How much storage can we get?

[Kelvin]

I'm wondering what's the maximum SD card size Pyra will be compatible with? I've seen them get up to 512GB, and micro SD cards as big as 128GB. Combine all that with the internal storage, and that's 1.3TB, which would be freaking sweet if we could get that, but I don't wanna assume that's what we can get without confirmation here since I'm not a hardware guy.

 

[rygD]

I think the SD slots are SDXC, so whatever the max is for that standard, plus whatever for the micro SD, plus USB, etc. Someone will be by in a bit to give you specifics.

Regardless, I feel the answer is "enough".

 

[AnimatedFreak]

Sandisk is making 1TB SD cards soon, so if those works 2TB of storage ^^ I don't need that much thou.

 

[sulu]

I think the industry is intentionally holding back on SD card storage capacity for monetary reasons.
Currently there are µSDXC cards with 2566GB on the market. Such a card has a volume of 165mm³. A full-size SDXC card has a volume of 1612.8mm³. That's almost factor 10 of available volume for additional flash cells. Of course, the contact area is bigger on full-size cards and the plastic housing is thicker, but since the volume/surface ratio is better for larger objects I'm sure factor 8 is still in it.
This would amount to 2TB, which happens to be the maximum storage capacity that is specified for SDXC. The SD Association has been criticized for being shortsighted on the matter of maximum storage capacity for SDXC right from the start btw.
I see no reason to assume that the Pyra will not be able to support that standard up to it's foreseeable limit. Since it should already be technically feasible, and SDXC cards tended to double their storage capacity every one or two years in the past, I'd expect to see 2TB cards on the market not later than 2020.

As for how much storage is currently possible for the Pyra, then 1.3TB is about right if you strictly stick to memory that could be considered "internal". However, there are very small USB sticks that would barely stick out of the case. AFAIK these come with a maximum of 128GB, there are two full-size USB ports in the Pyra, so you could increase your storage capacity by another 256GB this way.
Thinking even another step further, there are 2.5"/7mm HDDs available with 2TB. In case you're fine attaching one (or maybe even two) of those externally, you'll gain another 2 or 4TB. There are also 2.5"/15mm HDDs with 5TB. I'm not sure the Pyra would be able to power one of those via USB 2.0/eSATA, but it should work via USB 3.0. So combined with one of the 2TB drives you're gaining another 7TB.
There's been some talk about docking stations for the Pyra in the forums. If someone actually creates one, I think it might be worth thinking about designing it in a way so that it allows to fix a slim 2.5" HDD underneath the Pyra. Maybe something that looks like this (Pyra side view):

DDDDDDDDD
BBBBBBBBBXX
BBBBBBBBBPP
XXXHHHHHHXX

legend (roughly to scale, 1 character ~ 1cm):
D = Pyra display
B = Pyra body
X = docking station (general stuff)
P = docking station ports (forwarding Pyra ports, splitting eSATA from USB 2.0 to HDD)
H = 2.5" HDD in docking station

There would also be enough room for additional stuff besides the HDD in the bottom compartment that could be connected (e.g. a mini-PCIe slot) if the dockingstation includes a USB hub.

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

Well, yes. we will have plenty of storage space on the pyra. Awesome. I aim to fill it up.

 

[rygD]

The great thing is that we can easily swap SD cards, so with a little extra pocket space you can have more than you need. Now, cost on the other hand...

 

[kabaiakh]

I think the industry is intentionally holding back on SD card storage capacity for monetary reasons.

I think the industry (and its customers) now use cloud storage.
Far more easy to handle for the non-aware user.
Far more convenient for the companies siphoning their datas.
Far more interesting for leaks too ...

Quicker, easier, more seductive.

Hopefully, our favorite device is still resisting.

 

[klapse]

I've got 2x64GB in the Pandora. What irks me is how unreliable SD media has been for me. Out of 8 regular and MicroSD cards purchased since 2013, I've had three die completely, and one card only gets recognized after slightly moistening the contacts. (Don't nag me about moisture and electronics, I had to backup appdata!

What is your rate of failure for SD media? Will you be buying huge cards or 64GBers?

 

[sulu]

I have various (I think 11) SD and µSD cards ranging from 2 to 64 GB. Most are from Sandisk, but there are also some from Transcend, CnMemory and I think one from Toshiba. None of them have failed me so far.
However, I have one 2GB µSD and one 8GB µSDHC card (from Toshiba and Sandisk I think) that are not recognized by my Cubieboard 2, although they work fine in all my other devices. The 8GB card currently runs a Debian installation in one of my N900s, which probably belongs to the most demanding scenarios in terms of r/w stress you can put an SD card into.

I'll be buying "huge" cards because I don't want to swap them. But I will not rely on them, i.e. besides my regular backup I will have the data that is stored on them somewhere else. Full-size SD cards are a bit faster than µSD cards, but not by much.
So I'm considering to get a big µSD (128GB?) card for the Pyra. I have a 64GB Sandisk Ultra in my other N900 for data storage and it's quite ok in terms of transfer speed. I run some Debian chroots from it and it's barely slower than the N900's internal flash. And it's "only" an "Ultra" card, not even an "Extreme".

 

[levi]

Most of my cards are also Sandisc, from 2GB to 128GB, and all are working for me still too. I only have two microSD cards, one old 2GB one from Sandisc, from back before SDHC, when that was the biggest you could get, and one 64GB one from Samsung that I've not actually found a use for yet. Actually in regular tested use I have one 128GB Sandisc ultra card and two Sandisc extreme 45Gbps cards for my Pandora (although only one lives in the unit - the other is currently only pulled out for OS reflashes - it used to have my OS on when I was running that from SD), and one 8GB Samsung card in my 3DS. I do have one 2GB Toshiba card that came with my 3DS, and that still seems to be working, as I used it recently to ensure drivers had fixed the issues on my laptop of corrupting formatted cards in the internal reader. I did lose one 64GB Sandisc to that back in the day, and have had no success in rescuing it since all readers I've tried it in claim it's not inserted - I should chuck it out, as I'm pretty sure it's fritzed.

 

[rygD]

I've got 2x64GB in the Pandora. What irks me is how unreliable SD media has been for me. Out of 8 regular and MicroSD cards purchased since 2013, I've had three die completely, and one card only gets recognized after slightly moistening the contacts. (Don't nag me about moisture and electronics, I had to backup appdata!

What is your rate of failure for SD media? Will you be buying huge cards or 64GBers?

I have a bunch in a variety of sizes and capacities. Of those I haven't misplaced, most are still working, and the one I can think of that isn't is because of physical damage. I don't use my mini that often, and several of my most recent micro and full size ones are almost entirely used for read only in my everdrives, and those are all still doing fine. The ones that live in my Pandora, 32GB each, haven't had any uses that I know of yet. The ones I use in my Android devices, including one that has been in constant use for probably 8 or 9 years, are doing good. I also have a few that are in general use wherever I need them, although they sit in a drawer most of the time. Some are fairly new and others are a bit older, but I haven't had any issues with those that I can recall. Since it is probably relevant, they come from a variety of manufacturers, although I mostly sick with more reputable brands like SanDisk, and I try to verify authenticity and test capacity once I open them (I have also done some stress testing on my last couple HDDs to try to make sure if they are going to die quick they do it before I put anything important on them and while still in warranty). I also make a backup of anything important, and usually have 2 or 3 copies in different places.

So, yes, I plan on getting high capacity cards for my Pyra. At present I initially plan on going for 128GB if I can get a good deal, and reusing one of my Pandora cards, with the other staying in the Pandora with all my PNDs and files I will use on it. music and the like will be moved over to the Pyra. I also plan on messing around with a variety of distros, and will probably use some of the microSD cards I have sitting around for that.

 

[WizardStan]

In 9 years my BeagleBoard outlived 2 SD cards. The third and final one went into my Pandora.
I don't think I've ever had a card break while using it in my Pandora; I have lost 3 or 4 cards though. Just take it out for a second...and it's gone.

 

[spud42]

i use SD cards to do firmware upgrades at work. i have a habit of popping it in my shirt pocket. A couple of times i have forgotten its there and it has gone through the washing machine. 1 of them is a "Dick Smith Electronics" branded 128Mb card so no idea who made it, but i have been using this card for 8 years and it was second hand from the previous Tech so no idea how old it really is. washed and it still works perfectly... the other is a 1GB card ( our machines wont read anything bigger than this...) it has also taken the washing machine swim... it also works fine... for at least 6 months ... the only time i have lost an SD card is when the reader is faulty or the device it goes into is faulty... i have a Medion ( ALDI brand) 64GB micro SDXC card in my surface pro 3 and the only problem i had with it was when they tried to give me a HP Elite X2 1012 G1 to replace it because of a cracked screen on the surface. the damn lousy HP had a faulty micro SD slot and corrupted my card... popped it back in the surface and it repaired it and still working fine 6 weeks later.. HP still not fixed...lol

 

[levi]

Just take it out for a second...and it's gone.

You don't umount first? I don't remember when I got into the habit of unmounting my cards - I didn't have a spate of failures before I did or anything, but I think I didn't start using SD cards until I started using linux - before then I was a CF card house (on my Psion 5 and camera), and I suspect those are a little more robust. On linux (apart from my Pandora) I don't run an automounter, so umounting filesystems on cards is a little easier than mounting them in the first place.

 

[Letalis Sonus]

You don't umount first?

Pretty sure he means physically gone - the lost-and-found type of gone.

 

[atari_afternoon]

I have one baddie that´s only ever destroyed cards for me, that´s my old phone (Samsung Galaxy Ace), in 4 years of use, it´s grinded 3 microSD cards, and the only device ever having done done so; all others in any other device were never cracked and still run.

 

[levi]

Pretty sure he means physically gone - the lost-and-found type of gone.

Ah, I've had that with microSD cards, but not with full-sized SDs!

 

[WizardStan]

Yeah, I've probably misplaced 3 or 4 SD cards over the years. I can't even think now why I ever removed them in the first place, just that something would come along and I'd be all "hold on, I've got an SD card for this" and then it would never make it back. Probably cameras or something.

 

[kuru]

A 4GB Sandisk died on me recently, was in Wii just sitting around *shrugs*
For me the potential of those new SDs feels like this much storage

 

[Silent-Hunter]

Or this much!