INTRODUCTION

   Memory cards based on the latest Compact Flash standard (CFexpress) may have all but saturated the USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type A 10Gbps) and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (Type B 20Gbps) connectivity in regards to performance but the same doesn't apply for capacity something which manufacturers seem to be expanding faster than most of us can keep up. As a matter of fact, last month alone i received not one but three CFexpress memory card samples with expanded capacities and even though i don't actually have compatible equipment (cameras/camcorders) i imagine such news are great for professionals who do. So today with me i have the 512GB variant of the DIAMOND Series CFexpress Type B card by Lexar.

   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, visit www.lexar.com.

   Once again for all of you who may be new at this all three CFexpress card standards (A/B/C) are based around the PCIe 3.0 NVMe v1.3 specification (Gen3x1 for Type A, Gen3x2 for Type B and Gen3x4 for Type C) thus allowing for speeds of up to 1000MB/s, 2000MB/s and 4000MB/s respectively (theoretical anyways). This of course leaves room for upcoming CFexpress standards based on either PCIe 4.0 or PCIe 5.0 (which in turn should allow for speeds up to 8000MB/s and 13000MB/s respectively) but until and if that comes to be the upcoming Type C models are clearly the fastest planned. The Professional DIAMOND CFexpress 512GB model is also available in 128/256GB capacities (256GB review here), Lexar covers it with a limited lifetime warranty and always according to its published specifications it can reach speeds of up to 1900MB/s in reads and 1700MB/s in writes thus allowing even for smooth 8k RAW video recording. So, today we're not only going to be looking at just how fast the latest capacity variant of Lexar's flagship DIAMOND series CFexpress Type B cards is but we'll also be comparing it to its smaller capacity brother.