I don't know shit about read/write speed jargon but I recently bought a 4GB CompactFlash card that was advertised as 150x. I ran a test on it with the program called SiSoftware Sandra Lite. Here were the results:
first test I did on shitty inadequate hardware (Click to reveal)SiSoftware Sandra
Benchmark Results
Device Index : 774ops/minute
Endurance Factor : 20.00
Results Interpretation : Higher index values are better.
Performance Test Status
Run ID : Generic USB CF Reader 4GB (USB)
Platform Compliance : x86
System Timer : 25MHz
512bytes Files Test
Read Performance : 6649ops/minute, 55.41kB/s, 0.37X
Write Performance : 1300ops/minute, 10.83kB/s, 0.07X
Delete Performance : 1982ops/minute
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 2268ops/minute
32kB Files Test
Read Performance : 1370ops/minute, 730.67kB/s, 4.87X
Write Performance : 697ops/minute, 371.73kB/s, 2.48X
Delete Performance : 1529ops/minute
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 850ops/minute
256kB Files Test
Read Performance : 222ops/minute, 947.20kB/s, 6.31X
Write Performance : 162ops/minute, 691.20kB/s, 4.61X
Delete Performance : 641ops/minute
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 164ops/minute
2MB Files Test
Read Performance : 28ops/minute, 955.73kB/s, 6.37X
Write Performance : 19ops/minute, 648.53kB/s, 4.32X
Delete Performance : 925ops/minute
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 21ops/minute
64MB Files Test
Read Performance : 1ops/minute, 1.07MB/s, 7.28X
Write Performance : 1ops/minute, 1.07MB/s, 7.28X
Delete Performance : 100ops/minute
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 1ops/minute
Endurance Test Status
Operating System Disk Cache Used : No
Use Overlapped I/O : No
Test File Size : 32MB
Block Size : 512bytes
File Fragments : 1
Endurance Benchmark Breakdown
Repeated Sector ReWrite : 120kB/s
Sequential Sector Write : 117kB/s
Random Sector Write : 4kB/s
Drive
Total Size : 3.77GB
Free Space : 3.77GB, 100%
Cluster Size : 4kB
Physical Disk
Manufacturer : Generic
Model : USB CF Reader
Version : 1.01
Interface : USB
Removable Drive : Yes
Queueing On : No
Performance Tips
Notice 5901 : CD 1x= 150kB/s; Exercise caution when comparing measured versus published CD ratings.
Notice 5008 : To change benchmarks, click Options.
Notice 5004 : Synthetic benchmark. May not tally with 'real-life' performance.
Notice 5006 : Only compare the results with ones obtained using the same version!
Notice 5207 : Consider using the File System Benchmark for non-Flash devices.
Notice 5900 : Endurance factor can only be used on the same type of device (SLC or MLC).
Tip 11 : Use the 'Switch Chart Type' button to switch between Detailed and Combined charts.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.
second test on a better card reader (Click to reveal)SiSoftware Sandra
Benchmark Results
Device Index : 3424ops/minute
Endurance Factor : 48.80
Results Interpretation : Higher index values are better.
Performance Test Status
Run ID : Generic USB CF Reader 4GB (USB)
Platform Compliance : x86
System Timer : 25MHz
512bytes Files Test
Read Performance : 28563ops/minute, 238.03kB/s, 1.59X
Write Performance : 3649ops/minute, 30.41kB/s, 0.20X
Delete Performance : 6598ops/minute
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 7408ops/minute
32kB Files Test
Read Performance : 14797ops/minute, 7.71MB/s, 52.61X
Write Performance : 2018ops/minute, 1.05MB/s, 7.18X
Delete Performance : 3456ops/minute
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 4093ops/minute
256kB Files Test
Read Performance : 2573ops/minute, 10.72MB/s, 73.19X
Write Performance : 603ops/minute, 2.51MB/s, 17.15X
Delete Performance : 941ops/minute
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 1042ops/minute
2MB Files Test
Read Performance : 429ops/minute, 14.30MB/s, 97.62X
Write Performance : 58ops/minute, 1.93MB/s, 13.20X
Delete Performance : 1668ops/minute
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 136ops/minute
64MB Files Test
Read Performance : 13ops/minute, 13.87MB/s, 94.66X
Write Performance : 8ops/minute, 8.53MB/s, 58.25X
Delete Performance : 766ops/minute
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 9ops/minute
256MB Files Test
Read Performance : 3ops/minute, 12.80MB/s, 87.38X
Write Performance : 2ops/minute, 8.53MB/s, 58.25X
Delete Performance : 197ops/minute
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 2ops/minute
Endurance Test Status
Operating System Disk Cache Used : No
Use Overlapped I/O : No
Test File Size : 32MB
Block Size : 512bytes
File Fragments : 1
Endurance Benchmark Breakdown
Repeated Sector ReWrite : 237kB/s
Sequential Sector Write : 346kB/s
Random Sector Write : 4kB/s
Drive
Total Size : 3.77GB
Free Space : 3.77GB, 100%
Cluster Size : 4kB
Physical Disk
Manufacturer : Generic
Model : USB CF Reader
Version : 1.01
Interface : USB
Removable Drive : Yes
Queueing On : No
Performance Tips
Notice 5901 : CD 1x= 150kB/s; Exercise caution when comparing measured versus published CD ratings.
Notice 5008 : To change benchmarks, click Options.
Notice 5004 : Synthetic benchmark. May not tally with 'real-life' performance.
Notice 5006 : Only compare the results with ones obtained using the same version!
Notice 5207 : Consider using the File System Benchmark for non-Flash devices.
Notice 5900 : Endurance factor can only be used on the same type of device (SLC or MLC).
Tip 11 : Use the 'Switch Chart Type' button to switch between Detailed and Combined charts.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.
I have a feeling this are really shitty scores and I can expect this card to NOT suffice for a dSLR camera. That's just the impression I'm getting though, and I'm not exactly well-informed on this kind of thing. Any pros want to help me understand these figures?
EDIT: Jesus I used a different card reader and things look a LOT better for this card. It even outperformed the much spendier SanDisk Extreme III in some areas.