Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II U3 64GB SD Memory Card Review

Introduction

Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II cards offer up to 300MB/s transfer speed. The cards are backwards compatible with UHS-I and standard SD devices, but the highest performance requires using a camera or card reader with UHS-II interface. The cards are UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) rated to support 4K Ultra High Definition video recording. Lexar 2000x SD cards are available in 32GB and 64GB capacities. The 2000x 32GB version was reviewed previously. The 64GB SDXC card is tested in this review.

The back of the card reveals how a UHS-II card differs from a standard SD card. A second row of contacts provides a high speed interface that operates up to 312MB/s bus speed. In SD devices that do not support the UHS-II interface, the card will operate at lower speed. It supports the highest UHS-I mode SDR104 at up to 104MB/s bus speed.

Lexar includes a UHS-II card reader with the 2000x SD cards. The reader uses USB 3.0 and offers very high transfer rates. A separate review for the LRMW04U-7000 reader is available.

Performance

To test the 300MB/s write speed claim, the Lexar 2000x 64GB SDXC card was tested in a variety of card readers. A highest benchmark of 292.2 MB/s sequential read was reached in the included reader. This was very close to the 300MB/s read rating. Sequential write speed reached up to 265.8 MB/s in the included reader, and 267.0 MB/s write in the Lexar SR2 reader. In UHS-I SD card readers the card reverts to UHS-I speeds and supports up to SDR104. Its maximum benchmark at UHS-I speed was 94.2 MB/s read and 93.3 MB/s write in the Lexar LRW300U Dual-slot Reader.

Card: Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II 64GB
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

The 2000x 64GB card will be tested in upcoming digital cameras tests. The results will be added to the table below. Also see the 32GB version performance. In cameras that do not support UHS-II, the card reverts to lower speed and will be limited to UHS-I speed at best (see UHS-I reader benchmarks).

Cameras tested with this card: Canon EOS R, Canon 5D Mark IV, Canon 77D, Canon 80D, Canon EOS M5, Canon Rebel T7i, Fuji X-T3, Fuji X-Pro2, Fuji X-T10, Nikon D500, Nikon D7500, Nikon D5600, Nikon Coolpix P1000, Olympus E-M1 II, Olympus PEN-F, Panasonic GH5, Sony A7R II, Sony A9, Sony A6300

The following table contains information encoded in the SD card.

The card tested has a production date of January 2015. Lexar Professional series memory cards are backed by a lifetime warranty. The card tested was made in Korea.

Recommendation

Lexar 2000x UHS-II cards offer the fastest combination of read and write speeds of all SD cards tested to date. When speed matters, Lexar 2000x cards deliver. These cards are best suited for UHS-II card readers where the 300MB/s read speed can be experienced, such as when downloading images or video. Current cameras, even the short list of UHS-II cameras, can not take advantage of the full write speed this card is capable of providing. But the card also supports the fastest UHS-I mode when used in devices that do not support UHS-II. Want the fastest SD card available in highest capacity? This is the one.

Available sizes and prices

Compare prices on the Lexar Professional 2000x card. The lowest prices are highlighted in the table below. Prices are updated daily.