The MicroSD card is an essential storage component, specially for mobile devices. Nowadays, not only that they can store more data (larger storage capacity) but they are also becoming faster. Today, we are going to look at and review the Patriot Memory LX Series 256GB MicroSDXC Class 10 / UHS-I card. The LX Series is one of the company’s top of the line and high performance micro SD card; offering fast performance and larger storage capacity for HD camcorders and mid-range cameras. The Patriot LX Series Micro SD cards are Class 10 certified and is said to meet the latest SD Association specifications providing a minimum sustained write speed of 10MB/s. Like many of the microSD cards in the market, this LX series can also be used in smartphones, portable digital audio players or a portable storage medium; and not just for camcorders or cameras. If you are in the market looking for a fast and large capacity microSD card, please continue reading our Patriot LX Series 256GB microSDXC review below.
Patriot Memory LX Series 256GB MicroSDXC Class 10/UHS-I Review
First, let me just give you some information for those who are lost or has no idea regarding the terminologies or those numbers and letters you see on memory cards.
- microSDHC – This basically means Micro Secure Digital High Capacity. Usually SD cards with capacities 32GB and below.
- microSDXC – This means Micro Secure Digital Xtended Capacity, ranging from 64GB up to 2TB.
- UHS – Ultra High Speed
- UHS-I / UHS-II – Refers to the bus speed, UHS-I has a bus speed of 50MB/s up to 104MB/s. While UHS-II has a bus speed of 156MB/s up to 312MB/s.
- U1 / U3 – Indicates the minimum serial data writing speed. U1 has a minimum of 10MB/s, while U3 has a minimum of 30MB/s. This is usually used in memory cards with UHS Speed Class.
- Class 10 – Indicates that the card has a minimum performance speed of 10MB/s. This is usually used in memory cards with (High and Normal) Speed Class.
*You can read more about these from sdcard.org.
Packaging and Closer Look
The Patriot LX 256GB microSDXC is packed similarly like most microSD cards in the market, in blister pack. You can see the microSDXC card itself together with an SD card adapter. You can also read additional information regarding the product at the back of its packaging.
There is a note at the back saying that “for use only with microSDXC compatible devices”. As far as I know, the Patriot LX 256GB microSDXC card is compatible in any mobile devices (smartphones, portable players, cameras, video camera) as long as you format the card to a supported format to which your device can detect and read. I’m referring to NTFS, FAT32, exFAT and etc. On top of that, your device MUST support microSDXC or can support 256GB of capacity. Older electronic devices do not support microSDXC, only up to microSDHC or capacities only up to 32GB or 64GB. Be sure to check that, otherwise your device will not read this memory card and it will not work.
Aside from the microSD to SD card adapter, it also comes with a transparent plastic case that houses both the adapter and the card. You can insert the microSD card inside the adapter, leaving an extra space for another microSD card inside the plastic case.
MicroSD cards are so small, measuring only 15.0mm x 11.0mm x 1.0mm, and weighs only around 0.25 g. Be sure to handle it properly and store it inside a case if not installed on a device. It’s very easy to lose this due to its size. The LX Series is also backed with a limited 2 year warranty from Patriot Memory. One thing that I am not sure of is if the LX series is water proof, temperature proof, shock proof, X-ray proof or magnet proof. I can’t seem to find any information or line, unlike with other microSD cards.
In terms of actual usable capacity, I know a lot of you already know that you won’t be able to use all the 256GB of capacity. Just like with all storage devices, actual usable capacity is lower, regardless if it’s a hard disk drive, solid state drive, external storage drive, SD card or micro SD cards. In this case, the Patriot LX 256GB microSDXC has an actual usable capacity of 238GB after being formatted.
Now let’s check out how this LX 256GB MicroSDXC performs.
