Kingston Gold Series UHS-1 Speed Class 3 64GB MicroSDXC Card Review

Benchmarks

Prior to testing the card was formatted before each benchmark to prevent any contamination during testing. Both Crystal benchmark and ATTO disk benchmark were used to test the SD card. A copy of the complete season of Soul Eater was used as well to see how a large multi-file transfer handles compared to budget based SD cards. The Kingston Digital MobileLite G4 USB 3.0 multi-function card reader (FCR-MLG4) for our testing and connected directly to the USB 3.0 on the back of the motherboard to keep any distortion to testing minimal.

Test System

Crystal Benchmark 5.2.1

The test was run three times and resulted in a read average of 93.55 MB/s and write of 31.67 MB/s in sequential testing and 7.95 MB/s read and 0.82 MB/s in 4K testing. This was above the rated 90 MB/s but far below the 45 MB/s stated on the packaging and website.

ATTO Disk Benchmark v3.05

Same as Crystal Disk, ATTO disk benchmark ran three times and the results show closer to the posted specifications. An average of the three test showed 95.0 MB/s read and 42.55 MB/s write speeds. This is still above the rated read speeds of 90MB/s but still slightly below the rated 45MB/s write speeds.

Final Thoughts

Premium SD cards certainly come at a premium price, however does performance justify the price? The Kingston MicroSDXC card is 20-25MB/s faster in read speeds compared to other cards of similar capacity within category. Depending on the card, it can even be up to 30MB/s faster on the write speeds. This boost in write speed is what sets the Gold series apart from the standard SD card. This increase in write speed allows for faster and more consistent data to be saved. This can allow for smoother frames when recording with an action-cam (GoPro) or drone. To test how well the card transfers normal user data, I used the first season of Soul Eater (4.03GB). The card transferred the entire collection in under a minute. Compare this to my budget SD cards, which can take upwards of seven plus minutes.

With a price of almost $80, the Kingston 64GB Gold Series MicroSDXC is out of most peoples budget. Especially when you can get a card with more than double the capacity for around the same price. Some are even cheaper. However, for those that want a card without compromise, the Kingston MicroSDXC card is a staple for those utilizing action-cams. It is built for the most demanding applications and devices. Despite falling a little short on its posted 45MB/s write speed, the Kingston Gold MicroSDXC is still plenty fast. Its toolbox of supported devices makes this card not only standout from the crowd, but earn our recommendation as well.