Introduction

I would like to thank A-DATA for supplying the review sample.

A-DATA is mostly known for its high end DDR memory aimed at the enthusiast market, which is a shame because they manufacture some other memory products that are really good and sell for a decent price. The company also offers various SDHC cards, which range from 4 GB to an incredible 16 GB. The Turbo Series of these cards is the fastest, as these are so called Class 6, with a minimum write speed of 6 MB/s

Today we will be taking a look at the new A-DATA 350x 16 GB Compact Flash card. This is currently the largest shipping size for the flash memory format. The card carries the same "Turbo" brand, as the 266x card we reviewed in the past. This card will slowly replace the 266x version in the retail channel.

Specifications from A-DATA Technology:

• 350X Turbo speed performance with read speed at 52MB/sec and write speed at 47MB/sec
• Dual-channel support (Ultra DMA mode 0~5 , IDE PIO mode 6, MDMA 0~4)
• Low power consumption and RoHS compliant
• Original SLC flash memory to deliver outstanding performance
• Dimension: 42.8 x 36.4 x 33 mm (L x W x D)
• Weight: 11.4g

This card is actually UDMA capable, something of great interest for the new DSLR camera generation out there. As you can see the card is advertised to run at speeds of 52 MB/s with read speeds of 47 MB/s. Such claims need to be proven and we slightly changed our test bed, adding UDMA capability. Instead of the IDE to CF card adapter, an ExpressCard 34 card reader is being used. This unit uses the PCI-Express bus and is UDMA capable. This is also the first CF card, which states to use SLC flash memory. This is the more expensive kind, usually used on premium SSD drives these days. All of these attributes should make this a very interesting choice for anyone looking to get a VIA Nano L2100, as this motherboard features a CF card slot, for easy use of such a card as a boot drive.

Packaging

A-DATA has once again changed the design and look of the packaging and the card itself. When I was first shown the card at Computex, the new color scheme did not look like much.
The final presentation with the new cardboard package does end up looking quite modern nonetheless. The front clearly states the 16 GB capacity and 350x speed. A little window gives you a good view of the Compact Flash card as well. The information on the rear has not changed much. A table on the back gives you an idea as to the capacity of cards between 4 and 32 GB.


A little pamphlet within the cardboard box has some more information in an asian language.