One of the best microSD playing car...

The Nintendo Switch 2 is right here, and which means a complete 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 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 wish to add extra room sooner or later 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 That is not the identical because the outdated dependable microSD cards you’ll have purchased for the primary Swap or different gaming handhelds — they’re newer, sooner and much dearer. However if you need extra space, they’re your only choice. If you happen to’re seeking to seize one in the present day, we’ve laid out the perfect microSD playing cards for the Swap 2 and damaged down what it’s best to know before you purchase.

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

The Swap 2 is the primary mainstream gadget to require microSD Specific for storage enlargement, so there aren’t many choices in the stores simply but. Of the six suitable 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 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 value within the capability you need. They aren’t equivalent, 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 may have a stopwatch helpful.

All 5 playing cards loaded up the digital model of Mario Kart World, as an 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 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 masses when enjoying every recreation, both.

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

If you happen to want the psychological consolation of understanding you technically have the perfect card obtainable, get the SanDisk microSD Express Card. It had no outliers throughout our many recreation loading exams, and it was persistently proper close to the highest when it got here to shifting video games to and from system storage, which implies 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 jot down Quick Fusion (3.5GB), taking a mean 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 word 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 exact mannequin will take for much longer.

Virtually talking, although, pace variations aren’t as vital on this case as having a number of area to carry video games at a value you may dwell with. To make issues straightforward, we’ve listed each Specific card we’ve seen at retailers on the time of writing beneath. Keep 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” 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 costliest 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 recreation to exterior storage? In all probability not for most individuals.

However inventory for all of those playing cards has been patchy because the Swap 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 should have it in the present day — it’s protected to only get it. You received’t lose or acquire all that a lot with regards to 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 somewhat increased within the brief time period, however normally, all of those playing cards are about as costly in the present day 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 Swap 2 is extremely popular, so extra microSD Specific playing cards will must 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 up to now solely a pair even go as much as 1TB. All of this implies it’s 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 ought to be high quality.

What are microSD Specific playing cards?

Most microSD playing cards are primarily based on a normal 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’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 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 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 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 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 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 Sequence X or gaming PCs. The gadget 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 simply accept microSD playing cards, it wants ones that received’t carry a severe drop-off in efficiency and may 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, but it surely lets microSD playing cards reap the benefits of the PCI Specific (PCIe)/NVMe interface, which is similar underlying tech utilized by modern SSDs. Because of this, it might probably produce significantly sooner 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 a minimum of 5,500 MB/s.) And so they’ll fall nicely beneath their peak speeds beneath sustained masses: SanDisk, as an 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 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 Specific card can produce sequential learn speeds round 900 MB/s, Lexar’s Professional Silver Plus — the highest UHS-I decide in our normal 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 have 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 technique to know precisely when their sky-high costs will drop. Non-Swap 2 gadgets 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 gadget (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 way of a sequence of exams meant to simulate how folks would use every card on the Swap 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 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 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 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 recordsdata in these places.

With every check, we accomplished three to 5 runs to account for any irregularities and marked down the typical time taken between them. We did every check in airplane mode, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off, to reduce any efficiency drain that would 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.