The perfect microSD playing cards for the Nintendo Swap 2

If you happen to’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sufficient to have a brand new Nintendo Switch 2 in hand proper now, you are in all probability filling it up with outdated and new video games alike.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 in-built; that is eight instances greater than the original Switch and 4 instances greater than the Switch OLED. However the brand new console’s improved performance implies that some video games will hog a ton of that house. Take, as an 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 probability you may wish to add extra space to your Swap 2 as time goes on.

You may want a microSD Specific card to do this. These are not the identical as the usual microSD cards you’ll have for the primary Swap or different gaming handhelds. They’re newer, sooner and (as to be anticipated) dearer. However if you’d like extra space, they’re your only choice. If you happen to’re seeking to seize one at this time, we’ve laid out one of the best microSD playing cards for the Swap 2 and damaged down what it is best to know before you purchase.

The perfect microSD playing cards for the Swap 2 (and why you would possibly wish 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 in the stores 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

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, notably for the higher-capacity choices. However lots of the 128GB and 256GB fashions seem like steadily out there as of the Swap 2’s launch week. Simply be warned that you’ll have to take care of prolonged ship instances in some instances. SanDisk’s microSD Specific Card has additionally elevated in worth 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.

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 may 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 geared up 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 each 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 protecting massive video games like Mario Kart World operating 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 overview models to press, and we have solely simply acquired our personal retail mannequin. So we’ll want a couple of extra days to complete testing.

For now, although, we will’t say for positive 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 options. The Swap 2 is working with a special customary, but when one thing related have been to occur once more, the “finest” microSD Specific card would merely be essentially the most reasonably priced one from a good model within the capability you need.

That brings us to our fundamental piece of recommendation: If you happen to can maintain off on shopping for certainly one of these items early on, that’s in all probability a good suggestion. It’s not simply in regards to the lack of testing — honestly, we’d be stunned if any of those playing cards are actually “unhealthy.”

It is extra about worth: Barring extra tariff shenanigans, all of those playing cards are as costly at this time as they’re ever prone to get. The Swap 2 is already well-liked and can proceed to be, thus extra microSD Specific playing cards will should 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 positive you need extra space immediately, the playing cards above ought to be adequate.

What are microSD Specific playing cards?

Most microSD playing cards are based mostly on a regular 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’ll have purchased prior to now make the most of UHS-I. These have one row of pins within the again and a theoretical most knowledge 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 might attain as much as 312 MB/s. These are pricier and far much less widespread 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 really used it.

UHS-I playing cards have held on over time 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 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 which 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 way speedier than the eMMC storage utilized by the unique Swap. (A customized file decompression engine helps enhance load instances as nicely.) So if the Swap 2 goes to simply accept microSD playing cards, it wants ones that gained’t deliver a severe drop-off in efficiency and might maintain up with fashionable video games.

Therefore, SD Specific. This customary 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 reap the benefits of the PCI Specific (PCIe)/NVMe interface, which is identical underlying tech utilized by modern SSDs. Because of this, it may well 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, one of the 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 not less than 5,500 MB/s.) And so they’ll fall nicely beneath their peak speeds below 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 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 instances 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 strategy to know precisely when their sky-high costs will drop. Non-Swap 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 (except 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.