V30 32GBSD93.57366.657
SanDisk Extreme Pro 170MB/s 128GBSD93.56485.528
AgfaPhoto Professional 64GBSD93.55688.368
Patriot EP Series V30 A1 microSDXC 128GBmicroSD93.54879.108
SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s U3 V30 microSDHC 32GBmicroSD93.51470.087
SanDisk Ultra 80MB/s 128GBSD93.48939.426
SanDisk Extreme Plus 150MB/s 64GBSD93.47385.361
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s U3 V30 64GBSD93.46487.462
SanDisk Extreme Plus 80MB/s 64GBSD93.45660.978
SanDisk Ultra Plus V10 A1 microSDXC 128GBmicroSD93.43162.223
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s U3 V30 32GBSD93.40687.033
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s microSDXC 64GBmicroSD93.39887.703
SanDisk Extreme Plus 95/90 MB/s microSD 32GBmicroSD93.38187.725
SanDisk Ultra 80MB/s 32GB Card 2SD93.38120.697
SanDisk Extreme Plus 90MB/s 64GBSD93.38170.459
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s 64GBSD93.37387.857
SanDisk Extreme Plus 95/90 MB/s microSD 64GBmicroSD93.36487.798
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s U3 32GBSD93.36488.130
SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s microSDHC 32GBmicroSD93.34848.683
SanDisk Extreme 150MB/s 64GBSD93.29866.614
SanDisk Extreme Plus 150MB/s 128GBSD93.29885.139
SanDisk Extreme 150MB/s 128GBSD93.28184.802
SanDisk Extreme Plus 100MB/s A1 microSDHC 32GBmicroSD93.27387.294
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s microSDHC 32GBmicroSD93.26587.440
SanDisk Extreme Plus 90MB/s 32GBSD93.25672.356
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s 256GBSD93.24887.828
SanDisk Extreme Pro 170MB/s 256GBSD93.24885.202
SanDisk Extreme 150MB 256GBSD93.24085.084
SanDisk Extreme V30 A2 microSDXC 400GBmicroSD93.24084.877
SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s U3 64GBSD93.22349.823
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s 32GBSD93.21587.688
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s 128GBSD93.19887.403
SanDisk Extreme Plus 80MB/s 32GBSD93.15761.500
Samsung PRO Select microSDXC 64GBmicroSD93.14984.795
SanDisk Extreme Pro 170MB/s 64GBSD93.14184.802
SanDisk Extreme V30 A2 microSDXC 256GBmicroSD93.13284.974
SanDisk Extreme Plus V30 A2 microSDXC 128GBmicroSD93.10784.481
Lexar Professional 633x U1 128GBSD93.10728.976
SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s U3 32GBSD93.08349.070
Kingston U3 90/80 MB/s 256GBSD93.05884.610
Sony Ultra-High Durability Professional 64GBSD93.03374.372
Toshiba Exceria Pro N401 95/75 MB/s 128GBSD92.93476.077
SanDisk Extreme Pro 300MB/s UHS-II 64GBSD92.93483.987
Patriot EP Pro 90MB/s 64GBSD92.92641.027
Toshiba Exceria Pro N401 95/75 MB/s 128GBSD92.90975.628
Polaroid Extreme Performance 95/90 MB/s 64GBSD92.81180.295
Verbatim Pro Plus V30 64GBSD92.78679.971
Kingston Canvas Go! V30 64GBSD92.77080.437
Kingston U3 90/80 MB/s 128GBSD92.74580.474
Toshiba FlashAir W-04 64GBSD92.68876.238
Panasonic Gold 95/90 64GBSD92.68884.081
Sony 94MB/s 32GBSD92.66364.441
Transcend 500S V30 64GBSD92.63067.541
PNY Pro Elite microSDXC 64GBmicroSD92.62284.352
Lexar Professional 633x U1 64GBSD92.61428.811
Patriot EP PRO microSDXC 64GBmicroSD92.61483.994
Lexar Professional 633x U3 256GBSD92.60667.909
SanDisk Ultra 80MB/s 32GBSD92.58942.897
Kingston U3 (90/80) microSD 64GBmicroSD92.58183.672
Toshiba Exceria UHS-I Class 3 32GBSD92.56561.245
Kingston U3 90/80 MB/s 64GBSD92.54984.981
Transcend 500S 64GB Card 2SD92.53267.545
Transcend 95/60 MB/s U3 256GBSD92.50867.737
Kingston U3 90/80 MB/s 32GBSD92.50885.050
Kingston Class 10 UHS-I 64GBSD92.49179.837
Samsung PRO Plus 32GBSD92.46784.216
Transcend 500S V30 128GBSD92.46767.572
PNY Elite-X microSDHC 32GBmicroSD92.44375.857
PNY Turbo Performance microSDXC 64GBmicroSD92.43458.803
PNY Elite microSDXC 128GBmicroSD92.43428.517
Lexar Professional 633x U3 128GBSD92.43466.797
Patriot EP Pro 128GBSD92.42641.789
Lexar Professional 633x microSDXC 64GBmicroSD92.41828.163
Transcend 600x 128GBSD92.40268.382
Lexar Professional 633x U1 32GBSD92.35322.337
Silicon Power Superior Pro 128GBSD92.34559.693
Lexar Professional 633x U3 64GBSD92.34566.903
Samsung PRO U3 32GBSD92.32078.007
PNY Turbo Performance U3 microSD 32GBmicroSD92.32056.938
Samsung EVO Select microSDXC 256GBmicroSD92.32084.007
Transcend Ultimate 633x microSD 64GBmicroSD92.30484.672
PNY Elite-X microSDXC 64GBmicroSD92.27271.820
Transcend 95/85 MB/s U3 32GBSD92.25584.454
Patriot EP Series microSDXC 64GBmicroSD92.25585.949
PNY Elite Performance U3 256GBSD92.25554.739
Transcend 95/60 MB/s U3 64GBSD92.24766.277
Samsung PRO Select microSDXC 64GBmicroSD92.24784.027
Transcend R95 W85 U3 64GBSD92.23979.210
Toshiba Exceria UHS-I Class 3 64GBSD92.23960.395
Transcend 95/60 MB/s U3 128GBSD92.23166.980
PNY Elite Performance U1 64GBSD92.20765.222
PNY Elite Performance U3 128GBSD92.19966.526
PNY Elite Performance U1 32GBSD92.19138.414
Transcend 600x 32GBSD92.19139.264
Patriot EP Pro 90MB/s 32GBSD92.18347.271
Gobe Magic 104MB/s 32GBSD92.17483.859
PNY Pro Elite 64GBSD92.15883.366
Lexar Professional 633x U3 32GBSD92.07748.516
Gobe Magic 104MB/s 64GBSD92.02984.638
Sony 95MB/s U3 64GBSD92.02184.386
Transcend 633x microSDHC 32GBmicroSD91.98884.352
PNY Elite Performance U3 64GBSD91.98067.532
Transcend 600x 64GBSD91.98065.741
Samsung EVO Select microSDXC 64GBmicroSD91.91625.621
Sony 95MB/s U3 32GBSD91.89283.102
Samsung PRO Plus microSDXC 64GBmicroSD91.78783.579
Samsung PRO Plus 64GBSD91.77982.911
Samsung PRO 64GBSD91.77181.882
Samsung PRO U3 64GBSD91.77177.667
Kingston U3 (90/80) microSD 32GBmicroSD91.75583.115
Samsung PRO microSDXC 64GBmicroSD91.75577.552
Delkin Elite 633x 32GBSD91.68378.510
SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s microSDXC 64GBmicroSD91.63543.555
Samsung PRO 32GBSD91.59580.493
Samsung PRO Plus microSDXC 128GBmicroSD91.53140.406
Kingston Ultimate 32GBSD91.48346.397
Delkin Black 32GBSD91.44377.892
Panasonic Gold Series 32GBSD90.75443.189
SanDisk Ultra 90MB/s microSD 200GBmicroSD90.69218.159
Kingston Canvas Select 64GBSD90.05323.774
Lexar Professional 633x microSDXC 200GBmicroSD89.86836.255
Samsung PRO Select microSDXC 128GBmicroSD89.77583.260
Samsung PRO Plus microSDXC 128GBmicroSD89.42382.267
Kingston Class 10 256GBSD89.29447.613
Samsung EVO Plus 128GB microSDXCmicroSD86.53022.739
SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s U3 128GBSD85.43878.334
Lexar Professional 633x microSDXC 128GBmicroSD84.48121.517
SanDisk Extreme 80MB/s 128GBSD84.22379.090
SanDisk Ultra 80MB/s microSD 32GBmicroSD82.56517.180
SanDisk Extreme 80MB/s 256GBSD82.10678.965
SanDisk Ultra 80MB/s 64GBSD81.96515.375
Samsung EVO Select microSDXC 128GBmicroSD79.61222.273
SanDisk Extreme 60MB/s 32GBSD75.51955.110
SanDisk Extreme 60MB/s 64GBSD70.97952.476
PNY Elite microSDXC 64GBmicroSD69.09924.509
SanDisk Extreme U3 microSD 64GBmicroSD68.01956.068
SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s 32GB Card 2SD46.52519.914
SanDisk Ultra 40MB/s 64GBSD46.37315.708
Samsung EVO microSDXC 64GBmicroSD46.32123.500
Samsung EVO microSD 32GBmicroSD46.29724.465
Samsung EVO 64GBSD46.27823.766
Samsung EVO 32GBSD45.92419.818
Toshiba NFC 16GBSD37.88913.112
Sony MRW-E90 XQD 2.0 SD UHS-II Card Reader Package Sony MRW-E90 XQD 2.0 SD UHS-II Card Reader Package back

Compare prices on the Sony MRW-E90 XQD 2.0 / SD UHS-II Card Reader reader. The lowest prices are highlighted in the table below.

Card ReaderConnectionModel NumberPrices
AmazonB&H PhotoAdorama
Sony MRW-E90 XQD 2.0 / SD UHS-II Card ReaderUSB 3.0MRW-E90/BC2$79.99Check price$69.95