For content creators, a laptop with a built-in SD card reader is a preferred feature. Some users go so far as to consider laptops only if they have a reader.
One mistake with that choice is it assumes all SD card slots are created equal. Our tests clearly show they’re not. It’s also difficult to know how fast the SD card reader in your laptop is. If SD card speed really matters to you, the best way to get what you want is to buy an external reader whose specs are clearly designated.Â
PCWorld put four newly manufactured laptops’ SD cards through their paces. For this challenge we looked at:
To give us a control point, we also recorded the performance of a SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II USB 3.0 card reader inserted into one of the Dell G5 15 SE’s USB 3.0 slots.