Sd Cards

[zsonance]

I hope this isn't too silly of a question, but I was wondering if the Class speed of your SD card can determine not just the write speed of transferring files, but the smoothness and speed of emulating games?

Also, does anyone know if you put an emulator (Mame4All) for example, on the caanoo memory itself and not an SD card, do games typically run smoother and faster?

 

[kyuu]

No. The only way to get better performance is to upgrade CPU/GPU/RAM. Upgrading the SD card really just means that loading/writing processes will be faster. Since programs (games, applications) reside in main RAM when they are executed, you won't affect their performance with faster SD cards. The "Caanoo memory" is itself flash memory, like an SD card but not removable.

 

[CKeichel]

No. The only way to get better performance is to upgrade CPU/GPU/RAM. Upgrading the SD card really just means that loading/writing processes will be faster. Since programs (games, applications) reside in main RAM when they are executed, you won't affect their performance with faster SD cards. The "Caanoo memory" is itself flash memory, like an SD card but not removable.

Not completely true, the Caanoo's memory is no flash memory, it is DDR SDRam and the performance of games can be affected in theory, in games, that rely on streaming data, e.g. PSX games, reading at a constant speed from CD, but even the slowest cards should be faster, then the 2x CD-Rom used in the PSX.

 

[Remy803]

Actually, he's not referring to the RAM, but the storage memory built-in to the Caanoo, which is flash memory. The original poster was asking if running emulators/games from that memory is faster than than from the card. The answer is: no. The only place it might be faster is initial load times - the transfering of the execution code from flash (or card) memory to the RAM before execution begins, but given that most Caanoo software is relatively small compared to average card read speeds, the difference isn't likely to be noticable.

But, I would point out that high capacity cards with low class ratings (e.g. a 16gb class 2 card) have horrendous seek-times, which might not slow down performance during actual play, but would be noticable when, for example, an emulator is reading a large list of roms for it's Load ROM menu, or something similar. Also, if you use a card reader other than the Caanoo itself (which is always painfully slow) to transfer large amounts of data to your card (movies, rom collections, etc) a lower class is likely to lead to premature baldness from pulling out your hair in frustration.
Just saying.

 

[zsonance]

Actually, he's not referring to the RAM, but the storage memory built-in to the Caanoo, which is flash memory. The original poster was asking if running emulators/games from that memory is faster than than from the card. The answer is: no. The only place it might be faster is initial load times - the transfering of the execution code from flash (or card) memory to the RAM before execution begins, but given that most Caanoo software is relatively small compared to average card read speeds, the difference isn't likely to be noticable.

But, I would point out that high capacity cards with low class ratings (e.g. a 16gb class 2 card) have horrendous seek-times, which might not slow down performance during actual play, but would be noticable when, for example, an emulator is reading a large list of roms for it's Load ROM menu, or something similar. Also, if you use a card reader other than the Caanoo itself (which is always painfully slow) to transfer large amounts of data to your card (movies, rom collections, etc) a lower class is likely to lead to premature baldness from pulling out your hair in frustration.
Just saying.

Haha, thanks for all the input everyone.. especially this guy

 

[someoneElse]

But, I would point out that high capacity cards with low class ratings (e.g. a 16gb class 2 card) have horrendous seek-times, which might not slow down performance during actual play, but would be noticable when, for example, an emulator is reading a large list of roms for it's Load ROM menu, or something similar.

Agreed. I noticed that when I was using the Caanoo-branded 4GB bundle SD card (Blue, from Batch 3), it would take eight seconds whenever I first entered the games or apps menus, as it paused to read in all the ini files. When I changed it out for a 32GB class 10, that pause was reduced down to under a second.

I doubt there's any need to specifically seek out higher class speed cards, but if you're buying one anyway, may as well pick out the fastest or best branded card in your price range at the time.

 

[kyuu]

[...] and the performance of games can be affected in theory, in games, that rely on streaming data, e.g. PSX games, reading at a constant speed from CD, but even the slowest cards should be faster, then the 2x CD-Rom used in the PSX.

In spots where the game streams large amount of data, yeah, but it hardly would affect the overall performance. Most of the time games will probably do physics and render graphics and not stream data.