INTRODUCTION

    Memory cards are the compact workhorses of modern storage, powering cameras, phones, and laptops with ease. Over time they’ve shrunk in size while expanding in capacity, making terabyte-scale storage possible in a fingertip form. Speed ratings now ensure smooth video capture and fast transfers, while durability adds peace of mind for travelers and creators. In short, they’ve become essential companions for digital life. Today’s review spotlights one such product, the TEAMGROUP Ultra Micro SDXC 1TB memory card, delivering massive storage in a tiny frame.

    As a leading provider of memory storage products and mobile applications to the consumer market, Team Group Inc. is committed to providing the best storage, multimedia and data sharing solutions. All TEAMGROUP’s memory module products come with a lifetime warranty, repair and replacement services. Team Group Inc., also listed company at stock exchange market in January, 2019. In 2016, TEAMGROUP established T-FORCE gaming series which includes all the gaming memory module. In 2020, TEAMGROUP established T-CREATE brand for creative users.

    The TEAMGROUP ULTRA Micro SDXC memory card line currently includes 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB capacities all of which follow the UHS-I standard. The 1TB variant can actually reach up to 200 MB/s read speeds and 170 MB/s write speeds, thus exceeding standard UHS-I performance when paired with a professional card reader (to that end Teamgroup supplied me with their ULTRA CR I card reader which was used for this review). This memory card line fully supports A2, U3, and V30 standards, making it ideal for smooth app performance, 4K Ultra-HD video recording, and rapid file transfers. Teamgroup emphasizes comprehensive data protection, including waterproofing, shockproofing, and eco-friendly ink printing for sustainability and as for warranty the entire line is backed by a lifetime warranty, ensuring long-term reliability.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

As with most similar products the ULTRA micro SDXC memory card arrived inside a blister package the front of which is taken by the company logo, see-through plastic from where you can see the bundle and the main product features.

The product specifications are printed at the rear of the box right over a table showcasing what you can fit in the drive and of course the serial number and barcode.

Aside the ULTRA Micro SDXC card inside the package TEAMGROUP has also placed a microSD to SD adapter.

THE ULTRA MICRO SDXC 1TB

The ULTRA is a UHS-I micro SDXC memory card that follows the A2, U3 and V30 standards.

Capacity, country of manufacturer and the part number are printed at the rear of the card (you can also see the single line of contacts UHS-I cards have).

As mentioned in the introduction page TEAMGROUP also sent their ULTRA CR I USB-C card reader, so this is what I used in this review.

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 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).

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

    The 1TB capacity model of the ULTRA Micro SDXC card should be more than enough for most people but before everything else let’s address the “elephant” in the room, performance. TEAMGROUP claims that their ULTRA Micro SDXC 1TB memory card can hit 200MB/s in reads and 170MB/s in writes and well, I was unable to reach either. And I didn’t try just with the ULTRA CR I card by TEAMGROUP, I also used the Lexar multi-card 2-in-1 USB 3.1 reader since there’s always a chance it’s the reader’s fault, but results were almost identical. Just to be on the safe side I also tested the card on the MSI Z890 ACE motherboard (review soon) without any changes. With that out of the way however the ULTRA is the 2^nd fastest Micro SDXC UHS-I memory card in my reviews so far and that’s not a small feat.

    Currently the ULTRA 1TB Micro SDXC memory card by TEAMGROUP retails for USD79.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and so it’s priced quite well (was unable to locate this model in the EU). Overall, I have no complaints from the ULTRA 1TB Micro SDXC memory card by TEAMGROUP. Yes, it may not achieve its advertised speeds (at least not with the card readers I used) but it’s still a very fast and durable model well worth our Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Fast Read & Write Performance
- 1TB Capacity
- Lifetime Warranty
- Price (USA)

CONS

- Current EU Availability
- Can’t Reach Advertised Performance