# Kingston vs Sandisk



## Prior22 (May 3, 2014)

I received a free 25 dollar gift card after buying something from newegg, and so I'm looking to buy a bigger microsd card for my 3DS.  Anyways I know the big two brands are kingston and sandisk.  Is there any difference between the two in terms of reliability?  Thanks.


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## Qtis (May 3, 2014)

I've used and still use both. If they're original (read: surprisingly cheap cards aren't usually original, especially on eBay), they should both be good. I've yet to have a failed SD/MicroSD from either of the manufacturers and I haven't had any problems with speeds (read/write).

To sum it up: buy the one you feel brings the best for your money. I'd recommend at least a Class 10 MicroSDs for any use, though I've nowadays got UHS-1 cards on my DSLR.


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## InuYasha (May 3, 2014)

I've never had an issue with kingston for cart related things,also at one point had a sandisk didn't notice a difference in the short time it was used,but for carts usually kingston are the prefered ones...


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## migles (May 3, 2014)

Qtis said:


> I've used and still use both. If they're original (read: surprisingly cheap cards aren't usually original, especially on eBay), they should both be good. I've yet to have a failed SD/MicroSD from either of the manufacturers and I haven't had any problems with speeds (read/write).
> 
> To sum it up: buy the one you feel brings the best for your money. I'd recommend at least a Class 10 MicroSDs for any use, though I've nowadays got UHS-1 cards on my DSLR.


 

i have a faulty kingston micro sd card, i thought it was fake, but it was purchased from a chain store (a best buy like store) i emailed kingston and they said it is NOT fake

in the first tries on my computer it was working fine, somedays later it started to give random problems like, can't save, can't format etc until i can't use it anymore.. we bought another micro sd card and it didn't have any issues...


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## DinohScene (May 3, 2014)

I pretty much only got SanDisk ones.

Never had one fail on me.
Well not unintentional that is ;p


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## Nathan Drake (May 3, 2014)

Since you're buying on Newegg, just about anything you get should be good. When it comes to MicroSD cards (I assume you're using an SD adapter), you may be better off going with a Transcend card. From what I recall, people tend to have the best luck with that brand.  For example, you can pick this up for about $18: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820208613


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## VMM (May 3, 2014)

Qtis said:


> I've used and still use both. If they're original (read: surprisingly cheap cards aren't usually original, especially on eBay), they should both be good. I've yet to have a failed SD/MicroSD from either of the manufacturers and I haven't had any problems with speeds (read/write).
> 
> To sum it up: buy the one you feel brings the best for your money. I'd recommend at least a Class 10 MicroSDs for any use, though I've nowadays got UHS-1 cards on my DSLR.


 
Having a microSD been class 10 or UHS isn't that much of an advantage.
The read speed is more important to 3DS games than write speed.


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## Qtis (May 3, 2014)

VMM said:


> Having a microSD been class 10 or UHS isn't that much of an advantage.
> The read speed is more important to 3DS games than write speed.


 
I agree in your point, but usually the two go hand in hand. Thus having a better write speed usually comes along with better read speeds. Also transferring stuff onto the microSD is also faster


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## Drink the Bleach (May 3, 2014)

I've had 4 Kingston Cards that eventually quit on me within 1-3 years time.
I've had 3 Sandisk cards, 1 that has been lost, and two that are still working. I bought them in 2006.

I preferably use ADATA and AmazonBasics as they've been consistently 50%-80% faster write speed of other cards in the same class. Like how my Class 10 cards from Sandisk, Transcend, and Samsung transfer an average of 9-10 MB/s, AmazonBasics will do 15-16MB/s and ADATA 15-18 MB/s. My ADATA Class 6's transfer more files, quicker than Class 10 competitive brands with 11 MB/s

I own 20-something Micro SD cards of different brands and classes, and Kingston are not among that collection anymore. Definatel Sandisk > Kingston from personal experience,  but personally ADATA is my goto brand.

If you want read and write speeds faster than ADTA cards have, then Sandisk's special high-speed cards are worth a look, but also twice the price. Supposedly the gold and red cards are as fast as some portable USB 3 harddrives.


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## Drink the Bleach (May 3, 2014)

Qtis said:


> I agree in your point, but usually the two go hand in hand. Thus having a better write speed usually comes along with better read speeds. Also transferring stuff onto the microSD is also faster


This is my sentiments as well. People ALWAYS say Read is faster than write, which is true, but they ALWAYS seem to leave out commenting that high-write speeds nearly always correlates to higher read speeds. I've yet to own or see a card online with high write speeds that had low read speeds.

The Class 10's don't have much of a real-world advantage over slower cards until you start using applications that perform better on higher-class cards. Android apps boot and load faster on rooted devices that run apps off SD, video recording is often a more seamless experience, and loading/running games on anything more powerful than a NDS (Like PSP) have decreased load times when it comes to games.

And on a DSTwo, lists and games would boot faster by a second or two on a Class 10 card vs Class 2 or 4. Didn't improve game performance, may have improved saving for games with larger save files though.


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## migles (May 3, 2014)

Drink the Bleach said:


> I preferably use ADATA and AmazonBasics as they've been consistently 50%-80% faster write speed of other cards in the same class. Like how my Class 10 cards from Sandisk, Transcend, and Samsung transfer an average of 9-10 MB/s, AmazonBasics will do 15-16MB/s and ADATA 15-18 MB/s. My ADATA Class 6's transfer more files, quicker than Class 10 competitive brands with 11 MB/s
> 
> I own 20-something Micro SD cards of different brands and classes, and Kingston are not among that collection anymore. Definatel Sandisk > Kingston from personal experience, but personally ADATA is my goto brand.



what is your experience with transcend? are they durable? what card readers do you use?

when i first saw transcend i just thought it was a "bad company" i don't know exactly why.. (maybe because i only see transcend products on small stores)


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## Prior22 (May 4, 2014)

Drink the Bleach said:


> I've had 4 Kingston Cards that eventually quit on me within 1-3 years time.
> I've had 3 Sandisk cards, 1 that has been lost, and two that are still working. I bought them in 2006.
> 
> I preferably use ADATA and AmazonBasics as they've been consistently 50%-80% faster write speed of other cards in the same class. Like how my Class 10 cards from Sandisk, Transcend, and Samsung transfer an average of 9-10 MB/s, AmazonBasics will do 15-16MB/s and ADATA 15-18 MB/s. My ADATA Class 6's transfer more files, quicker than Class 10 competitive brands with 11 MB/s
> ...


 
Did you buy the Kingston cards from a reputable source?  I'd prefer buying Kingston, since its cheaper.  But if reliability of Kingston is significantly worse I suppose I can spring for the Sandisk.


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