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

The Nintendo Switch 2 is right here, and meaning an entire lot extra folks will ultimately 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 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 huge (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 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 That is not the identical because the outdated dependable microSD cards you might have purchased for the primary Change or different gaming handhelds — they’re newer, quicker and much costlier. However in order for you more room, they’re your only choice. If you happen to’re seeking 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.

One of the best microSD playing cards for the Change 2 (aren’t all that vital)

The Change 2 is the primary mainstream machine to require microSD Specific 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 aside from Lexar Play Professional, which was 1TB.

After timing these microSD Specific playing cards throughout a variety of Change 2 video games, our recommendation is easy: Get whichever one is obtainable for the bottom value within the capability you need. They aren’t equivalent, particularly if you wish to transfer a sport to the cardboard from the console’s inside storage (or vice versa). However the variations in load occasions and total efficiency inside precise video games are robust to note except you’ve gotten a stopwatch helpful.

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 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 Change 2 sport, 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 the same state of affairs with the Change 2 improve for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (utilizing a Change 1 cartridge): Every card took simply over six seconds to get to the beginning display, 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 vital points with in-game hundreds when enjoying every sport, both.

All of this implies that the Change 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 observe that the console’s built-in storage was persistently quicker than any exterior choice: The hole wasn’t all the time huge, however no card really outpaced it in any of our assessments. Loading that demanding space in Cyberpunk, for instance, took about 22.5 seconds on common. So in order for you absolutely the quickest load occasions, don’t put your sport on a card in any respect.

If you happen to want the psychological consolation of understanding you technically have the perfect card accessible, get the SanDisk microSD Express Card. It had no outliers throughout our many sport loading assessments, and it was persistently proper close to the highest when it got here to transferring video games to and from system storage, which implies it gives robust 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 jot down Quick Fusion (3.5GB), taking a median 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 observe 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 sport to that specific mannequin will take for much longer.

Virtually talking, although, pace variations aren’t as vital on this case as having numerous area to carry video games at a value you’ll be able to dwell with. To make issues straightforward, we’ve listed each Specific card we’ve seen at retailers on the time of writing beneath. Bear in mind: You need microSD Specific, not “Excessive,” just like the branding SanDisk makes use of for some conventional microSD cards. A microSD Specific card could have a giant “EX” brand 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 most costly 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 transferring a sport to exterior storage? Most likely not for most individuals.

However inventory for all of those playing cards has been patchy because the Change 2 landed, particularly for the Walmart Onn mannequin, which is by far the most affordable selection. If just one card is definitely accessible by the point you learn this — and you should have it right this moment — it’s protected to simply get it. You received’t lose or acquire all that a lot in the case of real-world efficiency.

In the end, although, we advise holding off on shopping for any microSD Specific card for so long as potential. President Trump’s tariff shenanigans may spike costs a little bit larger within the quick time period, however normally, all of those playing cards are about as costly right this moment as they’ll ever be. And in comparison with conventional microSD choices, they are expensive: 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 Change 2 is extremely popular, so extra microSD Specific playing cards will should be made and costs will (ultimately) come down. Ideally, we’ll see extra high-capacity choices as nicely: Nintendo says the Change 2 technically supports playing cards as much as 2TB, however thus far solely a pair even go as much as 1TB. All of this implies you need to attempt to use all 256GB baked into the Change 2 first, even when it means having to delete a sport or two. However when you completely want more room instantly, the playing cards above must be superb.

What are microSD Specific playing cards?

Most microSD playing cards are primarily based 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 up 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 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 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 concept (624 MB/s), however no microSD playing cards have really 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 that 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 way speedier than the eMMC storage utilized by the unique Change. (A customized file decompression engine helps enhance load occasions as nicely.) So if the Change 2 goes to simply accept microSD playing cards, it wants ones that received’t convey a severe drop-off in efficiency and might maintain up with fashionable video games.

Therefore, SD Specific. This normal has technically been around since 2018 however principally went nowhere till the Change 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 similar underlying tech utilized by modern SSDs. In consequence, 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 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 at the very least 5,500 MB/s.) They usually’ll fall nicely beneath their peak speeds beneath sustained hundreds: 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 Change, it’d be nearer to 100 MB/s.) Sequential writes and random speeds had 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 years of use, and there’s no method 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 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 (except 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 Change.

How we take a look at microSD Specific playing cards

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

We first timed how lengthy it took to maneuver every sport from the system’s inside storage to the cardboard in query, and vice versa. We then timed how lengthy it took to load every sport when put in to a given card. After that, we measured how shortly the playing cards may 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 Fort 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 recordsdata in these places.

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