INTRODUCTION

   Just like with every other thing in the market memory cards have come a very long way since even 2005. Just imagine that back then i used to get microSD cards no more than 64/128MB in capacity whereas today not only have we hit 1TB (1000MB) but from the looks of it 2TB models should be no more than 1-2 years away. Capacity however is not the only thing that has improved over the years, read & write speeds have also increased exponentially so from around 12MB/s back in 2005 today we have models (UHS-II) that can easily surpass 280MB/s (UHS-III models can surpass even 600MB/s and with the recently announced SD Express standard that number should easily go up at least 2-3 times). Lexar just released the Professional 1066X microSDXC UHS-I SILVER and 2000X SDHC/SDXC UHS-II GOLD, two of their fastest memory card lines to date and as expected with me i have one variant of each line.

   For more than 25 years, Lexar has been a trusted leading global brand of memory solutions. Our award-winning lineup includes memory cards, USB flash drives, card readers, solid-state drives and DRAM. With so many options, it’s easy to find the right Lexar solution to fit your needs. All Lexar product designs undergo extensive testing in the Lexar Quality Labs with more than 1,100 digital devices, to ensure performance, quality, compatibility, and reliability. Lexar products are available worldwide at major retail and e-tail stores. For more information or support, visitwww.lexar.com.

   The Professional 1066x UHS-I SILVER series currently includes both SDXC and micro SDXC cards in 64/128/256/512GB capacities with read-write performance levels reaching 160-120MB/s respectively. On the other hand, however the Professional 2000x GOLD series only includes SDXC UHS-II cards in 32/64/128GB capacities with read-write performance levels that can climb all the way up to 300-260MB/s (providing of course you have a UHS-II compatible device). These numbers allow the Professional 1066x SILVER series to be used for both 1080p Full HD and 4K Ultra HD recording whereas the much faster Professional 2000x series is ideal for both 4K and even 8K recording. As for warranty Lexar covers the entire Professional 1066x SILVER series with a 10-year limited one and the entire Professional 2000x GOLD with a lifetime limited one.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

THE PROFESSIONAL 1066X SILVER 256GB & 2000X GOLD 128GB

Both cards arrived in blister packages the front of which allows you to see the cards themselves, their capacities and their certifications.

A few words about the cards along with their serial numbers and barcodes are printed at the rear.

Just a microSD to SD adapter is placed in the 1066X SILVER package.

Turning the cards over you will certainly notice the extra raw of copper connections on the 2000X 128GB model and yes this is what gives it UHS-II speeds (so again you need a compatible device to use it).

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Memory cards are pretty much identical to flash drives so to make things easier for everyone we'll be using roughly the same testing methodology to successfully record achieved read and write data transfer numbers. The benchmark suites we'll be using for our memory card tests are HD Tune Pro (Read - Write average and max speeds), AIDA 64 Engineer Edition (Average Linear Read / Random Read - Write performance), Crystal Disk Mark x64 (4GB Read / Write speeds) and ATTO (Average Read / Write speeds). Every test is repeated a total of 6 times after which the average performance numbers are recorded into our charts (0 = we were unable to complete that test).

   As with all our storage reviews all tests are performed on our main rig running Microsoft Windows 10 Pro installation on a HyperX Predator 480GB PCIe SSD with all updates installed up to the day of this review (for ATTO and Crystal Disk Mark cards are formatted using the NTFS file system – however partitions need to be removed for the write tests of both AIDA64 and HD Tune Pro).

* As of April 2020, I’ll be using the X299 test rig for SDXC & microSDXC UHS-II (and above) memory card reviews.

TEST RESULTS - MICROSD

TEST RESULTS – SD

CONCLUSION

   Advancements in technology never cease to amaze me and since I was always fascinated with flash media this stands even truer for memory cards. Needless to say, I’ve been waiting for a long time to see UHS-III models (remember the standard was finalized almost 3 years ago) but even UHS-II is a lot faster compared to UHS-I. Of course, you also need to have a compatible UHS-II device to use these cards and at least when it comes to cameras and camcorders things are somewhat vague since most manufacturers have chosen to give only their top lines this capability (bottom line with this state currently in the market don't expect UHS-III compatible devices really soon). As for the cards at hand well not much to say, they both performed very well and even though they are not the fastest ones to date still they should easily cover every person out there (looking for these standards and capacities at least).

   So just how much do these memory cards cost? Well right now you can find the 1066x SILVER 256GB for USD56.99/61.95Euros and the 2000X GOLD 128GB for USD159.99/187.84Euros so in terms of pricing for the latter (and unless of course this is related to COVID) Lexar should really take a second look (especially when Kingston has something equally fast but at a much lower price point). Price aside however both the 1066X SILVER and 2000X GOLD memory cards by Lexar deliver when it comes to performance and for that they obviously deserve the Golden Award.

PROS

- Near Excellent Performance
- Available Capacities (1066X SILVER)
- Lifetime Warranty (2000X GOLD)
- Price (1066X SILVER)

CONS

- Price (2000X GOLD)