What are the memory options?

06-30-08, 12:00 PM

OK,
With SD or CF as options. What can the 211 take advantage of regarding the different sizes and memory speeds. What is the largest it can handle and what speed is worth buying, e.g., the different Sandisk Extreme classes.

Also interested in power consumption, reliability, cost.

Thanks,
Pat

07-01-08, 03:58 PM

Here is what I found out using HP's Chat line.

8GB is the highest you can use for either the SD or CF slot. You can have both the SD and CF at 8GB for a total of 16GB. The Chat person also said that the 211 can take advantage of all the high speed cards. But they also said that there is NO speed limit. yah right.

They (Brandon W) also said that the CF card drains power when not in use and the SD card doesn't. For this reason the 211 has a power setting to put the CF card into sleep mode when not in use to save power.

Hope this helps. Please let me know any other info you may have.

Thanks,
Pat

Theemed · 07-01-08, 04:26 PM

Huh... did you actually post a question a reploy to yourself? :

:

Anyway, you're wrong when it comes to card capacity, maximum sizes are what the market has to offer, 16GB for SD and 32GB for CF, there have been people reporting they use said capacity cards in their devices. Me, I have both 8GB cards, but it's just a case.

07-01-08, 04:35 PM

I thought someone would have all the answers, but no one responded so I went hunting for answers myself. I don't know what to think. If the HP person told me that 8GB is a real limit I guess I should believe him at first. I know not all of the older HP's can handle all of the larger SD cards based on what others have said. Do you have any real proof that the 211 specifically can handle larger than 8GB? If anyone does, please let me know and I can let HP know that their online chat needs to quit giving out bad info.

The statement by the HP chat person that there is NO speed limit for the IO is of course laughable so I guess everything else is suspect too.

Need good info from somewhere, but where?

Pat

spud42 · 07-02-08, 12:52 AM

as a former HP employee i can tell you that those guys dont know enough of the product. they just sprout what they are told. previous ipaq's only had SD slots so were limited to 2GB or ther occasional 4GB NON SDHC card available. most say that they only support the maximum size card that was available when the device was released. the 210 series has SDHC slot so 16GB SDHC is working and 32GB CF cards are reported as working. CF cards by their specification for CF1 are capable of addressing 137GB so i cant wait for the 64GB to become cheap.read the forums by people who actually own the device and report what works and doesnt work.

check out the storage card forums

DrAT · 07-02-08, 03:07 AM

I have read that the 2xx series will work with 32Gb cards; both CF and SD. I don't know, but if it follows the specifications for these cards, anything should work. HP's site isn't very helpful; it lists tiny cards amongst the relatively few it says are compatible. It doesn't list any high capacity cards.
I would recommend checking the forums to see what works for other users. I'd stick with SD for now too; CF cards can reduce battery life because of a bug. Note that SDHC is not backwards compatible with SD so they won't work on many older devices.
I'm using an 8Gb class 2 micro SDHC card in a TransFlash converter (these adapters can be difficult to remove if you don't have an eject mechanism.) From what I've read, the high speed cards available don't give a performance gain in the 2xx. The read speed is pretty much the same across cards; it's the write speed that varies. A decent mid-range card is ideal unless you will also use the card in a high-speed camera or other device that can use the bandwidth. Compared with SD, SDHC cards are quick. I was amazed when I could copy a movie using a card reader in just a few seconds.

07-02-08, 07:42 AM

currently I get the most available storage
32GB CF (recommend A-Data because it has better power management, and it's very fast)
16GB SD

spud42 · 07-02-08, 08:32 AM

cant argue with that. i said ask a man who has one...lol

Islanti · 07-02-08, 03:03 PM

I also use a 16GB SD card in my 210.

07-06-08, 09:15 AM

i have a 16gb SDHC and 16gb CF with no flaws (except for increased power drain). The speed seems to be limited by some of the driver's abilities (or inabilities, as the case may be), so most cards can run faster, but not in our 210/11/14. There are other threads which detail personal experiences with all sorts of brands, so I would encourage you to look at those threads. Overall, the choices are quite broad.

Theemed · 07-06-08, 02:54 PM

Originally Posted by phmurphy

They (Brandon W) also said that the CF card drains power when not in use and the SD card doesn't.

On a side note, it's strange that an HP employee (thus HP representative) ADMITS the CF drainage problem.
As you reported, later on he appeared to say that the CF power option in settings was to solve the problem, but that's a blatant lie which anyone with CF drainage problems could spot, that is, said option is useless, or at the very best reduces the drainage from "overkill" to "just troublesome".