SD Cards

SD cards hit the market in 1999 and helped transform storage for electronic devices. As their storage capacities ballooned, these devices became ever more powerful.

SD cards have become capable of storing as many as tens of thousands of images and songs along with hours of HD video on a single card.

When looking to buy individual and bulk SD cards, spend a few moments considering some options so you stand to get the most out of your purchases.

First, will you use SD cards for internal or external storage? Will you store photos or videos frequently? Do you need a specific class or storage size to best fit your needs? Are you looking for a specific brand?

All these questions can help you identify which SD card(s) you need for specific purposes. When buying a card for your Nikon DSLR camera or a digital camcorder, you’ll need a faster card compared with merely using an SD card in an MP3 player or digital picture frame, for example. Manufacturers and various tech companies using cards are strict on their requirements in utilizing proper write speeds and supported sizes. Performance is key.

Our following guide includes much more information about SD cards to help steer your purchasing decision.

What Is an SD Card?

An SD card, short for secure digital card, is a compact, lightweight and removable flash memory card offering high-capacity storage. Measuring 1.25 by 0.95 inches and weighing 2 grams, SD cards are used in computers and many electronic devices such as digital video camcorders, digital cameras, digital picture frames, cell phones, game consoles and MP3 players.

In recent years, a smaller form of SD cards called micro SD cards have emerged to help meet the needs of smaller devices such as cell phones.

Top SD Card Brand Names

Everything But Stromboli carries several top SD card brand names, including Kingston, PNY and SanDisk. We also carry Delkin cards and our very own branded SD cards.

Everything But Stromboli sells top SD cards individually and at special wholesale prices.

When you purchase Everything But Stromboli SD cards, you’ll save lots of money compared with buying cards from name-brand competitors while still getting high-quality products.

Common SD Card Sizes

In scoping out SD cards, zoom in on drive capacity. Small and large card sizes are available on Everything But Stromboli, carrying capacities from 256 MB to 256 GB. These common SD card sizes meet most people’s needs, although it’s worth noting that the most commonly sizes are 4 GB and 8 GB.

If you intend to record lots of HD video and take thousands of RAW or high-megapixel images at a wedding or other event or while on vacation, for example, you’ll benefit from investing in high-capacity cards such as 64 GB, 128 GB or even 256 GB.

With bulk purchases, although 4 GB is a common size, this storage capacity is giving way to 8 GB cards. Cards offering 16 GB and 32 GB of storage capacity follow 8 GB cards in popularity.

Years ago, the larger a card’s storage size meant a slower write speed, but this is no longer the case. As write speeds increased from 48 MB to 80 MB per second, larger-capacity cards have soared in popularity.

Class 10 cards write at 90 MB and 95 MB per second, making the 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB SD cards more appealing to move files, especially 4K video files, which are very large files. These are the fastest classes on the market. In time, we’ll see terabytes become available on these cards, and we have already seen a video speed class emerge.

SD Card Specs: What Does Each SD Card Terminology Indicate?

The Everything But Stromboli team has produced this handy guide breaking down SD card specs. These cards have a lot of terminologies, making it confusing for consumers to understand what kind of card(s) they need.

Note that each brand, format, size and class of SD card is different. It’s recommended to note the range of sizes and speeds suitable for the lowest and maximum efficiency and outputs possible for your given purpose.

• SDHC: Secure Digital High Capacity, which generally covers card sizes between 4 GB and 32 GB.
• SDXC: Secure Digital eXtended Capacity, optimized for full-HD (1920×1080 resolution) recording and is compatible with only SDXC devices, commonly media devices.
• Class or series: The class is the rated classification for a card’s write speed. Class indicates how fast information is uploaded and written onto the device. Cards have been made as Class 2, Class 4, Class 6 and Class 10, with the latter writing at a speed of at least 10 MB per second.
• UHS: Ultra High Speed is another designation of write speed, a drive with a U1 symbol writes at 10 MB per second and a U3 writes at 30 MB per second.
• V: A “V” designation represents a video-oriented card with the video class speed of V6 (6 MB per second), V10 (10 MB per second), V30 (30 MB per second), V60 (60 MB per second) and V90 (90 MB per second). Video requires a certain write speed to record a given quality of video. The higher the quality, the higher the necessary write speed.

SanDisk, for example, labels its card classes with the names Ultra, Extreme and Extreme Pro, with each tier operating at higher read speeds than the previous and much faster write speeds. The Ultra is a step up from a standard SD card, and the Extreme variety is better still. The Extreme Pro card performs the fastest read, write and transfer speeds and may be the card for you if you intend to record lots of 4K video.

Bulk SD Cards

When you purchase bulk SD cards, the larger the order, the cheaper the price. Buying bulk SD cards enables prices per card to be most affordable compared with purchasing individually.

Lots of companies buy bulk SD cards for use by their employees in business equipment as well as in packaging with electronic devices.

Digital photographers and videographers may also purchase wholesale SD cards to send files to clients.

Where Can I Buy Bulk SD Cards?

Everything But Stromboli makes it easy for you to buy bulk SD cards. You’ll save a tremendous amount of money when purchasing wholesale SD cards directly from us. Ours are high-quality and affordable products, especially if you desire to buy bulk SD cards.

When you purchase Everything But Stromboli-branded SD cards, you’ll discover an easy shopping experience, unlike what you’ll find on Amazon or eBay. These retailers require you to contact the seller directly to negotiate bulk pricing discounts and confirm whether their inventory supply is enough to fulfill your order quantity. With Amazon and eBay, you may find packages for three, five or 10 SD cards, but if you need 100, 500, 1,000, or even 10,000 cards, your options quickly narrow.

Keep in mind these factors when exploring where to buy bulk SD cards:

• Are you looking for a specific branded SD card?
• What size memory card storage do you want?
• Will your needs require the highest write speed and SD card class?
• How many SD memory cards do you need?

These are the main factors to consider when it comes time for you to purchase wholesale SD cards. It’s worthwhile to note that finding the cheapest SD cards shouldn’t be your primary driver but rather ensuring the cards you purchase will work best for your needs.

Everything But Stromboli ships to all 50 states in the United States as well as throughout Canada. Email or call us for quotes on shipping estimates to other countries around the world.

How to Format SD Card

SD cards usually are formatted and work when you use them initially. There may come a time when you wish to format your SD cards, to remove any hidden files, for example, and this tip sheet offers instructions on how to format SD card on Windows 10 and how to format SD card on Mac.

How to Format SD Card on Windows 10

To format an SD card on Windows 10, open Windows Explorer and find the drive letter for your card. Right-click on this drive letter and click “format” when the menu pops up.

On the Format screen, the file system defaults to FAT32. This is an older format and acceptable for use with smaller cards. For cards with 64 GB of storage or larger, choose exFAT. Next, you may input a name for the formatted drive by keying it into the volume label. Click on the “start” button. Your card will then be formatted correctly.

How to Format SD Card on Mac

To format an SD card on Mac computers, launch Disk Utility inside the Applications folder. Find the card in the left-side column and click the “erase” button at the top of the screen. Select the format you desire and click “erase.”