At first glance, the Samsung PRO Ultimate microSD memory card is really attractive and interesting. So here we have a microSD memory card with a whopping 200 MB/s reading and 130 MB/s writing.
Fantastic values! The price of the memory card itself is manageable.
However, be careful here! You can find out why in this article!
Samsung PRO Ultimate microSD memory card
At first glance, the Samsung PRO Ultimate microSD memory card is nothing unusual.
The memory card has a high-quality print from Samsung and generally has an attractive design, in my opinion. The only thing included with the memory card is a microSD to SD adapter, in white.
This is the standard adapter that is almost always included with Samsung microSD memory cards.
Nur UHS-I !
The Samsung PRO Ultimate is a so-called UHS-I memory card. The UHS-I standard allows maximum data rates of +- 104 MB/s.
Only with UHS-II can the data rate of SD cards be increased to around 300 MB/s.
Source: Wikipedia
But wait, if the Samsung PRO Ultimate only supports UHS-I, how can it reach up to 200 MB/s read according to the manufacturer?
Only in some devices over 100 MB/s
UHS-II is a slightly more complicated standard, especially for microSD memory cards. However, some manufacturers also managed to extend the data rates in the UHS-I standard beyond the officially possible 104 MB/s.
Many SanDisk memory cards in particular offer data rates of over 100 MB/s, even though they are only UHS-I memory cards.
The problem is that special card readers are required for this! Not all card readers or devices can use the increased data rates!
Strictly speaking, very few end devices can read/write UHS-I memory cards with speeds of over 100 MB/s.
Therefore, the super high data rates in cameras and game consoles are often of no use.
UHS-II has more pins
The secret to UHS-II’s higher data rate is more contacts.
UHS-II memory cards simply have an additional row of contacts, which means you can see at a glance whether you have a UHS-I or UHS-II memory card in front of you.
The Samsung PRO Ultimate is fast (in the right card reader)
But let’s take a look at the data rates of the Samsung PRO Ultimate. Does this really reach 200 MB/s reading and 130 MB/s writing, assuming you have a good card reader that supports such data rates?
Here with the ProGrade PG09 card reader:
We get a whopping 187.84 MB/s reading and 138.57 MB/s writing. Reading doesn’t quite reach the 200 MB/s that Samsung specifies, but writing does exceed the manufacturer’s specifications.
But what about a card reader that strictly adheres to the UHS-I standard?
Here we come to the expected 94.90 MB/s reading and 87.55 MB/s writing.
Let’s look at the values of the memory card in a large camera (Fujifilm X-H2s).
And here we can see that the Fuji camera, for example, cannot do anything with the “higher” data rate of a UHS-I memory card.
However, in game consoles like the Steam Deck or the Nintendo Switch, the memory card would perform very well, thanks to the “A2” rating. The memory card not only offers high data rates, but also good IOPS and access times.
Conclusion
Be careful when buying memory cards, even if they come from major manufacturers.
UHS-I memory cards can only achieve more than practically 90-100 MB/s in “selected” card readers. For example, if you plug the Samsung PRO Ultimate with an adapter into a large Sony camera (A7R V for example) and Fiji cameras, then it will only be recorded at a maximum of +- 90MB/s.
The Sony cameras I know, as well as most game consoles etc., simply can’t handle it anymore and stick to the normal UHS-I standard.
However, the Samsung PRO Ultimate is still fast! In a suitable card reader, it just about achieves the advertised values and thanks to the A2 classification, it is still ideal for devices like the Steam Deck!
Therefore, I don’t want to advise against the Samsung PRO Ultimate, this will be one of the best microSD memory cards for the Nintendo Switch, the Steam Deck etc., just don’t be surprised if you don’t see such high peak values.
In game consoles, this is often not important at all, but rather the access times, IOPS, etc., where the Samsung PRO Ultimate is very good.