Exascend has announced its new Archon 2TB CFexpress Type B Memory Card for the RED V-RAPTOR.
I reviewed the 1TB version of this card earlier in the year and you can read that review here. The 1TB version is an extremely impressive card with the best-sustained write speeds I have ever seen from a CFexpres Type B card.
The Exascend Archon 2TB CFexpress Type B Memory Card is a high-capacity, high-performance media solution that has been certified and approved by RED. Although it is primarily targeted at users of the RED V-RAPTOR, it would also be a good card for use with cameras such as the Canon R5, Canon R3, Canon C500 Mark II, Canon C300 Mark III, Nikon Z9, and the DJI Ronin 4D.
Key features
- Approved by RED
- 2TB Storage Capacity
- Max Read Speed: 1700 MB/s
- Max Write Speed: 1600 MB/s
- Supports Raw 8K Video
- Capture Raw Photos and Image Bursts
- Can Withstand Extreme Temperatures
- Shock and Vibration Resistant
- ESD & Overload Protection
- Built-In EDC / ECC Data Reliability
CFexpress cards have only been around for a few years and higher capacity versions can be expensive. With more and more cameras starting to come out that are recording to CFexpress Type B, hopefully, prices will eventually start to come down. What you clearly need to know with most types of media is that they aren’t all created equal. Different cards have varying degrees of performance and often card manufacturers won’t quote minimum sustained speeds, instead, they quote maximum possible read and write speeds.
Fast Speeds
With the design of the PCIe Gen3 interface, the fastest cards can provide speeds of up to around 1700 MB/s read and 1700 MB/s write, which is over 3 times faster than the best CFast 2.0 and XQD cards.
The Exascend Archon 2TB CFexpress Type B Memory Card has a claimed maximum 1700MB/s read speed, and a 1600MB/s write speed.
It is claimed to be capable of recording 8K 120p.
Other Features
The Exascend card incorporates a lot of features such as:
Afterburner
Afterburner is a performance-enhancing Exascend technology that leverages SLC cache to boost sequential read and write speeds in storage devices with 3D TLC NAND.
Adaptive Thermal Control
Adaptive Thermal Control technology tackles the issue of overheating and thermal throttling that is unavoidable in high-performance PCIe NVMe flash storage devices.
Unlimited Over-Provisioning
Exascend offers unlimited over-provisioning (OP), allowing customers to set the ideal level of OP to match their application’s exact demands. No artificial limitations. Unlimited flexibility.
Power Tuning
The card allows for a unique level of control over hardware, firmware, and manufacturing. This allows the card to be tuned. By tuning the performance of the product specifically for particular applications, it is claimed that Exascend can achieve the highest possible performance to thermals and performance to power ratios.
SuperCruise
SuperCruise is a signature Exascend technology that optimizes write performance for stability. This is claimed to ensure unbeatable stable write performance even in the most demanding applications.
The card also supports AES-256, data retention, firmware encryption, RAID ECC, TCG Opal, multi-image firmware backup, and other Exascend technologies.
Price & Availability
The Archon 2TB CFexpress Type B Memory Card is now available to pre-order for $2,399.99 USD.
The Exascend Archon 2TB card is the most expensive card on the market, however, it is currently the only certified 2TB option available for the RED V-RAPOR apart from RED’s own option. The Exascend Archon card comes with a 5-year warranty and they also offer a data recovery service.
The card is also claimed to feature built-in protection in the event of a power failure when you are recording.
