The best microSD cards for the Nintendo Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 is right here, and meaning an entire lot extra folks 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 house. Cyberpunk 2077 is a 59GB obtain, for instance, whereas Split Fiction checks in at 69GB. Different titles aren’t almost as massive (notably these made by Nintendo itself), however likelihood is you’ll need to add extra room sooner or later down the street.

Every time that’s, you’ll want a microSD Specific card. That is not the identical because the outdated dependable microSD cards you could have purchased for the primary Swap or different gaming handhelds — they’re newer, quicker and much dearer. However in order for you extra space, they’re your only choice. When you’re seeking to seize one as we speak, 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 most effective microSD playing cards for the Swap 2 (aren’t all that vital)

The Swap 2 is the primary mainstream machine to require microSD Specific for storage enlargement, so there aren’t many choices available for purchase simply but. Of the six suitable fashions we’ve seen to date, 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 ought to 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 Swap 2 video games, our recommendation is easy: Get whichever one is obtainable for the bottom worth 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 general efficiency inside precise video games are robust to note until you’ve 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 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 sport, the preliminary load at all times took six to seven seconds, whereas every card loaded the primary championship race in roughly 4 seconds. It was an analogous scenario 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 enjoying every sport, both.

All of this means that the Swap 2 has a comparatively particular goal for these playing cards to hit, and that there might 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 constantly quicker than any exterior possibility: The hole wasn’t at all times massive, however no card really outpaced it in any of our checks. 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.

When you want the psychological consolation of understanding you technically have one of the best card out there, get the SanDisk microSD Express Card. It had no outliers throughout our many sport loading checks, and it was constantly proper close to the highest when it got here to shifting video games to and from system storage, which suggests it gives 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 put in writing 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 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 a lot of house to carry video games at a worth you’ll be able to reside with. To make issues simple, we’ve listed each Specific card we’ve seen at retailers on the time of writing under. 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 can 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 sport to exterior storage? In all probability 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 affordable alternative. If just one card is definitely out there by the point you learn this — and it’s essential to have it as we speak — it’s protected to simply get it. You gained’t lose or acquire all that a lot in terms of real-world efficiency.

In the end, although, we advise holding off on shopping for any microSD Specific card for so long as attainable. President Trump’s tariff shenanigans may spike costs a little bit larger within the brief time period, however typically, 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 Specific playing cards will have to be made and costs will (finally) come down. Ideally, we’ll see extra high-capacity choices as nicely: Nintendo says the Swap 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 it is best to attempt to use all 256GB baked into the Swap 2 first, even when it means having to delete a sport or two. However in the event you completely want extra space immediately, the playing cards above ought to be superb.

What are microSD Specific playing cards?

Most microSD playing cards are based mostly on a regular 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 could 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 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 over time as a result of they’re low-cost, extensively supported and quick sufficient for the issues most individuals want them to do: document 4K video, stash photographs 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 that will have initially been constructed for stronger {hardware} just like the PlayStation 5, Xbox Sequence 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 nicely.) So if the Swap 2 goes to just accept microSD playing cards, it wants ones that gained’t deliver a severe drop-off in efficiency and might maintain up with trendy video games.

Therefore, SD Specific. 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, nevertheless it lets microSD playing cards benefit from the PCI Specific (PCIe)/NVMe interface, which is identical underlying tech utilized by modern SSDs. In consequence, it will 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, 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 a minimum of 5,500 MB/s.) They usually’ll fall nicely under 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 principle, 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 choose in our common 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 nicely, and typically 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 approach to know precisely when their sky-high costs will drop. Non-Swap 2 units that assist 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 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 Specific playing cards

We put our microSD Specific playing cards by a collection of checks meant to simulate how folks 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 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 Citadel 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 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 reduce any efficiency drain that might come up from background downloads. Between every check, we additionally spent a minimum of an hour enjoying 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.