Get ready for super-fast AND affordable CFexpress Type B cards!

(Image credit: Pergear)

Pergear may not be a name that immediately comes to mind when you think of memory card manufacturers, but the brand has been producing CFexpress Type B cards for two years. Now Pergear has released updated versions of its entire Type-B range, with cards to suit all budget and speed requirements.

Kicking off the new cards is the entry-level Lite range. Available in 64GB and 128GB capacities, the former is capable of relatively modest 300MB/s max read speed and 90MB/s peak write rate. Step up to the 128GB Lite card and speeds jump to 1000/250MB/s max read/write speeds, with sustained read/write speeds of 1000/200MB/s. Pergear is aiming the Lite range at cost-conscious shooters who'll be shooting primarily stills, or video up to 4K 60p.

Next up in Pergear's new CFexpress line-up is the Pro range. Striking a middle ground between price and performance, Pergear Pro cards come in 256GB and 512GB variants. As with the Lite range, however, the two capacities boast different speed ratings. The 256GB Pro card has a max read/write rate of 1200/400MB/s respectively, while the 512GB card is rated at 1200/700MB/s. Minimum sustained write speed is a guaranteed 700MB/s for the 512GB card, but only 360MB/s for the 256GB version. Even so, Pergear states both cards should be fast enough for 4K 120p or even 8K raw recording.

Lastly, we have Pergear Ultra cards. This duo of Type B cards represent no-compromise, all-out attacks on established premium rival cards from the likes of ProGrade Digital, SanDisk and Lexar. Ultra cards can be had in 1TB or 2TB capacities, and performance is identical between the two. Both maximum and sustained read speed is rated at 1600MB/s, and there's barely any difference between maximum and sustained write speeds, being 1400MB/s and 1300MB/s respectively.

That 1300MB/s minimum sustained write speed figure isn't quite the fastest out there: ProGrade Digital's Cobalt Type B cards boast a 1400MB/s minimum write rate, while Angelbird's AV PRO CFexpress XT MK2 range can achieve 1480MB/s minimum. However, neither of these rival cards are available in capacities as high as 2TB. Regardless, any card capable of 1000+MB/s sustained write speed will be suitable for just about any application, up to and including 12K RAW video capture.

Pergear's pricing is also very competitive across the board. Take for instance the 1TB Ultra card. At $399 it's among the cheapest 1TB Type B cards you can buy, priced similarly to equivalent cards from Silicon Power and Sabrent. However neither of these rival cards can match Pergear's minimum 1300MB/s sustained write speed guarantee. To get equivalent performance, you'd need to part with around $480 for Angelbird's 1TB AV PRO CFexpress MK2 card.

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Ben is the Imaging Labs manager, responsible for all the testing on Digital Camera World and across the entire photography portfolio at Future. Whether he's in the lab testing the sharpness of new lenses, the resolution of the latest image sensors, the zoom range of monster bridge cameras or even the latest camera phones, Ben is our go-to guy for technical insight. He's also the team's man-at-arms when it comes to camera bags, filters, memory cards, and all manner of camera accessories – his lab is a bit like the Batcave of photography! With years of experience trialling and testing kit, he's a human encyclopedia of benchmarks when it comes to recommending the best buys.

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