What is the recommended file format for SD cards ?

[vhelp]

And also, what are the benefits for each format ? you know.. like use exFAT for when you are... and NTFS when... and so on.
And, what should I set the "Allocation unit size" to ? (4096bytes 8192bytes 16kb 32kb 64kb)

I see there are options for:

NTFS    C: drive*   32GB SD   USB3 1TB ext HDD* 
FAT32               32GB SD*
exFAT               32GB SD   USB3 1TB ext HDD 

* is the current setting of the storage device.

I currently have a 32GB sd card in addition to my 32GB Asus Notebook T100, but don't know the type or speed of the card I added, so I picked up a few extra 32GB sd cards and wanted to make the best setting for each when I insert them.

Also, what speed is the built-in 32GB SD card in my notebook ? Is there any way to know ?

Both new 32GB are by Pixtor.
48MB/s -- High performance microSDHC UHS-I card with adapter, for smartphones; tablets; cameras and camcorders.
80MB/s -- Advanced performance microSDHC UHS-I card with adapter, enhanced speeds for smartphones; tablets; cameras and camcorders, 4k Ultra HD

[nic2k4]

That depends on the devices you're planning to insert the cards into. If the card is never going to be used in anything else than your T100, then NTFS should be your first choice. On the other hand, if the card might end up in a device that only works with FAT, you should use FAT unless you want to copy files over to a different card every time you want to share something with another device. exFAT is nice in principle, but is not supported on many devices.

Here's a nice little rundown on the three file formats. Although the newer versions of Windows are better at properly formatting flash memory you should still use SD Formatter. I had a good link that explained how Windows didn't properly align sectors, but I can't find it, this guy has a short explanation of it (go down to data alignment).

[Cornucopia]

SD and SDHC cards (<=32GB) by default use FAT32, though they can be reformatted to other Filesystems.
SDXC (>=64GB) uses exFAT by default, and while it is possible to reformat to other FSes, exFAT is supposed to be mandatory and many devices won't work with other non-default FSes.
+1 on using the official SDcard association's SD Formatter for best compatibility.

If you don't have files bigger than 4GB each contiguous, and don't need other features like fault tolerance, security, or multiple forks/streams, use FAT32. Use exFAT for SDXC, unless otherwise directed. Use NTFS for everything else (unless you're on a Mac - maybe use HFS+).

Scott

[redwudz]

I have a 64GB micro SDXC card formatted to Ex-Fat. Works very well with my Mobius camera and stores about 7 hours HD video.
I have other SD and micro SDHC cards formatted to FAT 32 and they also work well, though I only use smaller files on them.
A couple of cards also use NTFS for compatibility with some of my PCs.

Strangely enough, I haven't seen any of them download/upload at any blazing speed, no matter what format they are using. Most seem to be operating at USB 1.0 speeds.
Maybe that's just my controllers, but I seem to get much better performance with USB 3.0 thumb drives. Maybe the SD cards are a bit behind the times.

[Cornucopia]

It's partly your cards & your controllers. But they aren't superfast, it's true.

But their main point is convenience. UBS flash drives include their own "controller" so they cannot fit into small cameras or phones.

For very high speed R/W with video, you'd use SxS, CFast, SSDs or similar.

Scott

[SameSelf]

exFAT is the default file structure for SDHC cards and mandatory for SDXC. I can't think of a reason why you would want to format your SD cards as anything other than that. FAT32 is old as the hills and sucks cuz of the 4 GB file size limit which is why cams that use FAT32 have to break up video files into multiple files (who wants to deal with that headache in this modern era?). NTFS is optimized for hard drives and journaling, encryption, and other high overhead stuff like that. AUS only really matters for when files grow and shrink, like an MSOffice file for example, to avoid fragmenting. Although there is a small tradeoff for very small AUS due to MFT complexity when using hdd, doubtful it even matters for solid state. Don't know what you are using your SD cards for, but when capturing video, the files are gargantuan compared to the AUS. Just go with the default or pick the largest. But either way, I don't think you would even be able to tell the difference. If your not sure, why not run some tests and find out for yourself? Only takes a few seconds to format an SD card.

FWIW, I have a 64 GB microSDXC card in my phone formatted as exFAT with default 4096 kb AUS and capture FHD video on my phone without hiccups. But I ingest into my PC via the microUSB on my phone versus constantly taking the card out.

[usually_quiet]

Also, what speed is the built-in 32GB SD card in my notebook ? Is there any way to know ?

Your notebook has a 32GB SSD not an SD card. It is probably a mini card with an mSATA interface that installs directly in a special slot on the motherboard. Your owners manual or product sheet may tell you how fast it is. Otherwise there are benchmark tests for SSDs.

[SameSelf]

Your notebook has a 32GB SSD not an SD card. It is probably a mini card with an mSATA interface that installs directly in a special slot on the motherboard.

Source please. I haven't seen any tear downs of the T100, but according to specs, it is flash storage, not an ssd. SSDs are still reserved for only high end laptops and tablets. It's a bifurcation of the market that is annoying, but can work to your advantage if you know how to replace a hard drive. Tablets are another story however.

[usually_quiet]

Your notebook has a 32GB SSD not an SD card. It is probably a mini card with an mSATA interface that installs directly in a special slot on the motherboard.

Source please. I haven't seen any tear downs of the T100, but according to specs, it is flash storage, not an ssd. SSDs are still reserved for only high end laptops and tablets. It's a bifurcation of the market that is annoying, but can work to your advantage if you know how to replace a hard drive. Tablets are another story however.

He has an ASUS Transformer Book T100, not a standard tablet. https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/372263-Whats-the-recommended-imager-for-a-portable-...=1#post2394038

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834232207

[SameSelf]

let's keep it civil u_q

[Cornucopia]

@SameSelf, exFAT is NOT the default FS for SDHC. Only for SDXC. Look it up (they're shipped that way).
Most devices that recognize SDHC but not SDXC do NOT support exFAT, only FAT32. And that's a LOT of devices.

Scott

[SameSelf]

@SameSelf, exFAT is NOT the default FS for SDHC. Only for SDXC. Look it up (they're shipped that way).
Most devices that recognize SDHC but not SDXC do NOT support exFAT, only FAT32. And that's a LOT of devices.

Scott

Most devices don't support USB 3.0 either but it hasn't stopped me from swapping out my USB 2.0 devices for USB 3.0. I assumed since the OP was asking about exFAT he has the ability to look forward and not worry about supporting legacy devices.

I have a 64 GB microSDXC card in my phone formatted as exFAT

[usually_quiet]

I assumed since the OP was asking about exFAT he has the ability to look forward and not worry about supporting legacy devices.

We don't actually know at this point if vhelp is only using SD cards to provide auxiliary storage for his tablet/laptop and doesn't need to use them to transfer files to or from legacy devices.

[Cornucopia]

@SameSelf, exFAT is NOT the default FS for SDHC. Only for SDXC. Look it up (they're shipped that way).
Most devices that recognize SDHC but not SDXC do NOT support exFAT, only FAT32. And that's a LOT of devices.

Scott

Most devices don't support USB 3.0 either but it hasn't stopped me from swapping out my USB 2.0 devices for USB 3.0. I assumed since the OP was asking about exFAT he has the ability to look forward and not worry about supporting legacy devices.

I have a 64 GB microSDXC card in my phone formatted as exFAT

Red herring - USB3.0 devices are backwards compatible with v2.0. Apples & oranges.

Again, exFAT is the default for SDXC, FAT32 is the default for SDHC. Your phone's card is using the default (as it probably should).
Legacy compatibility should always be considered in the mix when deciding on format options, unless one has complete control over the interacting devices (or unless you don't interact with ANY other devices, but that's a minority).

Scott

[SameSelf]

Who cares what the default is? If I have a file bigger than 4 GB FAT32 is a no go, end of story.

[newpball]

Who cares what the default is? If I have a file bigger than 4 GB FAT32 is a no go, end of story.

Indeed it is not an issue for those who look forward but at the same time we have to deal with idiotic standards and people who insist on keeping FAT32 for another 6 gazillion decades of so.

2015 and we still have to deal with 4GB file limits.

Pretty sad state of affairs.

[Cornucopia]

There you go again with "idotic" this, "sad state of affairs" BS and "gazillion" that! Do you even have anything HELPFUL to say to the OP?

Scott

[newpball]

Sure, avoid the old formats wherever possible!

[nic2k4]

... we have to deal with idiotic standards and people who insist on keeping FAT32 for another 6 gazillion decades of so.

2015 and we still have to deal with 4GB file limits.

Pretty sad state of affairs.

You can blame the wonderful patent system and corporate greed for that. I'm actually surprised they chose exFAT for SDXC. There are so many open source file systems available, some specifically designed for flash memory, why would they allow themselves to be at the mercy of MS. Just remember an MBA trumps an engineer every time.

[newpball]

I'm actually surprised they chose exFAT for SDXC.

No surprises here, after all, syndicates will be syndicates!

[Cornucopia]

I don't have a problem with exFAT, or any other FS, even if it is promulgated by a corporation (or "syndicate") in and of itself. Problem I have is with it not being an open standard that cannot be implemented without $$ licensing (and thereby excluding lots of opensource stuff & people).

UDF might have been good (except for maybe fault tolerance).

**********

So, @newpball, you seem to be advocating that all users who have legacy equipment (TVs, phones, cameras, recorders, media players...) throw out all their stuff and upgrade ($$$) to appease your legacy-phobia?

Scott

[newpball]

Problem I have is with it not being an open standard that cannot be implemented without $$ licensing (and thereby excluding lots of opensource stuff & people).

I share that sentiment.

We live in a society where a "one click order" can be patented by Amazon, and rounded corners can be patented by Apple:

http://qz.com/25613/apples-new-patent-on-rounded-corners-isnt-even-the-worlds-most-absurd-patent/

It's - yes that word again - idiotic!

Here is some more utter idiocy:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2039282/10-tech-patents-that-should-have-been-rejected.html

[vhelp]

Thank you everyone for your views and opinions.

I assumed since the OP was asking about exFAT he has the ability to look forward and not worry about supporting legacy devices.

We don't actually know at this point if vhelp is only using SD cards to provide auxiliary storage for his tablet/laptop and doesn't need to use them to transfer files to or from legacy devices.

I still have not decided which way to go: SD or USB external. I have a dedicated brand new usb3 1TB external hdd, cigarette-pack size.

It seems the usb route gives faster performance (throughput) but would be extra weight to carry (and worry about) in my computer bag. And the SD card just seems more practical. I will have to test the SD cards to see what their throughput is, and which explains why I was posting here about it--if others have already done this, I was hoping for their insights and advise so I wouldn't have to do all the testing myself. But it seems that I will have to do it anyway. If it is satisfactory, I may look for a larger SD card (64/128/512GB, or 1TB though these are much more expansive) and install that into the Asus Notebook T100 and install all the "program files" software on the external SD card moving forward. And, I don't plan on making 4GB files. At least not in the video capture sense (since that is one of my regular hobbies, but so is video editing and encoding and that can go past 4GB in some cases but i don't see it planned for this T100).

[usually_quiet]

Thank you everyone for your views and opinions.

I assumed since the OP was asking about exFAT he has the ability to look forward and not worry about supporting legacy devices.

We don't actually know at this point if vhelp is only using SD cards to provide auxiliary storage for his tablet/laptop and doesn't need to use them to transfer files to or from legacy devices.

I still have not decided which way to go: SD or USB external. I have a dedicated brand new usb3 1TB external hdd, cigarette-pack size.

It seems the usb route gives faster performance (throughput) but would be extra weight to carry (and worry about) in my computer bag. And the SD card just seems more practical. I will have to test the SD cards to see what their throughput is, and which explains why I was posting here about it--if others have already done this, I was hoping for their insights and advise so I wouldn't have to do all the testing myself. But it seems that I will have to do it anyway. If it is satisfactory, I may look for a larger SD card (64/128/512GB, or 1TB though these are much more expansive) and install that into the Asus Notebook T100 and install all the "program files" software on the external SD card moving forward. And, I don't plan on making 4GB files. At least not in the video capture sense (since that is one of my regular hobbies, but so is video editing and encoding and that can go past 4GB in some cases but i don't see it planned for this T100).

Solid state storage solutions (SSD, SD card, or flash drives) consume less power than a USB-powered HDD, which means that when you are running the ASUS Transformer solely on battery power, an SD card would also extend your work time. So, you are correct that except for the cost per GB, an SD card would be more practical for your purposes than an external HDD. Your Transformer might also have been bundled with some free cloud storage space for a year, but I'm not sure if every version of it comes with that.

[vhelp]

Thanks for the info. I could keep the usb external near by. The T100 uses eMMC as the main hard drive--a variation of SD. I downloaded CrystalDiskInfo (v6.3.2, and v4.0.3) but they don't show my eMMC card. Only my usb external. So, I can't test the speed of the eMMC card in the T100. Maybe someone knows of another benchmark app that tests eMMC and SD card performance. It would be great to test all the ones I do have at the moment. But so far, (per the readout on my explorer copy progress) I get 25MB/s transfer on the internal eMMC card and I believe 30MB/s on the usb3 ext hdd. I have to figure out how to test that. I was not able to get CrystalDiskInfo to test it since it is not showing the option, unless it is worded something I would not think to try. Anyway. I am searching for a decent price SD card(s) that are greater than 128GB. Maybe someone sells them cheap for around $40 bucks? Anyway. That's all the info I have so far.

PS: yes, Asus gives you 25GB of cloud storage for 1 year free. But personally I don't see any benefit for it unless you have 25MBps or greater internet speed. My DSL is 864Kbps (<90 KB/s) is no match for that. My upload speeds are 160Kbps (<15 KB/s).

[newpball]

By the way a little tidbit of advice: try to keep a card associated with a device, writing on a cards on different devices (without doing a format) may cause confusion and technical issues.

And issues should obviously be avoided.

[usually_quiet]

The T100 uses eMMC as the main hard drive--a variation of SD.

Some people apparently consider eMMC to be a type of low-end SSD. When I did a search for "Asus Transformer T100TAF" the Newegg product listings said "32GB SSD" as did a few other retail websites. Too bad it isn't something better.

[vhelp]

The card would be specifically for the Asus notebook. If I were to upgrade to a newer notebook/laptop down the road, the card should give no trouble when inserted, assuming that I set the newer system up in the same way as the old.

[usually_quiet]

PS: yes, Asus gives you 25GB of cloud storage for 1 year free. But personally I don't see any benefit for it unless you have 25MBps or greater internet speed. My DSL is 864Kbps (<90 KB/s) is no match for that. My upload speeds are 160Kbps (<15 KB/s).

That is true now, but as I recall, you are considering a change to your service since Verizon DSL has become slower and less reliable than it used to be. Plus, I expected that you would be using it as most people do for off-site data storage (as a backup), not for running programs.

[vhelp]

so i just picked up a 64GB SanDisk Ultra USB 3.0 flash drive, speed up to 100MB/s. i got it so that I could test the difference in speed with loading and running programs off it. my delphi xe7 can take a while to compile depending on certain factors i have yet to figure out. anyway. this morning was pretty slow and i'm in a rush to do various things and can't wait any longer. so i picked up one of these flash drives in the hope that i will see an improvement.

results: poor, or equivalent to the microSD card mentioned earlier. and i don't understand why.

speed shows between 2MB/s and 5MB/s though mostly around 4MB/s or less, to copy (97,052 items, or 15.2GB) from the microSD (80MB/s) to this new flash drive which is connected to my usb3 port on the dell inspiron laptop.

I just do not understand why these things are so much slower than hdd's, even external usb hdd's. i think i just blew 50 bucks away.