The most effective microSD playing cards for the Nintendo Swap 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 is right here, and meaning 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 occasions greater than the original Switch and 4 occasions greater than the Switch OLED — its improved performance implies 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 almost as large (significantly these made by Nintendo itself), however chances are high you’ll need to add extra room in some unspecified time in the future down the highway.

Every time that’s, you’ll want a microSD Categorical card. That is not the identical because the previous dependable microSD cards you’ll have purchased for the primary Swap or different gaming handhelds — they’re newer, quicker and much dearer. However if you’d like extra space, they’re your only choice. In the event you’re seeking to seize one as we speak, 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 (aren’t all that essential)

The Swap 2 is the primary mainstream machine to require microSD Categorical for storage growth, so there aren’t many choices available for purchase simply but. Of the six appropriate fashions we’ve seen up to now, we’ve examined 5: the SanDisk microSD Express Card, the Lexar Play Pro, the Samsung microSD Card for Nintendo Switch 2, the PNY microSD Express Card and the GameStop Express microSD Card for Nintendo Switch 2. The primary 4 are made by real storage producers, whereas the GameStop card seems to be a rebadged model of one other mannequin. (This must be the case with another card sold by Walmart beneath its Onn sub-brand, which we hope to catch in inventory earlier than our subsequent replace.) We used the 256GB model of each card apart from Lexar Play Professional, which was 1TB.

After timing these microSD Categorical playing cards throughout a spread of Swap 2 video games, our recommendation is easy: Get whichever one is accessible for the bottom value within the capability you need. They aren’t an identical, particularly if you wish to transfer a recreation to the cardboard from the console’s inner storage (or vice versa). However the variations in load occasions and general efficiency inside precise video games are robust to note until you’ve got a stopwatch useful.

All 5 playing cards loaded up the digital model of Mario Kart World, for example, between 18 and 20 seconds. Every loaded the primary Grand Prix race in about 6.5 seconds. Attending to the beginning display screen of Cyberpunk 2077 took about 38 seconds in every case. Loading a save in a very asset-heavy space (Jig-Jig Street) then took between 26 and 29 seconds, relying on the cardboard.

With Fast Fusion, a smaller native Swap 2 recreation, the preliminary load all the time took six to seven seconds, whereas every card loaded the primary championship race in roughly 4 seconds. It was an analogous state of affairs with the Swap 2 improve for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (utilizing a Swap 1 cartridge): Every card took simply over six seconds to get to the beginning display screen, between 19 and 20 seconds to load a save simply earlier than the ultimate boss, about 16 seconds to quick journey between Kakariko Village and Korok Forest, and so forth. We noticed no important points with in-game hundreds when taking part in every recreation, both.

All of this means that the Swap 2 has a comparatively particular goal for these playing cards to hit, and that there will not be a lot room for one mannequin to leap too far out in entrance of the others. We’ll additionally notice that the console’s built-in storage was persistently quicker than any exterior choice: The hole wasn’t all the time large, however no card actually outpaced it in any of our checks. Loading that demanding space in Cyberpunk, for instance, took about 22.5 seconds on common. So if you’d like absolutely the quickest load occasions, don’t put your recreation on a card in any respect.

In the event you want the psychological consolation of realizing you technically have the very best card out there, get the SanDisk microSD Express Card. It had no outliers throughout our many recreation loading checks, and it was persistently proper close to the highest when it got here to shifting video games to and from system storage, which suggests it presents sturdy sequential learn and write efficiency. Benchmark testing on PC with instruments like CrystalDiskMark backed this up, as famous in our broader microSD card buying guide.

Placing Mario Kart (a 21.9GB file) on that card took 4 minutes and 39 seconds on common, which was solely second to the Lexar Play Professional by six seconds. It was the quickest to write down Quick Fusion (3.5GB), taking a mean of 27 seconds throughout three runs. Solely PNY’s card was quicker to maneuver video games again to the console’s storage, however that one was far slower at writing video games to the cardboard — getting Mario Kart on there took seven minutes and 11 seconds on common. Simply notice that the 128GB model of SanDisk’s card has slower sequential writes than the bigger variations, together with a lot slower sustained write speeds (100 MB/s vs 210-220 MB/s). So transferring a recreation to that individual mannequin will take for much longer.

Virtually talking, although, pace variations aren’t as essential on this case as having a lot of area to carry video games at a value you’ll be able to reside with. To make issues straightforward, we’ve listed each Categorical card we’ve seen at retailers on the time of writing beneath. Keep in mind: You need microSD Categorical, not “Excessive,” just like the branding SanDisk makes use of for some conventional microSD cards. A microSD Categorical card could have an enormous “EX” emblem printed on it.

128GB

• SanDisk microSD Express Card ($60 MSRP)

• PNY microSD Express Card ($47 MSRP)

256GB

512GB

1TB

• Lexar Play Pro ($220 MSRP)

• GameStop Express microSD Card for Nintendo Switch 2 ($190 MSRP)

As you’ll be able to see, whereas the SanDisk card is quick, it’s additionally the costliest of an already-pricey bunch. Is it value an additional $10-20 to shave a pair seconds off sure hundreds in sure video games, or a pair minutes when shifting a recreation to exterior storage? Most likely not for most individuals.

However inventory for all of those playing cards has been patchy for the reason that Swap 2 landed, particularly for the Walmart Onn mannequin, which is by far the most cost effective selection. If just one card is definitely out there by the point you learn this — and you could have it as we speak — it’s protected to only get it. You gained’t lose or acquire all that a lot in relation to real-world efficiency.

Finally, although, we advise holding off on shopping for any microSD Categorical card for so long as doable. President Trump’s tariff shenanigans might spike costs a bit greater within the quick time period, however generally, all of those playing cards are about as costly as we speak as they’ll ever be. And in comparison with conventional microSD choices, they are dear: The Samsung Pro Plus, for instance, prices $17 for 128GB, $25 for 256GB, $43 for 512GB and $90 for 1TB as of this writing.

The Swap 2 is extremely popular, so extra microSD Categorical playing cards will should be made and costs will (finally) come down. Ideally, we’ll see extra high-capacity choices as effectively: Nintendo says the Swap 2 technically supports playing cards as much as 2TB, however up to now solely a pair even go as much as 1TB. All of this implies it is best to attempt to use all 256GB baked into the Swap 2 first, even when it means having to delete a recreation or two. However for those who completely want extra space immediately, the playing cards above must be advantageous.

What are microSD Categorical playing cards?

Most microSD playing cards are primarily based on an ordinary known as Extremely Excessive Velocity (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 information switch pace 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 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 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 idea (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: file 4K video, stash images 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 Collection X or gaming PCs. The machine 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 effectively.) So if the Swap 2 goes to simply accept microSD playing cards, it wants ones that gained’t deliver a critical drop-off in efficiency and might maintain up with fashionable video games.

Therefore, SD Categorical. This commonplace 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 Categorical (PCIe)/NVMe interface, which is similar underlying tech utilized by modern SSDs. Because of this, it might probably produce significantly quicker 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 Categorical 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 at the very least 5,500 MB/s.) And so they’ll fall effectively beneath their peak speeds beneath sustained hundreds: SanDisk, for example, says sustained write speeds for its 128GB Categorical card can drop as little as 100 MB/s.

However they’re nonetheless a marked enchancment over previous UHS-I playing cards, and in idea, they need to be faster than some older SATA-based SSDs when it comes loading recreation ranges, asset streaming, retrieving saves or copying video games to exterior storage. Whereas SanDisk’s microSD Categorical card can produce sequential learn speeds round 900 MB/s, Lexar’s Professional Silver Plus — the highest UHS-I choose 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 had been three to 4 occasions higher as effectively, and typically much more relying on the benchmark we used.

It stays to be seen how effectively these Categorical playing cards will maintain up with years of use, and there’s no approach to know precisely when their sky-high costs will drop. Non-Swap 2 gadgets that assist microSD Categorical 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 machine (until you purchase a pricey external reader). Nonetheless, whereas the elevated prices and restricted choice are annoying, the tech itself is worthy of a next-gen Swap.

How we check microSD Categorical playing cards

We put our microSD Categorical playing cards by means of a sequence of checks meant to simulate how individuals would use every card on the Swap 2 in the true world. We primarily labored with 4 video games: a mid-sized title in Mario Kart World, a small one in Quick Fusion, a comparatively massive one in Cyberpunk 2077 and a hybrid in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which ran off a Swap 1 cartridge however used a roughly 10GB Swap 2 improve pack that was downloaded and put in digitally.

We first timed how lengthy it took to maneuver every recreation from the system’s inner storage to the cardboard in query, and vice versa. We then timed how lengthy it took to load every recreation when put in to a given card. After that, we measured how rapidly the playing cards might load sure in-game eventualities: the primary Grand Prix race in Mario Kart; the primary championship race in Quick Fusion; quick touring between the Jig-Jig Road, Embers and Downtown Central areas in Cyberpunk and quick touring between the Kakariko Village, Korok Forest and the Hyrule Fortress City Ruins areas in Zelda. (We selected these locations within the latter two video games as a result of they’re extra taxing than different areas.) With Cyberpunk and Zelda, we additionally timed how lengthy it took to load up totally different save information in these places.

With every check, we accomplished three to 5 runs to account for any irregularities and marked down the common time taken between them. We did every check in airplane mode, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off, to attenuate any efficiency drain that might come up from background downloads. Between every check, we additionally spent at the very least an hour taking part in the video games off every card to make sure there have been no important drop-offs in comparison with the console’s built-in storage.