SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s UHS-I U3 V30 256GB SDXC Card Review

Introduction

The Extreme 90MB/s UHS-I U3 V30 is an update to SanDisk's popular performance-level SD memory card. This edition of the card bears the new Video Speed Class V30 designation, meaning the card can sustain at least 30MB/s continuous video recording. It also has the UHS Speed Class U3 rating that also has the same minimum continuous write speed. The card supports up to 60MB/s maximum write speed according to SanDisk. SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s cards are available in 16, 32, 64, 128 and 256GB capacities. The 256GB SDXC card is tested in this review.

Performance

The SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s 256GB SDXC card was tested in multiple card readers. In benchmark tests the card reached a highest sequential read of 99.6 MB/s, an improvement over the older Extreme 80MB/s 256GB card at 83.0 MB/s sequential read. The highest sequential write speed observed was 65.2 MB/s, not quite as high as the 79.3 MB/s benchmark posted by the previous Extreme 80MB/s card, but still above the 60MB/s write speed advertised by SanDisk.

Card: SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s U3 V30 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 256GB Extreme 90MB/s V30 SDXC card averaged 57.1 MB/s write speed during continuous shooting in the Nikon D5600. The card will be tested in additional cameras and the results will be added to the 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 SanDisk Extreme 90MB/s card. The lowest prices are highlighted in the table below. Prices are updated daily.

The new Extreme 90MB/s cards have a "V30" rating. The old cards without the new speed rating are discontinued but may still be available from retailers.