On this storage review, we are going to check out the Transcend 330S memory card. It is a high performance microSDXC directly aimed for mobile devices and handheld game consoles.

The Transcend 330S we got is the 64GB variant, featuring a price point of around $13 USD. According to its data sheet, the 330S is compliant with the A2 speed class which translates to excellent random read/write speed for retrieving small pieces of data and of course, speeding up application launch times.

Technical Specifications

Storage

Capacity 64 GB, 128 GB
Controller NA
Flash Memory 3D NAND Flash
Form Factor microSD
Sequential Read 100 MB/s
Sequential Write 60 MB/s
Random Read IOPS NA
Random Write IOPS NA
Warranty 5 Years
TBW NA
Dimensions
Length 11 mm
Width 15 mm
Height 1 mm
Weight 0.4 grams

Packaging and Accessories

The packaging is a simple blister pack yet it comes with the necessary information about the microSD card’s capabilities. The product should come with the following items inside:

  • SD Card adapter

Design, Layout and Build Quality

The Transcend 330S is a basic storage device. It is in microSD form factor, featuring either a 64GB or 128GB 3D NAND flash inside.

Transcend 330S SDXC Review 1

According to its data sheet, the drive is compliant with UHS-I U3, Class 10, V30 and A2 speed classes. That said, this drive is optimal for drones, action cameras, mobile devices, and even hand held consoles.

Transcend 330S SDXC Review 2

Being a High Performance Transcend micoSDXC card, this one is not suitable for dashcams or surveillance applications. For those, you need Transcend’s High Endurance SD or microSD cards.

Test Setup and Methodology

Our storage device reviews revolves around the use of various storage benchmark tools and real world benchmarks. Our setup fills up the test drive to at least 50% of its capacity. This is done so to negate the FOB (Fresh Out the Box) performance of the drive; ensuring that we are testing the drive near its expected usage. The drive is formatted under NTFS and is attached to its natively supported interface. This is to ensure the system is at its optimal testing state.

Test System Specifications
CPU Intel Core-i5 6600K
Motherboard ASUS Z170-A
Cooler Noctua NH-L9i
Memory ADATA Premier DDR4
GPU ASUS ROG Strix GTX 1060 OC
Storage Crucial BX200 480GB
Case Thermaltake Core P3
PSU CORSAIR RM850X
Display DELL U2715H
OS Microsoft Windows 10 Pro

Throughput Performance

Throughput performance measured in MB/s is measured with CrystalDiskMark. First up on the test is the Sequential read and write performance, measured with a block size of 1MB and a 1GB transfer size. This test is more in line with large file transfers; similar to watching a movie.

Transcend 330S SDXC Review 1

The second one is the Random 4K read and write performance, measured with a random block size of 4KB and a 1GB transfer size. This test is more in line with small file transfers; similar to transferring installation files and reading game data.

Transcend 330S SDXC Review 2

Sequential transfer rate performance figures are around the specified – nearly achieving it. Random 4K performance on the other hand is alright for a microSD card. For reference, the A2 standard requires sustained sequential speeds of at least 10MB/s.

IOPS Performance

Input/Output Operations per Second is is measured with AS SSD. The Random 4K-64Thrd read and write benchmark is used for this test. Performance is measured with a random block size of 4KB, a 1GB transfer size and 64-thread IO requests. This tests the storage medium’s ability to use Native Command Queuing (NCQ) at higher Queue Depth. A Useful metric for server side applications.

Transcend 330S SDXC Review 3

Random 4K-64Thrd performance shouldn’t be your major concern on SD cards but this tells us that it is able to keep up with the USB 3.0 drive on the test.

Access Time Performance

The read and write latency is measured with AS SSD using a 512KB block size. Access Time is just as important as the throughput and IOPS performance of the drive; allowing us to peak into how fast or slow a storage medium can access a given data. Latency is measured in milliseconds.

Transcend 330S SDXC Review 4

Access time is pretty good. Even better than the majority of hard drives these days. This, together with its excellent transfer rate, should translate to a faster loading time.

File Copy Performance

Our real world performance test consists of 3 file folders containing 6GB worth of text files, images and videos each. The files are copied within the drive using TeraCopy to evaluate the storage medium’s performance. File copy performance is measured in seconds.

Transcend 330S SDXC Review 5

Pretty good real world performance output here for the Transcend 330S. This is a UHS Speed Class 3 and the UHS Video Speed Class 30 standard memory card after all which is purpose built for 4K Ultra HD video recordings.

Software, Lighting and Special Features

Transcend offers support for the RecoveryRx software with the 330S. This is a simple recovery and formatting tool available at their website with no extra charge.

Transcend 330S SDXC Review 4

The 330S memory card is also tested to withstand extreme conditions. It is technically temperature resistant, waterproof, shock proof, X-ray proof and static proof.

Final Thoughts

Transcend offers a wide range of products and memory cards are their bread and butter for the mobile devices. Aimed directly at that, the 330S microSDXC is one fine high capacity SD card with an A2 speed class spearheading its set of features.

As for these so called features, the card is compatible with the RoceveryRX tool and comes with UHS-I U3, Class 10, V30 and of course the A2 classification. On top of these, the 330S is also temperature resistant, waterproof, shock proof, X-ray proof and even static proof.

Being a fast, simple, reliable and relatively cheap storage option, the Transcend 330S 64GB is the definition of set it and forget it memory card. Buy it, slap it on your device and enjoy playing your games without a fuss. Simple as that.TechPorn Awards 2018 (1)

Transcend 330S 64GB microSDXC Memory Card Review
  • Performance - 9/10
    9/10
  • Build Quality - 9/10
    9/10
  • Features - 8/10
    8/10
  • Design - 7/10
    7/10
  • Value - 9/10
    9/10
8.4/10

Summary

Being a fast, simple and relatively cheap storage option, the Transcend 330S 64GB is the definition of set it and forget it memory card. Buy it, slap it on your device and enjoy playing your games without a fuss. Simple as that.

Pros

  • Excellent sequential performance
  • Excellent access time performance
  • Really cheap
  • 5 year warranty

Cons

  • Only available in two variants

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