Comparison of memory cards: Difference between revisions
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| {{yes}}<ref>Some early SD cards may not have a write protection switch.</ref><ref>The write protect switch signals to the host, which is responsible for write protection. The write protect switch is not connected to the internal circuitry of the card. [http://www.sdcard.org/developers/tech/sdcard/pls/Simplified_Physical_Layer_Spec.pdf SD Card Simplified Physical Layer Specification]</ref> |
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| {{yes}}<ref>Some early SD cards may not have a write protection switch</ref> |
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| rowspan="3" {{yes}}, [[CPRM]] |
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Revision as of 20:12, 12 March 2010
This table provides summary of comparison of various flash memory cards, as of 2009[update].
Common information
- unless otherwise indicated, all images to scale
Card family | Standards organizations | Varieties | Entry date | Picture[1] | Major features |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
CompactFlash | SanDisk | I | 1994 | Thinner (3.3 mm), flash based only, sizes available up to 512MB | |
II | Thicker (5.0 mm), older flash based, but usually Microdrives, sizes available up to 128 GB | ||||
SmartMedia | Toshiba | 3.3/5 V | 1995 | Very thin (45.0 × 37.0 × 0.76 mm thick), no wear levelling controller, sizes available up to 128 MiB | |
MultiMediaCard | Siemens AG, SanDisk | MMC | 1997 | Thin and small (24 mm × 32 mm × 1.4 mm), sizes available up to 4 GiB | |
RS-MMC/MMC Mobile | 2003/2005 | Compact size (24 mm × 18 mm × 1.4 mm), sizes available up to 2 GiB | |||
MMCplus | 2005 | Compact size (24 mm × 32 mm × 1.4 mm), faster, optional DRM, sizes available up to 2 GiB | |||
MMCmicro | 2005 | Sub compact size (14 mm × 12 mm × 1.1 mm), optional DRM, 16MB - 1GB | |||
Secure Digital | Panasonic, SanDisk, Toshiba, Kodak | SD | 1999 | Small (32 mm × 24 mm × 2.1 mm), DRM, sizes available up to 2 GiB | |
miniSD | 2003 | Compact size (21.5 mm x 20 mm x 1.4 mm), DRM, available up to 2 GiB | |||
microSD | 2005 | Sub compact size (11 mm x 15 mm x 1 mm), DRM, available up to 4 GiB[2] | |||
SDHC | 2006 | Physically the same as SD, but offers higher capacity and transfer speed, available up to 64 GiB[3] | |||
miniSDHC | 2007 | Physically the same as miniSD, but offers higher capacity and transfer speed, available up to 32 GiB | |||
microSDHC | 2007 | Physically the same as microSD, but offers higher capacity and transfer speed, available up to 32 GiB[4] | |||
Memory Stick | Sony/SanDisk | Standard | 1998 | Thin and narrow (50 mm x 21.5 mm x 2.8 mm), optional DRM, available up to 128 MiB | |
PRO | 2003 | (not to scale) |
Thin and narrow (50 mm x 21.5 mm x 2.8 mm), faster, optional DRM, Memory up to 4 GiB | ||
Duo | 2003 | Compact size (31 mm x 20 mm x 1.6 mm), optional DRM, Memory up to 128 MiB | |||
PRO Duo | 2002-06 | Compact size (31 mm x 20 mm x 1.6 mm), optional DRM, available up to 32 GiB | |||
PRO-HG Duo | 2007-08 | Compact size (31 mm x 20 mm x 1.6 mm), faster , optional DRM, available up to 32 GiB | |||
Micro (M2) | 2006-02 | Sub compact size (15 mm x 12.5 mm x 1.2 mm), optional DRM, available up to 16 GiB | |||
xD | Olympus, Fujifilm | Standard | 2002-07 | Thin and small (20 mm × 25 mm × 1.78 mm), electrically identical to SmartMedia, no wear levelling controller, available up to 512 MiB[5] | |
Type M | 2005 | Thin and small (20 mm × 25 mm × 1.78 mm) but slower read/write, no wear levelling controller, available up to 2 GiB[5] | |||
Type H | 2005 | Thin and small (20 mm × 25 mm × 1.78 mm) and faster than previous two versions, no wear levelling controller, available up to 2 GiB[5] | |||
USB flash drive | Various | USB 1.1/2.0/3.0 | 2001 | (not to scale) |
Universally compatible across all computer platforms, but larger size suits them better to file transfer/storage instead of use in portable devices, available up to 256 GiB |
Physical details
Note that a memory card's dimensions are determined while holding the card with contact pins facing up. Horizontal measurement is width, vertical measurement is length, depth is thickness. For most cards length is larger than width, although this is not always the case. Also, most cards include a direction arrow to aid insertion; such an arrow should also be facing "up".
Card | Width (mm) | Length (mm) | Thickness (mm) | Volume (mm³) | Mass (g)[6] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
CompactFlash, Type I | 43.0 | 36.0 | 3.3 | 5,108 | 3.3 |
CompactFlash, Type II | 43.0 | 36.0 | 5.0 | 7,740 | |
SmartMedia | 37.0 | 45.0 | 0.76 | 1,265 | 2.0 |
MMC, MMCplus | 24.0 | 32.0 | 1.4 | 1,075 | 1.3[7] |
RS-MMC, MMCmobile | 24.0 | 18.0 | 1.4 | 605 | 1.3 |
MMCmicro | 14.0 | 12.0 | 1.1 | 185 | |
Memory Stick Standard, PRO | 21.5 | 50.0 | 2.8 | 3,010 | 4.0 |
Memory Stick Duo, PRO Duo, PRO-HG , XC | 20.0 | 31.0 | 1.6 | 992 | 2.0 |
Memory Stick Micro (M2), XC | 12.5 | 15.0 | 1.2 | 225 | 2.0 |
SD, SDxC | 24.0 | 32.0 | 2.1 | 1,613 | 2.0 |
miniSD | 20.0 | 21.5 | 1.4 | 602 | 1.0 |
microSD, microSDxC | 11.0 | 15.0 | 1.0 | 165 | 0.27 |
xD | 25.0 | 20.0 | 1.78 | 890 | 2.8 |
USB | varies | varies | varies | varies | varies |
Technical details
Card | Varieties | Actual max. storage capacity (mebibyte, or MiB) | Theoretical max. capacity | Max. Read Speed (MByte/s) | Max. Write Speed (MByte/s) | Read/write cycles | Low-level access | Operating voltage (V)[8] | Controller chip[9] | # of pins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CompactFlash | I | 65,536 | 128 GiB (137 GB; due to LBA-28) | 133[10] | 133[10] | NOR/NAND | 3.3 and 5 | Yes | 50 | |
II | 12,288 | 128 GiB (due to LBA-28) | 133[10] | 133[10] | ||||||
SmartMedia | 128 | 2 | 1,000,000 | NAND | 3.3 or 5 | No | 22 | |||
MMC | MMC | 8,192 | 128 GB | 20 | 20 | 1,000,000[11] | 3.3 | Yes | 7 | |
RS-MMC | 2,048 | 2[12] | 2[12] | 3.3 | 7 | |||||
MMCmobile | 2,048 | 15[13] | 8[13] | 1.8 and 3.3 | 13 | |||||
MMCplus | 4,096[14] | 52[15] | 52[15] | 3.3 | 13 | |||||
MMCmicro | 2,048 | 1.8 and 3.3 | 13 | |||||||
eMMC | 2 TiB | 104 | 104 | 1.8 and 3.3 | Yes | 13 | ||||
Memory Stick | Standard | 128 | 128 MiB | 2.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | Yes | 10 | ||
PRO | 4,096 | 2 TiB | 20 | 20 | 3.3 | |||||
PRO Duo | 32 ,000[16] | 20 | 20 | 3.3 | ||||||
PRO-HG Duo | 16, 000[17] | Actual: 30[18] Theoretical: 60[19] |
Actual: 30[18] Theoretical: 60[19] |
3.3 | ||||||
Micro (M2) | 16,384[20] | 32 GiB | 20 | 20 | 1.8 and 3.3 | |||||
xC | 2 TiB | 60 | 60 | 3.3 | Yes | 10 | ||||
Secure Digital | SD | 4 GiB | 12.5/25(HS) | 12.5/25(HS) | 3.3 | Yes | 9 | |||
miniSD | 8,192 | 12 | 12 | 11 | ||||||
microSD | 4,096 | 10 | 10 | 8 | ||||||
SDHC | 32,768[21] | 2 TiB | 12.5/25(HS) | 12.5/25(HS) | 3.3 | Yes | 9 | |||
miniSDHC | 4,096[22] | 12 | 12 | 11 | ||||||
microSDHC | 16,384[23] | 10 | 10 | 8 | ||||||
SDXC | 2,097,152 | 2 TiB | 104 | 104 | 3.3 | Yes | 9 | |||
xD | 512 | 512 MiB | 5 | 3 | 3.3 | No | 18 | |||
Type M | 2,048 | 8 GiB | 4 | 2.5 | ||||||
Type H | 2,048 | 8 GiB | 5 | 4 | ||||||
Type M+ | 2,048 | 8 GiB | 6 | 3.75 | ||||||
USB | Full speed | 131,072 (2009) 262,144 (2010) | No Limit | 1 | 1 | 5 | Yes | 4 | ||
High speed | 40 | 40 |
Consumer details
Card | Write protection switch[24] | DRM |
---|---|---|
CompactFlash | No | No |
SmartMedia | Partial, sticker | Partial (optional) |
MMC, RS-MMC | No | No |
MMCMobile | Yes, secureMMC | |
Memory Stick Standard, PRO | Yes | Optional, MagicGate |
Memory Stick Duo, PRO Duo | No | Optional, MagicGate |
Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo | No | Optional, MagicGate |
Memory Stick Micro (M2) | No | Optional, MagicGate |
SD | Yes[25][26] | Yes, CPRM |
miniSD | No | |
microSD | No | |
xD | Partial, sticker | Partial [27] |
USB | Sometimes | No |
Compatibility
The following chart gives details on availability of adapters to put a given card (horizontal) in a given slot or device (vertical). This table does not take into account protocol issues in communicating with the device.
Following labels are used:
- + (native) - a slot is native for such card.
- D (Directly compatible) - a card may be used in such a slot directly, without any adapters. Best possible compatibility.
- M (requires a Mechanical adapter) - such adapter is only a physical enclosure to fit one card sized into another; all electrical pins are exactly the same.
- EM (requires an Electro-Mechanical adapter) - such adapter features both physical enclosure and pins re-routing as terminals are sufficiently different. No powered elements in such adapter exists, thus they're very cheap and easy to manufacture and may be supplied as a bonus for every such card.
- E (requires an Electronic adapter enclosure) - these adapters are the most advanced ones with some chips (may be requiring external power) that transform signals, as well as physical enclosure and pin routing.
- X (requires an eXternal adapter) - technically the same as E, but such adapter usually consists of 2 parts: a pseudo-card with pin routing and physical enclosure size that perfectly match the target slot and a break-out box (a card reader) that holds a real card. Such adapter is the least comfortable to use.
- Empty cell - card can't be used in such slot, no single adapter is known to exist. Sometimes a chain of adapters can help (for example, miniSD→CF as miniSD→SD→CF)
Cards → | CF | SM | MMC | Memory Stick | SD | xD | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
↓ Slots | I | II | MMC | RS-MMC, MMCmobile | Std | PRO | PRO Duo | Micro | SD | mini | micro | Std | M | H | |
ExpressCard | E[28] | E[28] | E[29] | E[30] | E[30] | E[29] | E[29] | E[29] | E[31] | E[29] | E[29] | E[29] | |||
PC card | EM[32] | EM[32] | E[33] | E[34] | E[34] | E[34] | E[34] | ||||||||
CF I | + | E | E[35] | E[36] | E[36] | E[37] | E[35] | E[38] | E[38] | E[38] | |||||
CF II | + | + | E | E[35] | E[36] | E[36] | E[35] | E[38] | E[38] | E[38] | |||||
SM | + | X[39] | X[39] | X[39] | |||||||||||
xD | E[40] | + | + | + | |||||||||||
MMC | + | M | D[41] | ||||||||||||
MS | X[42] | + | + | M | M | X[42] | X[42] | E[43] | |||||||
SD | D | M | + | EM | EM | ||||||||||
IDE PATA | EM[44] | EM[44] | E[45][46] | ||||||||||||
Serial ATA | E[47] | E[47] | |||||||||||||
USB | X[48] | X[48] | X[48] | X[48] | X[48] | X[48] | E[49] | E[49] | E[50] | E[51] | X[48] | X[48] | X[48] | ||
Floppy | E[52] | ||||||||||||||
Nintendo DS Slot-1 | E[53] | ||||||||||||||
Nintendo DS Slot-2 | E[54] | E[54] | E[54] |
References
- ^ Pictures are given in relative scales; they're sized to be WYSIWYG when viewing using 81 PPI monitor.
- ^ SanDisk microSD and microSDHC Product Listing
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ a b c FUJIFILM Global | xD-Picture Card and Adapters
- ^ Plexus Outbursts specifications
- ^ Apacer's MMC specifications
- ^ Voltage table at All Memory Cards, note that some cards support both voltages (and), and some cards are available in distinct versions (or)
- ^ Explanation of controller chip at All Memory Cards
- ^ a b c d CompactFlash Specification Rev. 4.1
- ^ ACP-EP Specifications
- ^ a b ACP-EP RS-MMC card features list
- ^ a b ACP-EP MMCmobile card features list
- ^ Transcend MMCplus 4 GiB
- ^ a b MMC transferred at up to 52 MiB/s
- ^ Sony 32 GB Memory Stick PRO Duo
- ^ [3]
- ^ a b Sony Introduces Faster MS Pro HG Duo Card
- ^ a b Sony Memory Stick PRO-HG, up to 32 GB, 8-bit parallel transfer
- ^ SanDisk announces world's largest mobile phone card capacity with 16GB M2
- ^ Toshiba Adds New High Density SDHC Cards and microSDHC Card to Extensive Memory Card Line-up
- ^ New 4 GiB miniSDHC card
- ^ SanDisk announces world's largest mobile phone card capacity with 16 GiB Micro SHDC
- ^ Write protection switch at All Memory Cards
- ^ Some early SD cards may not have a write protection switch.
- ^ The write protect switch signals to the host, which is responsible for write protection. The write protect switch is not connected to the internal circuitry of the card. SD Card Simplified Physical Layer Specification
- ^ Fujifilm accessories xD-Picture Card
- ^ a b DataFab EXP-CF
- ^ a b c d e f g DataFab EXP 12 in 2
- ^ a b DataFab exp 12 in 1
- ^ DataFab exp M2+microSD
- ^ a b Transcend CompactFlash-to-PC Card adapter
- ^ Transcend SmartMedia-to-PC Card adapter
- ^ a b c d Transcend 5-in-1 Adapter
- ^ a b c d Minolta SD-CF1 SD-to-CompactFlash adapter
- ^ a b c d Transcend MemoryStick-to-CompactFlash adapter
- ^ Sony MSAC-MCF1N and AD-MSCF1 PRO Duo to CF adapters
- ^ a b c d e f Olympus MACF-10 xD-to-CompactFlash adapter
- ^ a b c Hama xD-to-SM adapter
- ^ In March 2008, Olympus started shipping the MASD-1 microSD-to-xD adapter along with its latest compact digital cameras, with a shape designed to fit only in those latest cameras. The physical adapter is in fact purely electromechanical, although the xD and SD protocols are completely incompatible. This demonstrates that the cameras themselves must understand the SD protocol, and thus the adapter is more properly termed an electronic adapter, with the electronic logic contained in the camera rather than the physical accessory.
- ^ SD cards are usually thicker than MMC ones, and although it uses perfectly compatible pins, not every MMC slot may allow thick SD card to be inserted
- ^ a b c Dragon SD/miniSD/MMC to MS PRO Duo Adapter
- ^ KingMax microSD to MS PRO Duo Adapter
- ^ a b PC Engines IDE to CompactFlash adapters
- ^ Star Empery PT110 SD Card To ATA IDE 3.5 inch Hard Drive Adapter
- ^ 4× SD to SSD IDE Adapter
- ^ a b Accelerated Compact Flash: The Addonics SATA CF Adapter
- ^ a b c d e f g h i There are many USB-connected "n-in-1" memory card readers, for example Belkin's "Hi-Speed USB 2.0 15-in-1 Media Reader & Writer".
- ^ a b MS Duo and M2 adapters have appeared in the last 12 months which look like USB memory sticks
- ^ SanDisk @ CES - SD card with built-in USB adapter
- ^ A-Data microSD to USB Adapter
- ^ DCRP Special Report: FlashPath Adapter by Tom Beardmore
- ^ R4 microSD to NDS Slot-1 Adapter
- ^ a b c Supercard to NDS Slot-2 Adapter
External links
- GumstixDocsWiki Frequently Asked Questions: Are SD cards interchangeable with MMC cards?
- Types of Memory Cards
- USB mass storage device class: Mass Storage device class specification — on the site of the USB Implementers Forum.