Storage cards: Differences between brands and types?

Just wondering what the difference is between different types of cards (CF/SD/microdrive) and different manufacturers (Lexar/Sandisk/etc.)

This is what I understand so far:
Microdrive
- Lowest cost / MB
- Higher potential storage capacity
- Uses a good deal more power than other storage types
- Moving parts - susceptible to "crashing".

CF
- Cheaper than SD (??)
- Less power consumption than microdrive

SD
- Smallest form factor
- Leaves CF slot open for other device (apparently there are non-storage cards that use the CF slot?)
- Less power than microdrive
- Most expensive (??)

As far as I can tell, read/write performance is nowhere near the advertised numbers when you read/write directly from the Axim, so the speed shouldn't be a factor.. so I'm not sure what advantage there is in buying different brands of media.

I also assume getting a card reader is a good idea - especially if I want to put large files (like movies) on them.

You hit it quite well.

For brands I prefer Lexar as they package their 32X cards as standard cards. You can get a 1GB SD for $60 if you watch for a sale.

[Choirguy]

There's a big difference of performance IN Axims, and that's the thing to consider, if you're buying a card specifically for that purpose.

At the moment, the Lexar is the most reliable, with a decent price point. You probably won't like the results you'll get with a SD card that costs less.

You can see the comparisions we had at this address:

www.choirguy.com/memory.pdf

Good luck.

Hmm. I was looking at this card because of price and local availability.. but based on the comparison.. this doesn't look like a good choice..
0.17MB/s read speed wouldn't be sufficient to play videos.. :realmad:

[Choirguy]

Sure, that would work for you, if all you are going to do is to watch movies or listen to music.

My Microdrive works just fine, and it's slower than any CF card.

[btong]

Hmm. I was looking at this card because of price and local availability.. but based on the comparison.. this doesn't look like a good choice..
0.17MB/s read speed wouldn't be sufficient to play videos.. :realmad:

I have the same card, works well!! Video and MP3s no problem!!

[NiwRoC]

Another vote for Lexar. Good card for your money!

Hmm. I was looking at this card because of price and local availability.. but based on the comparison.. this doesn't look like a good choice..
0.17MB/s read speed wouldn't be sufficient to play videos.. :realmad:

0.17MB/sec * 8 = 1.36 megabits/sec = good enough for video

might not be a totally accurate reading anyway

0.17MB/sec * 8 = 1.36 megabits/sec = good enough for video

might not be a totally accurate reading anyway

Whoops. You're right. I guess you can attribute that to a n00b mistake, but I should know better than that :->