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Hi,

I'm wondering how detrimental it is to CFExpress cards' lifespan since they get so hot during recording and downloading? My Card reader gets so hot that the downloads slow to a snail's pace, which I assume is protect the card?
I started putting the reader on top of my laptop cooler fan, and it solves the throttling, but given how hot they get, I'm wondering about damage to them over time?

Scott

That's not good - heat is the enemy of semiconductors. Do they all do that or just a specific one?

Seems like both of the ones I use. I know the camera makers warn that the cards can get hot, but I wouldn't have expected it from downloading. I'll keep it on a fan when I download files from now on. I think that much heat will ruin the cards.

I would expect more heat during a download because it is a long continuous 100% cycle where in camera writing to it is not, not even with video recording unless you are doing a resolution and bit depth that maximizes out the write speed which cameras generally do not do with CFexpress.   But when reading you are reading out at maximum.  Of course, one would hope, that the card manufacturer took this into account and the junction temperatures in the card aren't getting overheated but if there is noticeable thermal throttling then clearly that's not the case.  Using a cooling device during that maximum throughput operation is definitely a good idea.

What brand and model of cards are you using? Some are much better than others at hit dissipation.

Matt Granger did some CFE-B card tests for performance. He also placed a video on his YouTube channel that discusses them. There has been a lot of talk about CFE-B cards with the new Nikon Z9 coming out. The Delkin Black and ProGrade Cobalt and AngelFire AV Pro SX cards are getting excellent reviews. Matt Grander also reported that the WISE cards were excellent.

Here’s an thread from 2020 about the same subject. Even when just inserted in the card reader, and not reading or writing, they are getting hot, according to one post.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4501924

Mine get hot when downloading to an external hard drive (SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD) through a Sony reader. I use 128 GB SanDisk cards.

Lots of threads on the subject if you Google the subject. All say about the same thing.

Joe

Walter Rowe wrote:What brand and model of cards are you using? Some are much better than others at hit dissipation.

Matt Granger did some CFE-B card tests for performance. He also placed a video on his YouTube channel that discusses them. There has been a lot of talk about CFE-B cards with the new Nikon Z9 coming out. The Delkin Black and ProGrade Cobalt and AngelFire AV Pro SX cards are getting excellent reviews. Matt Grander also reported that the WISE cards were excellent.

128GB Sony Tough cards. Unfortunately, I ordered the cards before seeing the card test videos.