Camera Memory Speed
Memory Card Comparison & Performance Tests for Digital Cameras

Kingston 90/80 U3 UHS-I 256GB SDXC Speeed Class 3 Memory Card Review

Kingston UHS-I Speed Class 3 U3 90/80 MB/s 256GB SDXC Memory Card Front

Introduction

Kingston UHS-I Speed Class 3 memory cards are advertised with 90 MB/s read and 80MB/s write speeds. The UHS Speed Class 3 rating (U3) guarantees at least 30MB/s continuous write performance for recording 4K video. The 80MB/s write speed makes it ideal for continuous shooting photography for digital cameras. The Kingston UHS-I U3 card is available in 32, 64, 128 and 256 GB capacities and is backed by a lifetime warranty. The 256GB SDXC card SDA3/256GB with UPC 740617242133 is tested in this review. The card is assembed in Taiwan.

Kingston UHS-I Speed Class 3 U3 90/80 MB/s 256GB SDXC Memory Card Back

Performance

In benchmark testing the Kingston U3 256GB card exceeded the 90MB/s read speed rating. Its maximum sequential read benchmark was 98.5 MB/s sequential read speed. In card reader tests the highest sequential write speed was 87.7 MB/s. The card exhibited highest sequential write speeds when files were present on the card. Benchmarking an empty card resulted in slightly lower sequential write speed (approximately 10-12MB/s slower).

Card: Kingston U3 90/80 MB/s 256GB
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

Kingston U3 90/80 MB/s 256GB
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
Hama USB 3.0 UHS-II SD Card Reader98.51373.87582.8100.8419.2212251.31.039253.712.3963026.41.058258.3
Lexar Professional Workflow SR2 UHS-II98.49587.01282.8370.78811.3602773.31.337326.313.1163202.31.337326.3
Lexar LRWM04U-7000 UHS-II Reader98.48687.38182.9190.79111.3012759.11.308319.413.2673239.11.329324.4
Hama USB Type-C 3.1 UHS-II SD Card Reader98.15474.78182.8370.8959.8692409.41.121273.613.2253228.81.070261.2
SanDisk Extreme Pro SD UHS-II USB-C Reader98.05387.57181.5270.9507.0101711.41.141278.77.5511843.61.186289.6
Sony S1 High Speed UHS-II Reader/Writer98.04487.63781.4190.8436.8641675.81.118272.97.3751800.61.139278.1
SanDisk Extreme Pro SD UHS-II Reader/Writer98.03487.54981.7700.8956.9421694.81.144279.37.5221836.41.173286.4
SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II USB-C Reader SDDR-40997.94375.27581.5540.8446.7181640.20.940229.57.6171859.70.978238.8
Delkin Black Rugged Card Reader97.91587.26580.8450.9056.6071613.01.126274.87.0871730.21.170285.7
Delkin Dual Slot SD UHS-II and CF Card Reader97.31687.41882.7690.78811.2242740.31.313320.513.9993417.61.298316.9
Delkin Multi-Card CFast SD UHS-II microSD Reader96.97487.68182.8500.79011.1912732.11.291315.113.0143177.31.318321.7
Kingston MobileLite G4 UHS-II96.87587.22982.7820.79011.2392743.91.306318.813.5163299.91.310319.7
ProMaster Professional Dual Card Reader SD UHS-II96.78687.59382.7820.79112.0442940.41.321322.413.2733240.51.306318.9
Delkin Travel Reader96.69687.45482.2480.94311.2412744.41.310319.813.2893244.41.283313.3
SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II SD Reader/Writer96.67987.35282.8780.79311.1652725.81.325323.613.6063321.71.310319.9
Lexar Professional Dual Slot UHS-II Card Reader96.62587.21482.7140.93611.3372767.81.233301.012.6133079.31.260307.5
Transcend Multi-Card Reader RDF996.53687.25082.7690.78911.2822754.51.315321.013.1643214.01.311320.0
Kingston FCR-HS4 Card Reader96.37687.73282.7690.80412.2332986.71.324323.314.2313474.41.346328.6
DriverGenius USB 3.1(G1) / 3.0 UHS-II SD Card Reader96.23574.14682.0540.9898.1081979.51.001244.511.1972733.61.029251.2
Verbatim USB-C Pocket Card Reader95.64787.01281.4330.83110.8762655.21.190290.511.6992856.31.251305.5
SanDisk ImageMate Pro Multi-Card Reader/Writer95.05773.88079.3851.0806.2591528.10.851207.87.2021758.30.579141.3
Transcend SD Card Reader RDF5 Black94.81786.49581.2980.8396.9411694.51.138277.77.3201787.11.124274.3
SanDisk ImageMate All-In-One USB 3.094.05183.90075.3880.8265.2671285.91.083264.35.4751336.61.092266.5
Sony MRW-E90 XQD 2.0 / SD UHS-II Card Reader93.05884.61079.6210.79110.0962464.81.244303.711.8192885.61.204293.9
Delkin Universal Memory Card Reader85.41778.74674.3670.7909.8402402.41.213296.111.1002709.91.228299.7
Transcend Multi-Card Reader RDF8 Black85.34078.62774.4160.7919.6892365.41.196291.911.3672775.21.221298.2

In cameras the 256GB U3 card provided performance among the top UHS-I cards. Write speeds in cameras can be seen in the table below.

Kingston U3 90/80 MB/s 256GB
Tested in Camera
Write Speed
(MB/s)
Sony A978.1
Nikon D750077.7
Canon EOS R74.8
Fuji X-T372.0
Nikon Coolpix P100030.6

Cameras tested with this card: Canon EOS R, Fuji X-T3, Nikon D7500, Nikon Coolpix P1000, Sony A9

The following table contains information encoded in the SD card.

Kingston U3 90/80 MB/s 256GB SD — Internal Card Information
Serial number (PSN)5900066
Product Name (PNM)SD256
Product Revision3.0
Manufacturer ID (MID)0x000041
OEM ID (OID)42
Manufacture Date (MDT)06/2016
Total capacity256,490,078,208 bytes

Available sizes and prices

Compare prices on the Kingston UHS-I Speed Class 3 SD card. The lowest prices are highlighted in the table below. Prices are updated daily.

CardSize
GB
Lowest
$ / GB
Prices
AmazonB&H PhotoAdorama
Kingston UHS-I Speed Class 3 SD32$2.19$69.95Check priceCheck price
Kingston UHS-I Speed Class 3 SD64$0.93$59.40Check priceCheck price
Kingston UHS-I Speed Class 3 SD128$0.39$49.28Check priceCheck price
Kingston UHS-I Speed Class 3 SD256$0.56$144.00Check priceCheck price