Lexar High-Performance 200GB UHS-I MicroSD Memory Card Review

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It has been awhile since we last looked at a new microSD solution. High capacity solutions are becoming more popular with high-resolution photography and 4K video becoming quite common.

Lexar's latest lineup of solutions are tailored to these needs with capacity options ranging from 16 to 64GB with a 128GB solution on the high-end and even a monster, which we have in the lab at 200GB. Performance is said to reach upwards of 95 MB/s read, hence the 633x designation, while the drive itself is rated with Class 10 and UHS-I, meaning at least 10 MB/s write.

Compatibility includes Windows and OS X support along with Android and iOS smart devices. MSRP for the 200GB Lexar 633x MicroSD sit at $129.99 with a one-year warranty.

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Packaging for this solution is the standard for retail locations. As you can see, we have plenty of marketing along the bottom with capacity at the top in bold print.

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On the backside, we have use cases in several languages along with warranty and speed classes listed at the bottom.

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Taking our first look at the card, this solution does come with its own card reader that shares the aesthetics.

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The card itself follows the same color layout as many Lexar SD solutions. With the High-Performance lineup, we have a blue/black scheme whereas the Professional lineup goes with gold and black. Capacity is printed in the blue area of the card while speed is printed in the black area at 633x.

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Installing the card into its own reader is quite simple. The readers itself uses the USB 3.0 specification.

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The Lexar 633x is factory formatted with the exFAT file system, ensuring compatibility between Windows and Macintosh computers. The usable capacity after formatting is 186GB.

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Diving into testing, I was able to achieve 89 MB/s read with this solution, about 6MB/s under the 95 MB/s displayed on the packaging. Write performance, on the other hand, reached 39 MB/s, which is well above the UHS-I rating of the drive.

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Flipping over to the Price/Performance chart for our MicroSD cards, the Lexar 633x in the 200GB capacity came very close to taking top honors but fell 2% short of the Samsung Pro+.

The 633x "High-Performance" line from Lexar reached a milestone introducing this 200GB capacity. With this being only the second card I know of to reach these heights it would be even more momentous if the write performance were just a touch better. Even with this said, it's not only Lexar's issue, as the SanDisk Ultra's write performance suffers in lieu of the capacity as well. With that, I was quite happy with the build quality of the Lexar, even the small USB 3.0 reader that comes as part of the package is a solid device.

In performance testing, the read performance of this solution was right on par with previously tested drives hovering right around that 90 MB/s mark. On the other hand, write performance reached only 39 MB/s, where competing solutions from SanDisk, Samsung, and Strontium all hit near 80 MB/s. Over on the Price/Performance chart, the Lexar solution did manage to do rather well just 1.4% behind the Pro+ from Samsung at 98.6%.

The Lexar 633x, in my experience, certainly offers plenty of performance for Full-HD video and even 4K30, although I am surprised to see Lexar offer a one-year warranty on a solution such as this.

Tyler's Test System Specifications

• Motherboard: ASUS Z170 Premium - Buy from Amazon
• CPU: Intel Core i5 6500 - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Memory: Klevv CRAS 16GB (4x4) DDR4 3000 - Read our review
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• OS Storage: Intel 730 480GB SSD - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Secondary Storage: Intel 750 400GB U.2 SSD - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Case: Thermaltake P5 - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1200 - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 10 - Buy from Amazon