Database Users

One GREAT WAY to speed HD2 PERFORMANCE

I created videos showing the dramatic difference (before vs. after) but then realized this site does not allow me to upload videos (and I am too lazy to set up a utube account).
The 16GB Micro SDHC card that comes with the T-Mobile HTC HD2 is only Class 2 and is a very SLOOOOOWWW card (also class 2 cards are CHEAP, that is why it is INCLUDED FREE). If you watch the Transformer movies installed on that card you will discover there are a few times during the movies where the screen momentarily freezes. Also if you have alot of songs on the card, when you scroll over to the media player you will see it takes forever for the media player tab (about 45 seconds) to display anything. Even a game that comes with the unit repeatedly freezes and is not playable because of the speed of the card - under games, try the game called "Ferrari GT Evolution". It is a great game but it is unplayable on that card.
I purchased a 16GB Class 6 Micro SDHC Card and it came today. I copied everything from the old card to the new card. WOW, WHAT A DIFFERENCE! It is about $60 but is makes a VERY big difference in performance for everything mentioned above. For instance, the Ferrari game mentioned above does not freeze at all (and loads much faster) and also when I scroll over to the media play tab the delay before that tab becomes useable is only about 3 seconds.
If you want a SAFE great way to really improve the performance of your unit, replace the old crappy Class 2 Micro SDHC card with a Class 6 version. WOW.
(BTW, my main reason for getting this card was also that it took too long to take a photo and then to be able to take another one immediately afterwards. Now that is MUCH faster as well. A workaround would be to not use the card for picture storage but I prefer to put them on the card.)

I have been using a 4GB class 6 card I had laying around and I have seen a difference as well. I copied all the data from the 16GB card to my computer then copied it to the 4GB card to start out with. I saw a big improvement in the momentary freezes that occur when navigating the UI, music indexing and video playback. After using that card for a couple weeks I copied everything back to the 16GB card after formatting it and popped it back in to see if it was a placebo effect. Things were noticeably different, it just felt more sluggish at times. The Class 2 card isn't bad and it isn't the whole problem but getting a better card does change things a bit.
I did pick up a couple 8GB class 6 Sandisk cards for about $10 not to long ago for my camera. The 16GB and 32GB cards aren't as economical yet. The improvement is worth $10-$20 dollars to me but not $60.

how can i tell if my other card is a class 4 or not

sherlockpwnz said:
how can i tell if my other card is a class 4 or not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It'll be printed right on the front of the card...a little number inside of a circle. If you dont see one there, odds are it's a class-2

Panasonic makes a Class 10...that's what I use lolol...
~Jasecloud4

Class 6 vs 2 Photo... (Micro SDHC Card)
There is no such thing as a Class 10
Look at the photo (CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO ENLARGE IT AND SEE THE DIFFERENCE) FOR THE Speed Class Designation. I guess the standard spec does not say which way is right-side up for printed labels!
Class 6 is the highest speed currently. There are 32GB cards out there (which the unit can support) but they are VERY expensive. The Class 6 card I bought was somehyting like $60 with the shipping from Newegg.com.
Also notice that it is such a damned nightmare to be able to read these ever so tinier labels on everything out there! (Or maybe it's also because of my age.)
It is true, also, that those without the class specification are much older - and slower, I guess they should all be lumped in presumably with class 2

KruseLudsMobile said:
There is no such thing as a Class 10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might want to have a look at THIS and THIS...class-10 16GB cards do exist and are currently available. Jase doesn't usually just make crap up either

Wow Class 10 - !
Sorry, my bad, I guess there is Class 10 now! YIKES! My apologies

PWND!
sweet I didin't know there were class 10 either.
Guess I am going to pick one up soon.

scrizz said:
PWND!
sweet I didin't know there were class 10 either.
Guess I am going to pick one up soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No one is pwning anyone.
Just merely stating the fact.

$100...Hope they become cheaper!

thanks for this thread... i totally didn't realize there were speed diffs on microSD cards.
so a few questions then:
1. the new 32GB sandisk microSD is only class 2... i assume no other manufactures are out yet, especially with a class 6 or 10. this is the very end of the SDHC standard. the next upgrade will be all SDXCs.
2. will a class10 be better than a class 6? i always thought that there are spec. limitations to SD card readers itself. does anyone know what the max limit of the HD2 SD card reader is? class 6 or 10? because if it's class 6, then buying a class 10 would be useless.
i remember that older SD card readers can't read the SDHCs.

JediFonger said:
thanks for this thread... i totally didn't realize there were speed diffs on microSD cards.
so a few questions then:
1. the new 32GB sandisk microSD is only class 2... i assume no other manufactures are out yet, especially with a class 6 or 10. this is the very end of the SDHC standard. the next upgrade will be all SDXCs.
2. will a class10 be better than a class 6? i always thought that there are spec. limitations to SD card readers itself. does anyone know what the max limit of the HD2 SD card reader is? class 6 or 10? because if it's class 6, then buying a class 10 would be useless.
i remember that older SD card readers can't read the SDHCs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I haven't seen any class 6 32gig cards but there will be some eventually.
2. Technically class 10 is faster than class 6 but unless you run everything off your sdcard and have a ton of music/video I doubt it would be worth it. If you were going to be using a 32gig card then a class 10 would probably be worth it, though I don't know if the HD2 supports that speed.

sirphunkee said:
You might want to have a look at THIS and THIS...class-10 16GB cards do exist and are currently available. Jase doesn't usually just make crap up either
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the "usual" lolol...
To be honest I've got the class 10 Panasonic, and a class 6 Kingston, (both 16gb [32gb models are ridiculously expensive]) and when you run them side-by-side in a phone, there really isn't a difference in everyday use that I can tell. Class 6 is plenty fast for a phone. But there's always people like me in the world who aren't afraid to fork over the extra money to see if the latest tech will get me a little extra speed.
For those on the ropes as to what to get: if your just listening to music, Class 2 is good; for video, class 4 is good; if your non-stop music and video all day everyday work and play, and have some extra cash Class 6 rocks.
For all of you nut jobs like me who care about the extra microseconds of speed, lolololol, and have the money to spend...get the Class 10...
~Jasecloud4

the first thing i did for my hd2 was upgrade to a class 6 from previous experience with rooted android handsets (where upgrade to class 6 is always recommended

would a class 10 or a class 6 improve battery life?

Thanks for the thread and the informative posts, I guess I will make sure to get at least a class 6 for my media heavy device.

Also, if I were to buy one, which companies are reliable? Or are they all pretty much the same? I've only heard of SanDisk and Kingston because I've met the co owner of Kingston and he gave me some free stuff before.

jas0nw0ng said:
Also, if I were to buy one, which companies are reliable? Or are they all pretty much the same? I've only heard of SanDisk and Kingston because I've met the co owner of Kingston and he gave me some free stuff before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would just stick with sandisk or kingston anyway, they're both as reliable as any, and usually priced right along the lesser-known maufacturers.

So for anyone who has used both a class 6 and class 10 card IN THE HD2, is there a speed difference? I have a paypal coupon code that is good for 25% off, and am eyeing some of the class 10 kingston cards on ebay which would come out to about $74 with this coupon code. Not very much more than a class 6, course i could just use the coupon code for a class 6 off ebay too. I would like to go the 32gb route, but seems everything 32gb is class 2 =(

[Q] Micro Sd class 10 or class 6?

I'm looking to buy a new MicroSD and wondering if getting a class 10 over a class 6 would make a significant difference to the phone (if im using data2sd and or apps2sd)
Thank you!

I think the difference between class 6 and 10 would feel minor, where-as the difference between the class 2 and class 6 feels huge.
And since this is the Vibrant forums, I should mention that the internal memory in the phone is very fast. I tested it at over 10MB/s write on my first phone. My second phone its closer to 6 MB/s write. So you apps and stuff should run perfectly fine from the internal app storage.
I should also mention that I purchased the new kingston micro sd thats rated class 4 but claims speeds upto class 10. Upon testing that I got 9 MB/s write. ($28 after $10 reward from buy.com). My previous class 2 16GB card tested it 2.6 MB/s write for comparison.

Shane_pcs said:
I think the difference between class 6 and 10 would feel minor, where-as the difference between the class 2 and class 6 feels huge.
And since this is the Vibrant forums, I should mention that the internal memory in the phone is very fast. I tested it at over 10MB/s write on my first phone. My second phone its closer to 6 MB/s write. So you apps and stuff should run perfectly fine from the internal app storage.
I should also mention that I purchased the new kingston micro sd thats rated class 4 but claims speeds upto class 10. Upon testing that I got 9 MB/s write. ($28 after $10 reward from buy.com). My previous class 2 16GB card tested it 2.6 MB/s write for comparison.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to help out here...
the difference between class 2 and class 6 is the exact same as class 6 and class 10. Remember the cd-rom speeds (52x, etc)? That's how the speed is calculated for a SDHC card. So a class 2 = 2x cdrom, class 6 = 6x, class 10 = 10x.
whether our hardware has capability to handle what a class 10 can do, that I don't know. I'd definitely advise to get something with more space than a 2GB card though - I'm not sure everyone needs a 32 (personal opinion/long discussion), but I absolutely agree it should be improved upon.

designerfx said:
Just to help out here...
the difference between class 2 and class 6 is the exact same as class 6 and class 10. Remember the cd-rom speeds (52x, etc)? That's how the speed is calculated for a SDHC card. So a class 2 = 2x cdrom, class 6 = 6x, class 10 = 10x.
whether our hardware has capability to handle what a class 10 can do, that I don't know. I'd definitely advise to get something with more space than a 2GB card though - I'm not sure everyone needs a 32 (personal opinion/long discussion), but I absolutely agree it should be improved upon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand that, thats why i picked those classes. But my point is that a class 6 card is 3x the speed of a class2 where class 10 isnt even twice as fast as the class 6. So the perceived difference is smaller, even though the technical difference is the same.

I'm still running a class 2 and I've been wondering if this is holding me back on this phone (card was previously in my G1).
Will the lower classes function the same (creating ext2 etc...) it's just a matter of speed? Just wondering if there's anything that simply can't be done with a class2 or even 6 that could be done with a 10.

CapitalM3 said:
I'm still running a class 2 and I've been wondering if this is holding me back on this phone (card was previously in my G1).
Will the lower classes function the same (creating ext2 etc...) it's just a matter of speed? Just wondering if there's anything that simply can't be done with a class2 or even 6 that could be done with a 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just cost you more. Do you really need a class 10 for this phone? Avatar is on a card that isnt even a class 2.

Vegastouch said:
Just cost you more. Do you really need a class 10 for this phone? Avatar is on a card that isnt even a class 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
xD What class was the stock sd card?

I only ever see class 6+ cards being used in higher end compact cameras and SLRs.
Putting anything higher than class 6 in a phone your using for apps/music/movies isn't needed and just a waste of money.
I've also seen a lot of people saying the memory card speeds with the galaxy s are bottlenecked right now, so your not even going to get top speeds with a class 6.

Vegastouch said:
Just cost you more. Do you really need a class 10 for this phone? Avatar is on a card that isnt even a class 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While the card isn't marked, it tests out at just over 4MB/s which would put it in a class 4.
And we should be clear that the class refers to the write speed. A class 2 will read at 10 MB/s just like the other classes. Where you run into issues with class 2 cards is when you start modding or running programs from the sd card. If you use the card for a swap partition or something the write speed now plays a major factor in the usefulness.
If all you want it for is to place your music files on there and listen to them, then a class 2 will be plenty. That was my initial thought when I bought my 1st 16 GB card for my mytouch3g. Then I got into custom roms and found myself limited.

How do you test the speed of the SD card?

What size microsd card are you looking for? If its a 32GB, I have only seen a Sandisk microsd in Class 2. As far as I know there are no higher classes at this time. Hopefully that will change soon. I would like to get all of my music onto one 32gb card.

designerfx said:
Just to help out here...
the difference between class 2 and class 6 is the exact same as class 6 and class 10. Remember the cd-rom speeds (52x, etc)? That's how the speed is calculated for a SDHC card. So a class 2 = 2x cdrom, class 6 = 6x, class 10 = 10x.
whether our hardware has capability to handle what a class 10 can do, that I don't know. I'd definitely advise to get something with more space than a 2GB card though - I'm not sure everyone needs a 32 (personal opinion/long discussion), but I absolutely agree it should be improved upon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This isnt exactly true. with cdroms the X stands for how much faster it would spin in relation to a audio cd. So 1x ment it spun at the same speed as a audio cd. 2x was twice, ext ext. And this was a max speed.
Classes for SDCard stands for the minimum transfer speed. class two is at least 2mbps, class 6 is 6mbps, and so on.

frankencat said:
How do you test the speed of the SD card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
google FDbench
it will test the read and write speed as well as operations per second.

I still can't find a 32gb microsd class 10, anyone find one for sale?

Class 10
Class 10 limitation presently is 8 gig for all brands except the Kingston and soon to be released Silicon Power. The Kingston brand never benches as advertised, so they are not reliable from my point of view. Silicon power has been pretty solid on their claims from my testing versus their claims, but I have not yet got my hands on the latest class 10 16 gig, I have been trying to buy for the since 10-1-2010 but not out in USA yet.
Kingston (in my opinion) is rife with false claims and I find their products have always been sub par.
Flashing and alike works better with class 6 over class 2 & 4. So, if you really want more memory the only 32 gig class 6 I have seen advertised (amazon) are: Transcend, Centon, and Komputerbay (what a name?!) 32 gig Class 6
Other than that, we wil just have to wait until they get the algorithm figured out for a micro ad card with that much ram and that fast.

Get the app "sd card speed test" it works ok Im sure there are others as well

I imagine the only reason you would need a Class 6 card or above is if you plan to take a lot of HD video. Apart from that, even a Class 2 is fast enough to keep up with the still camera, not to mention anything that just requires reads, like music or movie playback.
As for running apps off an external SD card, why would you ever want to do that? You can load close to 2GB on the internal app space, which is likely way faster than any mounted external SD card. I feel like an app whore and I'm not even close to using half that space. By the time apps start getting large enough that it's an issue, we'll be on the Vibrant 2 or beyond.

glad that you asked
merrifield69 said:
I'm looking to buy a new MicroSD and wondering if getting a class 10 over a class 6 would make a significant difference to the phone (if im using data2sd and or apps2sd)
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
because I just picked up a 16G class 10 by WinTec last week and it is VERY fast from boot up with 9G occupied from 15G available (wondered 1G gone to? and that is a lot of gone G lol). It was $42 wo tax expensive but so far the fastest.

Whoohoo
mine 16G class 10 tested 2x >8M and 1x >9M write, 3x > 18M read and it was probably so fast that the result said "unknown class" lol. x means 1 run with 2MB buffer setting. Downloaded app call SD card speed tester.

There are now some 32GB class 6 SDCARDS on the markey, and with 2.2 and installing apps to SD that might matter. It might also matter if you have a TON of music and images, as "Scanning SD for Media" would be faster.
You will pay money for the time savings though.

32gb micro sd fast enough?

will the 32gb mirco sd class 2 be fast enough to run apps off the sd card without problems?? or should i sacrifice size with speed and get a 16gb class 4 or 6?

yes its plenty for this handset. many many many people already have theses cards in the droid and the evo and all have had much success with it.

Works fine for me.
Sent From My HTC Evo 4G Using Tapa Talk Pro!

I use a class 10, to reduce the current draw. If I were to run it a maximum speed it would be limited by the heat it would generate. So in affect it would be limited by the current it consumes. Not talking about leaks, but overall. Slower sd's are also limited the same way but consume their limit at slower speeds. Since the faster cards are limited (maxed) at higher speeds they consume less at slower speeds, because they are rated at uamps/read/write.

Engadget posted about a class 4 just the other day, due to my post count I can't link. But kingston does have one, even though it's much more expensive. If you're running out of room I would suggest only keeping vital media files with you, and using subsonic to stream anything else.

i wanted the extra space so i can use the phone as an ipod since my zune crashed

Class two is damn slow, I did in fact notice a good speed jump with my class 6
Sent from my EVO

You guys know where I Could Find a good 32gb or 16gb SD Card at a cheap price.. ??

ins0dus said:
You guys know where I Could Find a good 32gb or 16gb SD Card at a cheap price.. ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got my 16gb on eBay for around 28! It is probably class 2 but I don't care lol

I bought one of THESE class 6, 16gb microSD cards, and it seems to be pretty good. No problems so far.

I'm using a class 2 to run apps off of and its plenty fast (also cause im to cheap to buy anything better lol)

Yeah class 2 should be totally fine
Sent from my HTC EVO 4G

tkirton recommends at least a class 4 for Dark Tremor. My G1 would crash on anything less than a class 6 when running apps2sd but that phone is a bit inferior to this one. Not sure if Google has a recommendation for Froyo a2sd.
Sent from my SUPERSONIC

I picked this one up a week ago and its working perfect.
CENTON 16GB CLASS 6
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...37189&cm_re=16_gb_sdhc-_-20-237-189-_-Product

I got kingston 32Gb micro sd card for less then 40 on ebay from us seller it is class 4. It reads at 9mbs and it write speed is at 4 mbs.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/24/the-surprisingly-seedy-side-of-microsd-production/

SD Card Class Survey

For those of you who have upgraded your SD cards: what class of SD card do you have? Is it worth the extra money to get anything other than a Class 2 card?

I stuck with the class 2. I read the more expensive class is more suitable for capturing hd video. I don't do alot of that, I got my 16gb class 2 to store movies.
Samsung Vibrant using Bionix 1.9.1 w/JACs UV/0C v1.1

I have a 16gb card labeled as a class 4 (and priced as such), but it performs like a class 6.
I got it because I was expecting to use Apps2SD at some point in the future and it makes a HUGE difference there.

The stock card is a class 4. I had an 8 GB class 6 from my G1 days that I opted to use instead. Class speed matters, but you need to debate how much read/write are you doing with your SD card. Thankfully the Vibrant has a lot of internal memory too.

The higher the class the more rapid the data transfer. But a reputable, like Sandisk class 4 will outperform a "Joe's SD Co." Class 6 in my experience. I was running a2sd on my G1 with the stock class 2 and I had time to make a sandwich while waiting for apps to open, better result with a class6. Also when transferring large amounts of data between PC and device it will significantly cut down the time.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Class 6 16 gig
have a class 6 16 gig I use alot for data storage fro my work. I have found the Kingston class 10 is slower than this one, read/write speed DO matter if you use it alot, and I do. Silicon power is releasing a class 10 16 gig when I get one Ill report back it benches and see if it meets the stated benches it is claiming

[Q] Desire Z SD card class?

Hi,
Does anybody here knows which class is the 8gb micro sd card included in the Desire Z??

Not 100% positive on this but I remember reading somewhere that it was only a class 2 card... =/

I got a class 4 card, but seems to be a bit of lottery.
I've read that some got class 2.

Mine was 8 GB, Samsung, Class 2. And it got replaced right away with a 16 GB Class 10.

darthmelk said:
Mine was 8 GB, Samsung, Class 2. And it got replaced right away with a 16 GB Class 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any point in a class 10?
Can the Z handle it? I know the Pulse has a limit of class 6...
Also - nice card.

Damm I hope I get a class 4 but how can you know which class is the sd card? Does it say on it?

Yes typically the card will have the class printed on it.
Remember though the class is a measurement of the MINIMUM speed the card is capable of handling.
Ex: Class 4 can write at a MINIMUM of 4 mb/s. I have a kingston class 4, 8GB card that I have tested thourougly and it regularly writes at 8+ mb/s.
Not sure where you draw the line on what is overkill for an Android Device. I know on other devices, I.E. SLR Cameras, a slow/bad card can have a big impact on the way things run...

Came with a Samsung Class 2 8GB for me, replaced it with an San Disk 16GB Class 4.

DanWilson said:
Is there any point in a class 10?
Can the Z handle it? I know the Pulse has a limit of class 6...
Also - nice card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it can handle the Class 10. The only real benefit is when doing 720p video recording. Most of the time, anything over a Class 4 will feel the same in day-to-day usage (other than video recording).
The other advantage is that if you transfer files to the phone, it'll be somewhat faster.
Also, the card you get with the DZ, it show the class right on the card itself. In my case it was a Samsung 8GB MicroSDHC Class 2. Replaced with a Kingston 16GB MicroSDHC Class 10. <3
Here's a somewhat subjective read on the topic: http://pocketnow.com/android/does-using-a-faster-sdcard-make-your-phone-faster

I don't know if you can see the difference between Class 2 and Class 10 on the Desire Z. Maybe running some apps that install on SD Card is a little faster, also saving photos, browsing through MP3s, playing videos, etc.
When moving large quantities of data (bigger files), there is an increase in speed, e.g. 18 MB/s (Class 10) vs. 10-12 MB/s (Class 2). I expect the differencte to be the same with small files, but I haven't tested yet. Maybe it's not worth the double price tag, but I needed 16 GB and chose to go with the fastest option available...

Mine and everyone else I know with a Z or G2 came with a samsung 8gb class 2 card.
I have now put my 8Gb class 4 in, but I might look to get a bigger class 4 or 6 card soon.

Lennyuk said:
I have now put my 8Gb class 4 in, but I might look to get a bigger class 4 or 6 card soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mymemory is doing 16gig class 4s for 18 quid. I haven't put mine in my phone yet but i'll try to do a speed test over the wkend and post back.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

ddotpatel said:
Mymemory is doing 16gig class 4s for 18 quid. I haven't put mine in my phone yet but i'll try to do a speed test over the wkend and post back.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah cool, let me know.

Mine came with a Sandisk Class 4.

TheDeadCpu said:
I got a SanDisk Class 4 8GB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, today I finally got my Desire Z and got the same class 4 SanDisk 8 Gb card

buzmay said:
Indeed, today I finally got my Desire Z and got the same class 4 SanDisk 8 Gb card
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here.from uk, two weeks old. Sandisk clss4
-- sent from htc z using xda app

Mine also came with sandisk class 4.
Must be a different batch or something, as everyone on first release were samsung class 2 from what I remember...
Sent by my phone

Yeah sounds like they've switched to Class 4 cards now for new shipments.

ddotpatel said:
Mymemory is doing 16gig class 4s for 18 quid. I haven't put mine in my phone yet but i'll try to do a speed test over the wkend and post back.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HOLD FIRE on mymemory. This new card is giving read speeds of 10 mbs but write speed only 1 mbs!!!!!!!!!! I need to test in my Hero to see what I get.
Can anyone recommend good speed test apps, for either android or to run off my Windows lappy?

I got a SanDisk Class 4, 8GB card with mine (NAM Unbranded/Unlocked Version)
Tested it and it writes at 5.21 mb/s and reads at 14.8 mb/s