The Samsung PRO Plus SD card is the newest addition to Samsung’s card lineup and will find itself residing in enthusiast cameras and computers. The full-size SD card was released alongside the microSD variant, which we also reviewed. The SD card is available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB.
The Samsung PRO Plus SD card is the newest addition to Samsung’s card lineup and will find itself residing in enthusiast cameras and computers. The full-size SD card was released alongside the microSD variant, which we also reviewed. The SD card is available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB.
The last PRO Plus SD card we reviewed was back in 2020. We did not review the last generation full-size SD card, but we did review the previous generation PRO Plus microSD which was released in 2021. Both versions of the memory card have the same performance specifications for their respective generation. Hence, our data from the 2021 PRO Plus microSD matches that of the 2021 full-size SD.
Samsung quotes read and write activity of up to 180MB/s and 130MB/s respectively, up from the 160MB/s read and 120MB/s write of the previous generation. This amounts to a 12% increase in reads and an 8% increase in writes.
The front of the memory card prominently displays that it has application performance class A2 support and a video speed class rating of V30. This gives the card good performance and quick transfer times for large files.
The PRO Plus can be purchased in a kit with a reader which uses a USB type A connector. Those using Macs or other thin devices likely don’t have access to a type A port, but also not the end of the world. Users will simply need to purchase an adaptor for the type A connector separately. We found a set of two Anker USB A to C adaptors on sale for only $6.
The new PRO Plus SD cards now feature seven-proof protection, up from the previous six-proof protection. These specs can be seen below.
The card’s resilience is useful for users who are on the go. This along with Samsung’s generous 10-year warranty makes this SD a great choice in terms of reliability.
The Samsung PRO Plus SD Card 256GB is available on Amazon for $21.20. The type A adaptor is available for a small premium.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 256GB 128GB 64GB |
| Interface | UHS-I |
| SD Standard | SDXC |
| Performance (Read) | Up to 180MB/s |
| Performance (Write) | Up to 130MB/s |
| Speed Class | U3, V30, A2, Class 10 |
| Certification | FCC, CE, VCCI, RCM |
| Multiproof | Water, Temperature, X-Ray, Magnet, Drop, Wearout, Shock |
| Warranty | Limited 10-year warranty |
We tested the Samsung PRO Plus SD Card with the bundled Samsung reader via our Lenovo ThinkStation P520 testbed. We will be comparing results from the PRO Plus to the SanDisk Extreme PRO SD Card, another relevant memory card on the market.
Starting with the popular Blackmagic benchmark, the card posted results that were lower than what the spec sheet stated. We saw 158.7MB/s read and 124MB/s write. This is under the claimed figures of 180MB/s read and 130MB/s write. In all fairness, it does state that the card can reach UP to these figures, but the somewhat large 21.3MB/s discretion in read performance is too big to fully ignore.
As can be seen, the SanDisk Extreme PRO has the edge in this test. This is somewhat expected, keeping in mind that the Samsung SD is around $16 cheaper.
| Disk Speed Test | Samsung PRO Plus SD Card | SanDisk Extreme PRO SD Card |
|---|---|---|
| Read | 158.7 MB/s | 191.4 MB/s |
| Write | 124.0 MB/s | 136.2 MB/s |
Switching to synthetic testing using IOMeter 1 thread, we saw good results from the Samsung PRO Plus. The SD performed similarly to the Blackmagic test in sequential 2MB reads and writes. Random reads and writes were a little lower, but this is expected for this class of SD. Where the PRO Plus really shined was the random 4K read-and-write. IOPS were over 2x higher than those of the SanDisk SD.
| IOMeter (1 Thread) | Samsung PRO Plus SD Card | SanDisk Extreme PRO SD Card |
| Seq 2MB Read | 157.8 MB/s | 191.8 MB/s |
| Seq 2MB Write | 124.1 MB/s | 133.1 MB/s |
| Random 2MB Read | 149.8 MB/s | 154.8 MB/s |
| Random 2MB Write | 100.0 MB/s | 89.8 MB/s |
| Random 4K Read | 2605 IOPS | 1340.9 IOPS |
| Random 4K Write | 1799 IOPS | 609.5 IOPS |
IOMeter 4 thread is not all that relevant to our testing, but we opted to display our IOPS results for anyone wondering.
| IOMeter (4 Thread) | Samsung PRO Plus SD Card | SanDisk Extreme PRO SD Card |
| Random 4K Read | 2655 IOPS | 1341 IOPS |
| Random 4K Write | 1709 IOPS | 610 IOPS |
Samsung has historically done a great job releasing memory cards that have great performance for the price and this SD was no exception. The PRO Plus performed mostly as expected, although it was a bit slower than stated on the spec sheet. This is not super disappointing though considering the PRO Plus still hit 158.7 MB/s read and 124 MB/s write in our Blackmagic test, and did really well on the Random 4K read and write tests.
The argument for the SD gets even stronger since the Samsung PRO Plus is only $21.20 compared to $37.99 for the SanDisk Extreme Pro. The SanDisk is better when looking at most categories, but there is no denying the price is higher for a card that’s better, but not significantly so. Both cards offer more than enough speed for creative professionals working with high-quality 4k video, so it’s really down to the user to decide if they want to pay an extra $16 for a better SD.
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