Performance:
The test system used in this review is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 3700x CPU, MSI B550 GAMING PLUS motherboard, 16GB (8GB x 2) of Crucial Ballistix 3200 MHz DDR4 memory, Crucial P5 1TB SSD, GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1060 WINDFORCE OC 6G graphics card and a Lexar Multi-Card 2-in-1 USB 3.1 card reader. For the operating system, I used the latest version of Windows 10 Pro.
To test the performance of Samsung's EVO Plus SD card, I ran a series of benchmarks using CrystalDiskMark, ATTO Disk Benchmark and PCMark 10. To get a feel for the "real world" performance, I also copied and pasted 1GB of random files and directories as well as a single 4GB ISO file in Windows Explorer.
CrystalDiskMark 8.0.4:
First, I ran a few quick tests using CrystalDiskMark. This benchmark measures the performance of a storage device by testing its sequential and random read and write speeds.
According to Samsung, the EVO Plus SD card is capable of transferring data at speeds up to 130 MB/s. While the 256GB version of the card had no problems reaching this speed when reading, it came up a bit short in CrystalDiskMark's sequential write speed test.
ATTO Disk Benchmark 4.01:
I also used ATTO Disk Benchmark to test the EVO Plus SD card's sequential read and write speeds. The tests are run using blocks ranging in size from 512B to 64 MB and the total length set to 256MB.
When tested with ATTO, the EVO Plus SD card's read speeds topped out at about 128 MB/s and its write speeds at 118 MB/s.
PCMark 10 - Data Drive Benchmark:
PCMark 10's Data Drive Benchmark is designed to test drives that are used for storing files rather than applications. You can also use this test with NAS drives, USB sticks, memory cards, and other external storage devices. This benchmark produces an overall score as a measure of drive performance. Comparing devices is as simple as comparing scores. The tests also measure and report the bandwidth and average access time for the drive.
Thanks to its high bandwidth and low latency, the EVO Plus was able to take the top spot in PCMark 10's Data Drive Benchmark.
"Real World" Benchmark:
To test the "real world" performance of Samsung's EVO Plus SD memory card, I copied and pasted 1GB worth of randomly generated files and directories. All of the files are between 1KB and 95MB in size and no more than five directories deep. To see how well the cards handled large files, I also copied and pasted a 4GB ISO file.
| Samsung EVO Plus 256GB SDXC (2021) | Samsung EVO Plus 128GB SDXC (2020) | |
| 1GB Files - Write: | 20 seconds | 24 seconds |
| 1GB Files - Read: | 12 seconds | 14 seconds |
| 4GB ISO File - Write: | 38 seconds | 1:05 |
| 4GB ISO File - Read: | 33 seconds | 45 seconds |
Samsung's new card performed very well here, taking 20 seconds to write 1GB worth of test data and 12 seconds to read it back.
Final Thoughts:
Samsung's new EVO Plus SD card is a great choice for the enthusiast or casual user looking for fast, yet affordable, storage for their camera, camcorder or PC. The card offers seven-proof protection against shock, water, extreme temperatures, x-ray, wear out, drops and magnetic impact and, with capacity options ranging from 32GB to 256GB, you can store thousands of high-resolution photos or hours worth of Full HD video. The new EVO Plus also offers 1.3 times faster performance than the previous generation. In our tests, the 256GB version of the card was able to read at speeds as high as 131 MB/s and write at more than 118 MB/s.
Samsung's EVO Plus SD card is available now in 32GB, 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacities. Prices on Amazon.com currently range from $8 up to $27 for the 256GB version reviewed here.
