Home Consumer Samsung PRO Endurance Card Review (128GB)

Samsung PRO Endurance Card Review (128GB)

by Kevin OBrien

Last month Samsung launched the PRO Endurance line of memory cards, specifically designed for intensive video recording use cases. Offered in capacities up to 128GB, the microSDHC/microSDXC cards deliver what Samsung states is the industry-best for continuous video recording. The 128GB card delivers 43,800 hours while the 64GB card offers up to 26,280 hours and 32GB card offers up to 17,520 hours. The cards offer read speeds of 100MB/s, but in this case the writes are more important. The PRO Endurance cards support 30MB/s writes, meaning the cards can ingest full HD (1920×1080) streams with 4K support, which requires 26 Mbps. 


Last month Samsung launched the PRO Endurance line of memory cards, specifically designed for intensive video recording use cases. Offered in capacities up to 128GB, the microSDHC/microSDXC cards deliver what Samsung states is the industry-best for continuous video recording. The 128GB card delivers 43,800 hours while the 64GB card offers up to 26,280 hours and 32GB card offers up to 17,520 hours. The cards offer read speeds of 100MB/s, but in this case the writes are more important. The PRO Endurance cards support 30MB/s writes, meaning the cards can ingest full HD (1920×1080) streams with 4K support, which requires 26 Mbps. 

Given the likely use cases in dashcams, bodycams and military applications, the cards are built tough as well. Samsung PRO Endurance cards feature Samsung’s 4-Proof protection, which means they're water, temperature, magnetic and x-ray-proof. The PRO Endurance memory cards are available now with MSRPs starting at $89.99 for 128GB, $44.99 for 64GB and $24.99 for 32GB.

Samsung PRO Endurance Card Specifications

Capacities 32GB
64GB
128GB
FHD Recording 32GB – 17,520 hours
64GB – 26,280 hours
128GB – 43,800 hours
Form Factor microSDHC and microSDXC (Includes SD adaptor)
Sequential Read Up to 100MB/s
Sequential Write Up to 30MB/s
Bus Speed Mode UHS-1
4-Proof Features Waterproof (IEC 60529, IPX7)
Temperature proof
X-ray proof
Magnetic proof
Warranty 32GB – 2 Years
64GB – 3 Years
128GB – 5 Years
Operating Temperatures From -25ºC to 85ºC

Performance

In this review, we will compare the new Samsung EVO Plus to the following microSD cards:

Our EVO Plus and PRO Endurance test units are 128GB versions, while the PRO Plus is 64GB and we used our HP Z2 mini Workstation for testing.

Using our Consumer Testing Platform, we measured transfer speeds from the new 128GB PRO Endurance. Samsung's sheet figures are 100MB/s read and 30MB/s write, which we nearly matched or exceeded. We measured 94.34MB/s read and 34.3MB/s write. The EVO Plus measured 92.15MB/s read and 84.62MB/s write, while the PRO Plus measured 89.2MB/s read and 83.7MB/s write.

When comparing random large-block transfers, the new Samsung PRO Endurance maintained 73.9MB/s read and 21.1MB/s write. The 128GB EVO Plus card fell behind in writes with just 1.15MB/s. Reads were much better at 85.72MB/s. The 64GB Pro Plus measured 86.1MB/s read and just 4.7MB/s write.

Conclusion

The Samsung PRO Endurance fits an ever-growing segment of the market geared around video recording and surveillance. These systems are setup to record constantly and over-write old data once full, which is different than how a standard memory card would be used (light usage). From a performance standpoint the Endurance is rated for 100MB/s read and 30MB/s write, which isn't record smashing, but also plenty fast for the use cases it is designed around.

Compared to the EVO Plus and PRO Plus, the PRO Endurance came roughly in line on the read speed measurements (92MB/s vs 89MB/s vs 94MB/s), but the write speeds where the area the two cards diverged. The EVO Plus measured 84MB/s write sequential, but fell to 1.15MB/s with large-block random transfers. The PRO Plus started at 83.7MB/s and dropped to 4.7MB/s with large-lock random writes. The PRO Endurance though measured 34MB/s sequential and only dropped to 21.1MB/s with large-block random transfers. For a more demanding write-workload the Endurance was able to maintain most of its write speeds, whereas the EVO Plus and Pro Plus dropped down significantly. For the intended audience the PRO Endurance delivers with performance and deep set of protection features making it an ideal choice.

Samsung Pro Endurance at Amazon

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