jb22

This SD problem is not exaclty making me very confident in going out and buying an SD card. Does this problem occur if you use a MMC card?

If I were to purchase a memory card for my soon to arrive X3i, it would be from here: http://www.canadacomputers.com/flash.html#fla

They're a local shop in my area and have pretty good prices. Problem is they only sell Lexar and Scandisk, and from what I'm reading I should go with Lexar but that may not be a safe bet. I just want to get a 128mbor 256mb card to store some mp3s and maybe some small video clips.

What's my best option:

- Lexar 128MB Multimedia Card (MMC) - $87
- Lexar 128MB Secure Digital Card - $75
- Lexar 256MB 32X Secure Digital Card - $107 (I the 32x really matter?)

Astounded EEG

problems seem to be nearly non-existent with MMC cards, but my 32MB MMC has given a me a few formatting scares.....also, MMC is vveerrrryy sloooowww. reading from the card is generally fine but the write speed is noticeably less than SD.

and MMC only goes up to 128MB at this time. The cards cost basically as much as SD, and frankly i think you're much better off sticking with SD.

Buy a lexar SD from your local store. if you get a China/Taiwan SD card, Lexar is pretty good about replacing them with Japanese cards.


as for 32X.....that card should be mad fast....it concerns me though, because all of the lexars with 32x stamped on their stickers turned out to be from China or Taiwan. as far as i know, most SD and CF memory right now is rated at 10X.

jpmarth

i got a 256 PNY card for my X3i and have had no problems at all with it. you can usualy get a pretty good deal on ebay if you keep an eye out.

AxImP

i second that one i just bought a PNY 128 meg card (25% off at Best Buy on all PNY media right now) From what im getting here is ScanDisk seems sketchy. I recommend PNY

AxImP

one more thing, my 128 card registers on my axim x3i as 122.8 Megs, Is this normal? other than that its been very reliable

jb22

I'm just curios but is there really a problem with SD cards on the X3? I check the SD card compatibility list on this site but it only list the X5.

I'm wondering if it be best to buy an SD card from Dell since if there's a problem with the X3 or the SD card, bot hwould be from them. Is Kingston any bette then Lexar? I can get a 128mb Kingston card from Dell.ca for $71 with tax and free shipping.

I was thinking of picking up a Lexar from a big chain store in my area (Futureshop) but they charge $99 plus tax for a 128mb Lexar SD card. Only good thing is if I have any problems I can return it for a refund.

That local shop I listed before has failry good prices but if it doesn't work I've got to deal with the manufacturer not the store.

I think I'd like to get a 256mb card though since I'd like ot store a couple of Family Guy or Simspons episodes on it. Would a SD card read fast enough to store video on it? Would I need a "32x" SD card to get good performance?

ALso, do these SD card errors occur when trying to share an SD card between an Axim and a PC? What if I will always leave the SD card within the Axim, would I still get errors?

And if I do get an SD card that craps out on me with errors, is the card become trash or wil la format bring back the card?

flanker82

how do you get the videos on your axim? load down from i-net ?

And, how much space does such a movie (320x240?!) need?
Would be interesting, because i think it would be good to have some "entertainment" with you, but i can't believe that a SD card with let's say 256 MB has enough memory to store a 2 hour movie... ?

jb22

Quote:

Originally posted by flanker82 how do you get the videos on your axim? load down from i-net ? And, how much space does such a movie (320x240?!) need? Would be interesting, because i think it would be good to have some "entertainment" with you, but i can't believe that a SD card with let's say 256 MB has enough memory to store a 2 hour movie... ?

Well I haven't recieved my X3i yet so I can't say what the exact steps are to getting a file onto an SD card.

As for the videos, I'm not planning on watching a 2 hour movie on my X3, but an episode of the Simpsons or The Family Guy are roughly 22 minutes long. I've only treid converting a few files so that they will play in WM2003 and so far I', geting around 45mb per file. But that's at 30fps with full stereo sound at 44khz 16bit. I could get the size lower by changing my settings but I just want to have 2 or 3 episodes on my X3 at one time.

Astounded EEG

Quote:

Originally posted by AxImP one more thing, my 128 card registers on my axim x3i as 122.8 Megs, Is this normal? other than that its been very reliable

normal. do a search for the explanation. in fact, 122.8 is the highest ive ever seen for a 128MB memory card.

Astounded EEG

If there is only one thing you learn about SD cards from Aximsite.com, it should be this:
Made in China/Taiwan: substantial chance of errors in Axim X5, and starting to look the same way for X3
Made in Japan: the best flash memory in the world

Companies:
Sandisk: China, Taiwan
Viking: China, Taiwan, Japan
PNY: China, Taiwan, Japan
SimpleTech: Japan
Panasonic: Japan
Lexar: Japan, China, Taiwan, but mostly Japan now according to happyCC. Lexar is good about exchanging China/Taiwan cards for Japan cards, just tell them you have an Axim.
Kingston: exception to the Taiwan rule--their Japanese and Taiwanese SD works great (as long as serial numbers are same as those from Japan). Japan, Taiwan; China unconfirmed.

Quote:

Originally posted by jb22 I'm just curios but is there really a problem with SD cards on the X3? I check the SD card compatibility list on this site but it only list the X5.

the X5 is very picky so what works for the X5 should work for the X3. some X3 slots have been disfunctional, however, so it's not always the card's fault.

Quote:

Originally posted by jb22 I'm wondering if it be best to buy an SD card from Dell since if there's a problem with the X3 or the SD card, bot hwould be from them.

Dell has proven its total ineptitude on the SD card issue, they recovered a bit but they're still selling Sandisk as the only cards that can be bundled in the X3 order. they also charge too much. Don't buy from Dell.

Quote:

Originally posted by jb22 Is Kingston any bette then Lexar? I can get a 128mb Kingston card from Dell.ca for $71 with tax and free shipping. I was thinking of picking up a Lexar from a big chain store in my area (Futureshop) but they charge $99 plus tax for a 128mb Lexar SD card. Only good thing is if I have any problems I can return it for a refund. That local shop I listed before has failry good prices but if it doesn't work I've got to deal with the manufacturer not the store.

performance differences in SD cards that are reliable (i.e., made in Japan or Taiwanese Kingston) are not noticeable.

the unknown here is Sandisk SD Ultra, which is supposed to be super-fast, but as far as I know no one has reported their experiences with such cards. also, they're Sandisk, so i'm suspicious anyway.

Quote:

Originally posted by jb22 I think I'd like to get a 256mb card though since I'd like ot store a couple of Family Guy or Simspons episodes on it. Would a SD card read fast enough to store video on it? Would I need a "32x" SD card to get good performance?

You do not need super-fast SD to watch movies, play music, or run programs off of. Any reliable SD will do. Same for CF. As long as it's faster than say, 7X, it's fast enough to do whatever you want, and pretty much all memory available out there is rated around 10X.

stay away from Lexar SD cards marked "32X" on the front. most of those turned out to be made in China/Taiwan and crappy as a result.

Quote:

Originally posted by jb22 ALso, do these SD card errors occur when trying to share an SD card between an Axim and a PC? What if I will always leave the SD card within the Axim, would I still get errors?

Yes and probably.

Quote:

Originally posted by jb22 And if I do get an SD card that craps out on me with errors, is the card become trash or wil la format bring back the card?

sometimes reformatting works like a charm, sometimes it does nothing and the card is dead.

good luck

jb22

Thanks.

jb22

I was on another message board and found someone who ordered a 256mb SD card from Dell when ordering his X3. I asked him what brand it was, he said:

"dunno the guy wouldn't tell me. but he said it was type 2.
don't buy type 1 it'll damage the x3i that's what he said. but i think he was full of sh*t "

What the heck is the difference between type 1 and type 2 SD memory if such a thing even exists, and how can you tell. I ahve never seen any type of reference to type 1 or 2.

Also, I did a little more digging in terms of SD cards available in my area and thisi s what I found, more detail regard part numbers, not sure if it's relavent but I thought I'd check. I'm just posting something I posted on anotehr board.

Quote:

But just for your info, here's a comparison of prices between FS and CC, I wonder why FS cost so much more? Futureshop: Lexar SD256-282 256MB SD Card - $119.97 (plus tax) Lexar SD256-266 256MB SD Card - $129.99 (plus tax) Canada Computers: Lexar SD256-231 256MB SD Card - $96 (plus tax) Direct link to CC's flash memory page: http://www.canadacomputers.com/flash.html#fla Wonder what they real difference between all these cards are, and which one will work in a Axim X3?

flanker82

looks like the guy thought that X3 also has a CF Slot...
The only memory cards where Type 1 and 2 exists are the CF cards, i think...

happycheesecake

Hi folks

Just gate-crashing here..

I've updated my little website to include the new Sandisk.com link that explains how to get a replacement out of them.. The link is in my sig at the bottom...

The info is right at the top of the site's homepage.

Thanks to the people who pointed this out to me...

(And if you ask nicely I'll explain about type 1, type 2, type 3 and type 4 SD cards!)

Astounded EEG

(asks nicely)

Could you explain about type 1, 2, 3, and 4 SD cards?