Are Pi Zeros more fussy about SD cards than other Pis?

Question

I have a Pi Zero 2 W logging data once an hour, it's a 1Mb database that gets updated each hour. It has killed its SD card twice in less than a year and I'm wondering why.

I have a similar logging system using a venerable Pi 2 that's been running for much longer and writing somewhat more data without any problems.

The Pi Zero 2 W replaced a Beaglebone Black that had run for several years without any problems.

Is the Pi Zero 2 W more fussy about its SD card, does it work the card harder. or have I just been unlucky?

I'd welcome any recommendations for cards that last well.

John R Walliker · Accepted Answer

Samsung and Sandisk sell high endurance SD cards intended forsecurity camera and dashcam applications.  These are notparticularly fast, but are designed to survive continuouswriting of data.John

Theo · Answer

+1. There are also 'industrial' grade cards which are a step above 'high endurance' - better designed to handle things like power glitches or unplanned power outages. I think they use more robust flash (MLC not TLC, or TLC not QLC) which makes them more expensive per GB - but if you can get by with 4 or 8GB then it doesn't matter.

Theo

The Natural Philosopher · Answer

in the true 'if i wanted to go there i wouldn't be starting from here' tradition if its a 2W why not send its data to somewhere more interesting and secure?

My Pi zero W never writes to its SD car at all unless i change configurations,. Everything that writes is either stopped from writing or writes to ram discs.

Some SD cards are better than others, I am not interested in finding out which

s|b · Answer

This is helpful.

Are Pi Zeros more fussy about SD cards than other Pis?

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