The Nintendo Switch 2 is lastly right here, and which means a complete lot extra individuals will finally want a brand new microSD card. Whereas the brand new console comes with 256GB of built-in storage — eight instances greater than the original Switch and 4 instances greater than the Switch OLED — its improved performance signifies that some video games will chew up a ton of that area. Cyberpunk 2077 is a 59GB obtain, for instance, whereas Split Fiction checks in at 69GB. Different titles aren’t practically as large (notably these made by Nintendo itself), however likelihood is you’ll need to add extra room sooner or later down the highway.
Every time that’s, you’ll want a microSD Specific card. That is not the identical because the outdated dependable microSD cards you might have purchased for the primary Change or different gaming handhelds — they’re newer, quicker and considerably dearer. However in order for you more room, they’re your only choice. Should you’re trying to seize one right this moment, we’ve laid out the perfect microSD playing cards for the Change 2 and damaged down what you need to know before you purchase.
The very best microSD playing cards for the Change 2 (and why you may need to wait to purchase)
The Change 2 is the primary mainstream system to require microSD Specific for storage growth, so there aren’t many choices that can be purchased simply but. To make issues simple, right here’s an inventory of each microSD Specific card we’ve seen at retailers on the time of writing:
128GB
256GB
512GB
1TB
Bear in mind: You’re in search of 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 a giant “EX” emblem printed on it — should you see that, try to be good to go.
Nintendo says the Change 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 spotty normally, however a handful from Samsung, PNY, SanDisk and GameStop do seem like out there as of our newest replace. (Simply be warned that you might have to take care of prolonged ship instances in some instances.) SanDisk’s microSD Specific Card has additionally elevated in value because it first went up on the market in February; initially, it value $45 for 128GB and $60 for 256GB. Both means, 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.
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 quicker 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 instances.
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 at any time when 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 preserving giant 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 Change 2 stays to be seen. We’ll check as many choices as we are able to as soon as now we have our palms on the console — Nintendo didn’t ship out early evaluation models to press, so we’ll want just a few extra days to complete testing on our personal retail mannequin.
For now, although, we are able to’t say if it’ll render all microSD Specific playing cards to comparable speeds. That was largely the case with the primary Change: 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 Change 2 is working with a special commonplace, but when one thing comparable have been to occur once more, the “greatest” microSD Specific card would merely be probably the most inexpensive one from a good model within the capability you need.
That brings us to our important piece of recommendation: Should you can maintain off on shopping for one among this stuff early on, that’s most likely a good suggestion. It’s not simply concerning the lack of testing — honestly, we’d be stunned if any of the playing cards above have been actually “dangerous.” It comes right down to worth: Barring extra tariff shenanigans, all of those playing cards are as costly right this moment as they’re ever more likely to get. The Change 2 is already fashionable and can proceed to be, thus extra microSD Specific playing cards will have to be made and costs will (finally) come down. Attempt to use all 256 of the gigabytes baked into the Change 2 first, even when it means having to delete a sport or two. However should you’re completely certain you need more room immediately, the playing cards above ought to be adequate.
What are microSD Specific playing cards?
Most microSD playing cards are based mostly on a typical known 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 might have purchased previously make the most of UHS-I. These have one row of pins within the again and a theoretical most knowledge switch velocity of 104 megabytes per second (MB/s). (Although many playing cards are in a position to surpass that restrict with proprietary tech and card readers.) The unique Change 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 frequent than playing cards based mostly 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, extensively supported and quick sufficient for the issues most individuals want them to do: report 4K video, stash photographs and so forth. However with the Change 2, Nintendo needs more. The brand new console is dramatically extra highly effective, which permits it to run demanding games which will have initially been constructed for stronger {hardware} just like the PlayStation 5, Xbox Collection X or gaming PCs. The system also uses UFS 3.1 storage internally, which is way speedier than the eMMC storage utilized by the unique Change. (A customized file decompression engine ought to assist enhance load instances as properly.) So if the Change 2 goes to just accept microSD playing cards, it wants ones that received’t convey a severe drop-off in efficiency and may maintain up with fashionable video games.
Therefore, SD Specific. This commonplace has technically been around since 2018 however largely went nowhere till the Change 2 got here alongside. It additionally makes use of a second row of pins, but it surely lets microSD playing cards make the most of the PCI Specific (PCIe)/NVMe interface, which is identical underlying tech utilized by modern SSDs. Because of this, it will possibly produce significantly quicker learn and write speeds, with a present theoretical maximum of 985 MB/s.
As famous above, real-world efficiency received’t be fairly that quick. Even when it was, the perfect 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.) They usually’ll fall properly under their peak speeds beneath sustained hundreds: SanDisk, as an 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 common microSD card information — topped out simply over 200 MB/s, and that’s with a proprietary reader. (On the primary Change, it’d be nearer to 100 MB/s.) Sequential writes and random speeds have been three to 4 instances higher as properly, and typically much more relying on the benchmark we used.
It stays to be seen how properly these Specific playing cards will maintain up with prolonged use, and there’s no technique to know precisely when their sky-high costs will drop. Non-Change 2 units that help microSD Specific are nonetheless exceedingly uncommon, and the usual itself isn’t backwards suitable 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 Change.
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