The very best microSD playing cards for the Nintendo Change 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 is right here, and which means 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 instances greater than the original Switch and 4 instances 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 massive (significantly these made by Nintendo itself), however likelihood is you’ll need to add extra room sooner or later down the street.

Each time that’s, you’ll want a microSD Categorical card. That is not the identical because the previous dependable microSD cards you could have purchased for the primary Change or different gaming handhelds — they’re newer, sooner and much dearer. However if you need extra space, they’re your only choice. In the event you’re seeking to seize one at the moment, we’ve laid out the very best microSD playing cards for the Change 2 and damaged down what you need to know before you purchase.

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

The Change 2 is the primary mainstream machine to require microSD Categorical for storage growth, so there aren’t many choices in the stores simply but. Of the six suitable fashions we’ve seen so far, 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 needs 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 Categorical playing cards throughout a spread of Change 2 video games, our recommendation is easy: Get whichever one is out there for the bottom worth within the capability you need. They aren’t similar, particularly if you wish to transfer a sport to the cardboard from the console’s inner storage (or vice versa). However the variations in load instances and general efficiency inside precise video games are powerful to note except you could have 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 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 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 masses 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 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 persistently sooner than any exterior possibility: The hole wasn’t all the time massive, however no card actually outpaced it in any of our assessments. Loading that demanding space in Cyberpunk, for instance, took about 22.5 seconds on common. So if you need absolutely the quickest load instances, don’t put your sport on a card in any respect.

In the event you want the psychological consolation of realizing you technically have the very best card obtainable, 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 shifting video games to and from system storage, which suggests it affords 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 write down Quick Fusion (3.5GB), taking a median of 27 seconds throughout three runs. Solely PNY’s card was sooner 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 exact mannequin will take for much longer.

Virtually talking, although, pace variations aren’t as vital on this case as having plenty of area to carry video games at a worth you may reside with. To make issues straightforward, we’ve listed each Categorical card we’ve seen at retailers on the time of writing under. Bear 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 can 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 may 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 masses in sure video games, or a pair minutes when shifting a sport to exterior storage? Most likely not for most individuals.

However inventory for all of those playing cards has been patchy for the reason that Change 2 landed, particularly for the Walmart Onn mannequin, which is by far the most cost effective selection. If just one card is definitely obtainable by the point you learn this — and you need to have it at the moment — it’s secure to simply get it. You gained’t lose or achieve all that a lot in the case of real-world efficiency.

In the end, although, we advise holding off on shopping for any microSD Categorical card for so long as potential. President Trump’s tariff shenanigans might spike costs a bit greater within the quick time period, however normally, all of those playing cards are about as costly at the 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 Categorical playing cards will have to be made and costs will (finally) come down. Ideally, we’ll see extra high-capacity choices as effectively: Nintendo says the Change 2 technically supports playing cards as much as 2TB, however to this point 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 if you happen to completely want extra space immediately, the playing cards above needs to be high-quality.

What are microSD Categorical playing cards?

Most microSD playing cards are based mostly 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 could 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 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 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 Change 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 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 instances as effectively.) So if the Change 2 goes to just accept microSD playing cards, it wants ones that gained’t carry a critical drop-off in efficiency and may maintain up with trendy video games.

Therefore, SD Categorical. This normal has technically been around since 2018 however largely went nowhere till the Change 2 got here alongside. It additionally makes use of a second row of pins, nevertheless it lets microSD playing cards make the most of the PCI Categorical (PCIe)/NVMe interface, which is similar underlying tech utilized by modern SSDs. Consequently, it will possibly 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, 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 not less than 5,500 MB/s.) They usually’ll fall effectively under their peak speeds beneath sustained masses: 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 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 Categorical 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 Change, it’d be nearer to 100 MB/s.) Sequential writes and random speeds have been three to 4 instances 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 technique to know precisely when their sky-high costs will drop. Non-Change 2 gadgets that assist microSD Categorical 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 (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 check microSD Categorical playing cards

We put our microSD Categorical playing cards by a sequence of assessments meant to simulate how folks would use every card on the Change 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 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 inner 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 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 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 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 reduce any efficiency drain that might come up from background downloads. Between every check, we additionally spent not less than 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.