One of the best microSD playing cards for the Nintendo Swap 2

The brand new Nintendo Switch 2 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 area: Cyberpunk 2077 is a 59GB obtain, for one, whereas Split Fiction checks in at 69GB. Different titles aren’t practically as huge — notably these made by Nintendo itself — however chances are high you’ll finally wish to add extra room to the machine.

If you do, you’ll want a microSD Categorical card. These are not the identical as the usual microSD cards you’ll have purchased for the primary Swap or different gaming handhelds — they’re newer, quicker and considerably dearer. However if you need more room, they’re your only choice. For those who’re seeking to seize one in the present day, we’ve laid out the very best microSD playing cards for the Swap 2 and damaged down what you must know before you purchase.

One of the best microSD playing cards for the Swap 2 (and why you would possibly wish to wait to purchase)

The Swap 2 is the primary mainstream machine to require microSD Categorical for storage enlargement, so there aren’t many choices available for purchase simply but. To make issues simple, right here’s an inventory of each microSD Categorical 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 Categorical mannequin transcend 1TB simply but. It’s additionally value 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, 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 Categorical 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.

Bear in mind: You’re searching for microSD Categorical, not “Excessive,” just like the branding SanDisk makes use of for a few of its conventional microSD cards. A microSD Categorical card could have an enormous “EX” emblem printed on it — should you see that, you ought to be good to go.

We’ve already examined SanDisk’s Categorical 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 conserving 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 Swap 2 stays to be seen. Nintendo didn’t ship out early overview items 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 Categorical playing cards to comparable 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 distinct customary, but when one thing comparable had been to occur once more, the “finest” microSD Categorical card would merely be essentially the most reasonably priced one from a good model within the capability you need.

That brings us to our principal piece of recommendation: For those who can maintain off on shopping for certainly one of this stuff early on, that’s most likely a good suggestion. It’s not simply in regards to the lack of testing — honestly, we’d be shocked 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 in the present day as they’re ever prone to get. The Swap 2 is already standard and can proceed to be, thus extra microSD Categorical 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 recreation or two. However should you’re completely certain you need more room instantly, the playing cards above ought to be adequate.

What are microSD Categorical playing cards?

Most microSD playing cards are based mostly on an ordinary referred to 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 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 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 principle (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 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 instances as effectively.) So if the Swap 2 goes to just accept microSD playing cards, it wants ones that received’t deliver a severe drop-off in efficiency and may maintain up with trendy video games.

Therefore, SD Categorical. This customary has technically been around since 2018 however largely went nowhere till the Swap 2 got here alongside. It additionally makes use of a second row of pins, nevertheless it lets microSD playing cards benefit from the PCI Categorical (PCIe)/NVMe interface, which is identical underlying tech utilized by modern SSDs. Consequently, it may 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 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 no less than 5,500 MB/s.) And so they’ll fall effectively under their peak speeds below sustained hundreds: SanDisk, as an 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 principle, 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 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 had been three to 4 instances higher as effectively, and generally much more relying on the benchmark we used.

It stays to be seen how effectively these Categorical playing cards will maintain up with prolonged use, and there’s no solution to know precisely when their sky-high costs will drop. Non-Swap 2 gadgets that help 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 appears worthy of a next-gen Swap.