The most effective microSD playing cards for the Nintendo Swap 2

Should you’re fortunate sufficient to have a brand new Nintendo Switch 2 in hand proper now, you are in all probability filling it up with outdated and new video games alike. The console comes with 256GB of storage inbuilt; that is eight occasions greater than the original Switch and 4 occasions greater than the Switch OLED. However the brand new console’s improved performance signifies that some video games will hog a ton of that area. Take, for example, Cyberpunk 2077, which is a 59GB obtain, whereas Split Fiction checks in at 69GB. Whereas not all titles hog a lot storage, there is a good likelihood you will need to add more room to your Swap 2 as time goes on.

You may want a microSD Specific card to try this. These are not the identical as the usual microSD cards you will have for the primary Swap or different gaming handhelds. They’re newer, sooner and (as to be anticipated) dearer. However if you need more room, they’re your only choice. Should you’re seeking to seize one right this moment, we’ve laid out the very best microSD playing cards for the Swap 2 and damaged down what it is best to know before you purchase.

The most effective microSD playing cards for the Swap 2 (and why you would possibly need to wait to purchase)

The Swap 2 is the primary mainstream system to require microSD Specific for storage growth, so there aren’t many choices available for purchase simply but. To make issues straightforward, right here’s an inventory of each microSD Specific card we’ve seen at retailers on the time of writing.

128GB

256GB

512GB

1TB

Nintendo says the Swap 2 technically supports playing cards with a capability as much as 2TB, however we haven’t seen any microSD Specific mannequin transcend 1TB simply but. It’s additionally price noting that GameStop and Onn (Walmart’s in-house electronics model) aren’t producers, so it’s unclear who precisely is making their playing cards.

Inventory for these playing cards stays considerably patchy, significantly for the higher-capacity choices. However most of the 128GB and 256GB fashions look like steadily out there as of the Swap 2’s launch week. Simply be warned that you will have to take care of prolonged ship occasions in some circumstances. SanDisk’s microSD Specific Card has additionally elevated in value because it first went up on the market in February; initially, it price $45 for 128GB and $60 for 256GB.

Both method, all of those playing cards are far pricier than conventional microSD choices. The Samsung Pro Plus, for instance, prices $17 for 128GB, $25 for 256GB, $43 for 512GB and $90 for 1TB as of this writing.

Keep in mind: You’re on the lookout for microSD Specific, not “Excessive,” just like the branding SanDisk makes use of for a few of its conventional microSD cards. A microSD Specific card could have an enormous “EX” brand printed on it — for those who see that, try to be good to go.

We’ve already examined SanDisk’s Specific card and the Lexar Play Professional for our broader information to the best microSD cards. Between the 2, SanDisk’s card has a lot sooner sequential read speeds — as much as 899 MB/s vs. 712 MB/s in CrystalDiskMark, to call one benchmark — which theoretically makes it higher outfitted to scale back load occasions.

The Play Professional is faster for sequential writes (as much as 720 MB/s vs. 650 MB/s), out there in additional sizes and ought to be cheaper at 256GB every time it’s in inventory. (SanDisk says the 128GB model of its card has slower sequential writes than the 256GB mannequin, too.) Random efficiency is about equal, so the 2 ought to be equally adept at retaining massive video games like Mario Kart World working easily.

We primarily examined these playing cards on a Home windows PC and Mac, although. How they carry out on the precise Swap 2 stays to be seen. Nintendo didn’t ship out early assessment models to press, and we have solely simply acquired our personal retail mannequin. So we’ll want a number of extra days to complete testing.

For now, although, we will’t say for certain if the console renders all microSD Specific playing cards to related speeds. That was largely the case with the primary Swap: As soon as a (common) microSD card hit a certain threshold of efficiency, there wasn’t that a lot sensible distinction between it and different alternate options. The Swap 2 is working with a special normal, but when one thing related have been to occur once more, the “finest” microSD Specific card would merely be probably the most reasonably priced one from a good model within the capability you need.

That brings us to our essential piece of recommendation: Should you can maintain off on shopping for one in every of these items early on, that’s in all probability a good suggestion. It’s not simply concerning the lack of testing — in truth, we’d be stunned if any of those playing cards are really “unhealthy.”

It is extra about worth: Barring extra tariff shenanigans, all of those playing cards are as costly right this moment as they’re ever prone to get. The Swap 2 is already widespread and can proceed to be, thus extra microSD Specific playing cards will must be made and costs will (finally) come down. Attempt to use all 256 of the gigabytes baked into the Swap 2 first, even when it means having to delete a sport or two. However for those who’re completely certain you need more room instantly, the playing cards above ought to be adequate.

What are microSD Specific playing cards?

Most microSD playing cards are primarily based on a typical referred to as Extremely Excessive Pace (UHS), of which there are three variations: UHS-I, UHS-II and UHS-III. The overwhelming majority of playing cards you will have purchased previously make the most of UHS-I. These have one row of pins within the again and a theoretical most information switch pace of 104 megabytes per second (MB/s). (Although many playing cards are capable of surpass that restrict with proprietary tech and card readers.) The unique Swap has a UHS-I microSD slot, as do most different gaming handhelds like Valve’s Steam Deck.

UHS-II playing cards add a second row of pins and may attain as much as 312 MB/s. These are pricier and far much less widespread than playing cards primarily based on UHS-I, however they’re supported by some cameras and higher-power handhelds just like the ASUS ROG Ally X. UHS-III, in the meantime, is twice as quick as UHS-II in concept (624 MB/s), however no microSD playing cards have truly used it.

UHS-I playing cards have held on through the years as a result of they’re low cost, broadly supported and quick sufficient for the issues most individuals want them to do: report 4K video, stash pictures and so forth. However with the Swap 2, Nintendo needs more. The brand new console is dramatically extra highly effective, which permits it to run demanding games that will have initially been constructed for stronger {hardware} just like the PlayStation 5, Xbox Sequence X or gaming PCs. The system also uses UFS 3.1 storage internally, which is far speedier than the eMMC storage utilized by the unique Swap. (A customized file decompression engine helps enhance load occasions as nicely.) So if the Swap 2 goes to just accept microSD playing cards, it wants ones that gained’t convey a severe drop-off in efficiency and may maintain up with fashionable video games.

Therefore, SD Specific. This normal has technically been around since 2018 however principally went nowhere till the Swap 2 got here alongside. It additionally makes use of a second row of pins, however it lets microSD playing cards benefit from the PCI Specific (PCIe)/NVMe interface, which is similar underlying tech utilized by modern SSDs. In consequence, it could possibly produce significantly sooner learn and write speeds, with a present theoretical maximum of 985 MB/s.

As famous above, real-world efficiency gained’t be fairly that quick. Even when it was, the very best microSD Specific playing cards would nonetheless be a lot slower than the NVMe SSDs used by the PS5 and Xbox. (Sony recommends SSDs with sequential learn speeds of a minimum of 5,500 MB/s.) And so they’ll fall nicely under their peak speeds beneath sustained masses: SanDisk, for example, says sustained write speeds for its 128GB Specific card can drop as little as 100 MB/s.

However they’re nonetheless a marked enchancment over outdated UHS-I playing cards, and in concept, they need to be faster than some older SATA-based SSDs when it comes loading sport ranges, asset streaming, retrieving saves or copying video games to exterior storage. Whereas SanDisk’s microSD Specific card can produce sequential learn speeds round 900 MB/s, Lexar’s Professional Silver Plus — the highest UHS-I decide in our basic microSD card information — topped out simply over 200 MB/s, and that’s with a proprietary reader. (On the primary Swap, it’d be nearer to 100 MB/s.) Sequential writes and random speeds have been three to 4 occasions higher as nicely, and generally much more relying on the benchmark we used.

It stays to be seen how nicely these Specific playing cards will maintain up with prolonged use, and there’s no option to know precisely when their sky-high costs will drop. Non-Swap 2 units that assist microSD Specific are nonetheless exceedingly uncommon, and the usual itself isn’t backwards appropriate with UHS-II, so that you’ll be restricted to UHS-I speeds if you wish to use your card with one other system (until you purchase a pricey external reader). Nonetheless, whereas the elevated prices and restricted choice are annoying, the tech itself appears worthy of a next-gen Swap.