- Advertised capacity: 32GB
- Logical capacity: 31,243,370,496 bytes
- Physical capacity: 31,243,370,496 bytes
- Fake/skimpy flash: Skimpy (2.36% skimp)
- Size of protected area: 83,886,080 bytes (inaccessible)
- Speed class marks: C10*, U1
- CID data:
- Manufacturer ID:
0x02** - OEM ID:
0x544d(ASCII:TM) - Product name:
0x5341333247(ASCII:SA32G) - Product revision:
0x71
- Manufacturer ID:
| Sample # | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obtained from | Amazon | AliExpress | AliExpress | AliExpress | N/A |
| Price paid | $11.49 | $6.15 | $6.15 | $6.15 | $7.49 |
| Manufacture date | Unknown | Dec 2022 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2022 | N/A |
| Serial number | Unknown | 0x498ff4cf | 0x498ff46a | 0x498ff471 | N/A |
| Sequential read speed (MB/sec) | Unknown | 94.16 | 94.17 | 94.17 | 94.17 |
| Sequential write speed (MB/sec) | Unknown | 18.08 | 17.74 | 17.91 | 17.91 |
| Random read speed (IOPS/sec) | Unknown | 2,204.23 | 2,831.33 | 2,704.33 | 2,579.96 |
| Random write speed (IOPS/sec) | Unknown | 865.49 | 878.90 | 867.76 | 870.71 |
| Number of read/write cycles to first error | 2,568 | Not yet determined | Not yet determined | 923 | 1,746 |
| Number of read/write cycles to complete failure | 2,568 | Not yet determined | Not yet determined | Not yet determined | 2,568 |
| Total days to complete failure | 66 | Not yet determined | Not yet determined | Not yet determined | 66 |
| Card reader used | SmartQ Single*** | JJS CR-UTC4AC | JJS CR-UTC4AC | JJS CR-UTC4AC | N/A |
| Package front | Not available |  |  |  | N/A |
| Package back | Not available |  |  |  | N/A |
| Card front | Not available |  |  |  | N/A |
| Card back | Not available |  |  |  | N/A |
* The Class 10 marking appears on the product packaging, but does not appear on the card itself.
** This manufacturer ID/OEM ID combination is pretty well known to be associated with Toshiba/Kioxia.
*** Probably
Discussion
This card is one that I first purchased in 2021, when I first tried to start this project. At that point in time, my project and its goals were not nearly as well defined, and as a result I don’t have as much data on that first card — so I wanted to get some fresh samples and put them through the same testing as all my other cards. Plus, I’ve reviewed two other models of Kioxia cards — why not review a third?
As with the Gigastone Full HD Video card earlier, I used a combination of f3probe and stressdisk to test the first sample. The logs from stressdisk indicate that the average read speed at the time of failure was 86.74MB/sec, while the average write speed was 18.38MB/sec. This was consistent with the scores I obtained on the later three samples.
These cards have decent sequential read, random read, and random write speeds. Random write speeds for all three samples were more than one standard deviation above average, with the lowest score putting it in the 90th percentile. Random read scores for two of the three were more than one standard deviation above average, with the lowest score putting it in the 72nd percentile. However, this card did poorly in sequential write speeds — while less than one standard deviation below average, the highest measurement put it in the 28th percentile.
Sample #1 endured 2,568 read/write cycles before failing — making it past the 2,000 read/write cycle minimum that I’ve established. The test ended when the card made itself read-only; stressdisk did not note any data mismatch errors prior to that point. I have to wonder if this was an intended behavior, or if some other issue occurred that caused the card to make itself read-only. If it was an intended behavior, it would be useful in that it would give a user the opportunity to retrieve their data off of a failing card before it failed completely.
Samples #2-#4 are currently undergoing endurance testing:
- Sample #2 has not yet made it to the 2,000 read/write cycle mark. It is currently expected to reach this point sometime in October 2024.
- Sample #3 has not yet made it to the 2,000 read/write cycle mark. It is currently expected to reach this point sometime in August 2024.
- Sample #4’s first error was a single bit flip, in a single sector, during round 924. It has survived 1,065 read/write cycles in total so far.
On a side note, I want to say that I love Kioxia’s packaging — more specifically, the outer packaging. It’s tamper-evident and it’s easy to open. I wish more manufacturers would make their packaging so easy. The inner packaging is another story — it’s a plastic clamshell with a thin layer of plastic on the back that you have to peel back to get to the card. This layer takes a little bit of effort to start peeling, and it tears easily — however, if this happens, a utility knife will make short work of it.
July 20, 2024 (current number of read/write cycles is updated automatically every hour)