Lexar Professional 633x U3 256GB SDXC Memory Card Review

Introduction

Lexar Professional 633x SD cards were introduced in early 2015. Initially the cards had a maximum 45MB/s write speed and UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) for nearly all capacities. U3 rated cards sustain at least 30MB/s for recording HD and 4K video. By mid-2016 the 32, 64 and 128GB capacity cards were updated with a lower U1 speed rating and the maximum write speed quoted by Lexar was downgraded to 20MB/s. The U1 rating only guarantees 10MB/s continuous recording speed. The 256 and 512GB capacity cards still retain the U3 speed rating and 45MB/s write speed according to Lexar. All 633x cards are marked with a 95MB/s speed, which is the read speed only.

The current 633x cards with U3 rating are only offered in 256 and 512GB capacities (Lower capacity cards have U1 speed rating). The card tested for this review is the 256GB capacity SDXC card (LSD256CBNL633). The card is made in Korea.

Performance

The 256GB card was benchmarked in several card readers and the highest sequential read speed measured 96.7 MB/s. The highest sequential write speed was 69.3 MB/s, well above the 45 MB/s speed quoted by Lexar.

Card: Lexar Professional 633x U3 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

In camera tests, the Lexar 633x U3 256GB SDXC card averaged 52.7 MB/s write speed during continuous shooting in the Nikon D5600. More camera tests are being conducted and the results are added table below when available.

Cameras tested with this card: Canon EOS R, Canon 77D, Canon EOS M5, Canon Rebel T7i, Fuji X-T3, Nikon D7500, Nikon D5600, Nikon Coolpix P1000, Olympus E-M1 II, Panasonic GH5, Sony A9

The following table contains information encoded in the SD card.

Available sizes and prices

Compare prices on the Lexar Professional 633x U3 card. The lowest prices are highlighted in the table below. Prices are updated daily.