I'm considering using an SD card to run an operating system on my Raspberry Pi. I know that SD cards aren't typically great with random read-writes and can fail if pushed too hard. My Pi has issues booting from USB due to insufficient power from my adapter, so I'm thinking of going back to the SD card. I'm just worried about whether it will last. For reference, I have a SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB MicroSDXC.
5 Answers
I tried using an SD card for this once and it was really slow. It ended up destroying the card within two months. SD cards just can't compete with SATA or NVMe speeds. Just a heads up.
Yes, you can totally run Linux from an SD card! Just remember to check your BIOS settings to make sure the boot order is set up correctly for it.
I've been using Micro SD cards for a long time, and I've only had one fail. It's all about how you handle them. The one that died got yanked out when my device fell. Otherwise, I've got a bunch that are still good!
You might want to consider getting a high-endurance SD card. They're designed for heavy read and write cycles, so they'll last longer than standard cards.
Raspberry Pi devices are essentially designed to run off SD cards. Just keep in mind how much read and write you're planning on. If you're not pushing it too hard, it should be fine. I have mini servers that have run from SD cards for years!
That's good to know! I'm planning to use it for a local LLM and maybe a Minecraft server down the line.
Exactly! It's all about the write patterns. Constant small writes are what typically kill SD cards. If you're running something like Pi-hole, you'll be okay, but for heavy logging or databases, consider moving some stuff to RAM.