Doug Johnson Productions

Disk Performance

Using the DJ Drive Tool, we and others have tested and compiled real-world media performance data. Having this data makes buying decisions for your media needs easier.

Size: Sort: Reader: Read: Write: MB/s

All Media Types, by Perform. Value

Media Type Manufacturer / Model Capacity Read Speed Write Speed Latest Price
Internal SSD Lexar NM790 4TB
Test performed on a NVMe reader
4,096.8GB 5,755.4MB/sec 5,068.3MB/sec $ 301.49 Buy
Internal SSD Western Digital SN850X 2TB
Test performed on a NVMe reader
2,000.4GB 5,442.2MB/sec 1,351.3MB/sec $ 154.99 Buy
Internal SSD Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
Test performed on a NVMe reader
2,000.4GB 4,237.1MB/sec 1,589.0MB/sec $ 166.97 Buy
Internal SSD XPG Gammix S70 Blade
Test performed on a NVMe reader
2,048.4GB 5,767.8MB/sec 875.1MB/sec $ 149.99 Buy
Portable SSD Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
Test performed on a ORICO m.2 20Gbps USB-C to NVMe Enclosure reader
2,000.4GB 1,878.9MB/sec 1,415.9MB/sec $ 166.97 Buy
Portable SSD Western Digital SN850X 2TB
Test performed on a ORICO m.2 20Gbps USB-C to NVMe Enclosure reader
2,000.4GB 1,866.7MB/sec 1,280.3MB/sec $ 154.99 Buy
Internal SSD Lexar NM790 4TB
Test performed on a NVMe reader
4,096.8GB 4,861.9MB/sec 199.8MB/sec $ 301.49 Buy
Internal SSD Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
Test performed on a NVMe reader
2,000.4GB 1,484.4MB/sec 1,265.4MB/sec $ 178.99 Buy
Portable SSD Western Digital SN850X 2TB
Test performed on a ASMT ASM236X NVME SCSI Disk Device reader
2,000.4GB 1,024.2MB/sec 963.8MB/sec $ 154.99 Buy
Portable SSD Samsung 970 EVO Plus
Test performed on a ORICO m.2 20Gbps USB-C to NVMe Enclosure reader
1,000.2GB 1,538.1MB/sec 1,075.4MB/sec $ 94.98 Buy
Portable SSD Crucial X6 1TB Portable SSD 1,000.2GB 883.5MB/sec 875.1MB/sec $ 72.99 Buy
Portable SSD Crucial X10 2TB Portable SSD
Test performed on a USB C 3.2 Gen 2 reader
2,000.4GB 977.2MB/sec 910.4MB/sec $ 166.49 Buy
Portable SSD Western Digital SN850X 2TB
Test performed on a Sabrent USB-C to NVMe Enclosure reader
2,000.4GB 981.0MB/sec 750.7MB/sec $ 154.99 Buy
Internal SSD Samsung 970 Plus 1TB
Test performed on a NVMe reader
1,000.2GB 1,383.9MB/sec 853.3MB/sec $ 94.98 Buy
Portable SSD Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
Test performed on a Sabrent USB-C to NVMe Enclosure reader
2,000.4GB 1,014.0MB/sec 777.7MB/sec $ 166.97 Buy
Portable SSD Crucial X8 2TB Portable SSD 2,000.4GB 947.0MB/sec 961.4MB/sec $ 195.00 Buy
Portable SSD Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
Test performed on a Sabrent USB-C to NVMe Enclosure reader
2,000.4GB 950.4MB/sec 846.1MB/sec $ 178.92 Buy
Portable SSD SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD 2TB 2,000.4GB 1,024.4MB/sec 626.9MB/sec $ 189.99 Buy
Portable SSD SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD 2TB
Test performed on a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Host reader
2,000.4GB 1,903.8MB/sec 359.4MB/sec $ 189.99 Buy
Portable SSD Samsung T7 1TB (Write Only) 1,000.2GB 964.7MB/sec 606.5MB/sec $ 99.99 Buy

1 2 3 4 7

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

How is this useful?

Manufacturers of SD, Compact Flash, CFast, and other media don't often advertise the write speeds of their cards. But in the video production world, sustained write speed is the most important metric. We need to know that cards are going to be able to write data as fast as our cameras and other recorders generate it.

Which Card Should I Get?

Short answer? Get a card as fast as your budget allows, as long as it is fast enough for your production workflow.

Longer answer? Get cards with write speeds in the above table higher than your recorder's or camera's required minimums. You can enter a minimum write speed in the search criteria to limit which cards are shown.

Data rates vary quite a bit, based on the codec, resolution, frame rate, and even image quality of the camera. For example, at DJP we use the Hyperdeck Studio Mini from Blackmagic Design for most of our recording needs, and shoot in formats from 1080p24 up through 2160p30, usually in ProRes. Cards which are capable of writing at rates of 100MB/sec usually work well for this. Our cameras needs are more modest, where 40 MB/sec is plenty for 2160p30 in XAVC-S.

Recommended Card Readers

StarTech 4-Slot SD Card Reader

For general use, when you have to copy data from multiple cards at a time, the StarTech 4-Slot SD Card Reader is our preferred device. We use it on every event when we need to copy footage from our master HyperDeck recorders and the isolated camera feeds with the minimum amount of hassle. With USB 3.2 Gen 2 connectivity for both Type A and C, this unit gives the highest standard UHS-I and UHS-II speeds we've seen, at up to 10 Gigabits per second, giving the speed to read four cards at 250 MB/second simultaneously.

Lexar Multi-Card 2-in-1 USB 3.1 Reader

For the highest perfomance for SD and microSD, we like this 2-in-1 reader from Lexar. For cards which offer performance boosts above normal UHS-I speeds (speeds greater than 104 MB/sec), this reader has proven to be the best we've tried. It not only accelerates reads from Lexar cards, it also speeds up reads and writes from cards from other manufacturers as well, often more than readers from the same manufacturer. We've had great luck with these readers, and they're quite inexpensive.

Submit a Card

Use the DJ Drive Tool to perform disk testing and submit card performance data to this site.

We recommend using the 'Refresh' mode to perform both read and write testing.