One of the best microSD playing cards for the Nint...

The Nintendo Switch 2 is lastly right here, and meaning a complete lot extra folks will ultimately 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 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 almost as large (significantly these made by Nintendo itself), however likelihood is you’ll need to add extra room in some unspecified time in the future down the street.

Each time that’s, you’ll want a microSD Categorical card. That is not the identical because the outdated dependable microSD cards you will have purchased for the primary Swap or different gaming handhelds — they’re newer, quicker and considerably dearer. However if you would like more room, they’re your only choice. In case you’re trying 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 you need to know before you purchase.

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

The Swap 2 is the primary mainstream system to require microSD Categorical for storage growth, so there aren’t many choices that can be purchased simply but. To make issues simple, right here’s a listing of each microSD Categorical card we’ve seen at retailers on the time of writing:

128GB

256GB

512GB

1TB

Keep in mind: You’re on the lookout 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 can have a giant “EX” emblem printed on it — when you see that, try to be good to go.

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 price 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 spotty basically, however a handful from Samsung, PNY, SanDisk and GameStop do look like obtainable as of our newest replace. (Simply be warned that you will have to cope with prolonged ship instances in some instances.) SanDisk’s microSD Categorical Card has additionally elevated in worth because it first went up on the market in February; initially, it price $45 for 128GB and $60 for 256GB. Both approach, 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.

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 geared up to scale back load instances.

The Play Professional is faster for sequential writes (as much as 720 MB/s vs. 650 MB/s), obtainable in additional sizes and needs 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 needs to be equally adept at holding 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. We’ll check as many choices as we will as soon as now we have our fingers on the console — Nintendo didn’t ship out early overview items to press, so we’ll want a number of extra days to complete testing on our personal retail mannequin.

For now, although, we will’t say if it’ll render 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 unique normal, but when one thing comparable had been to occur once more, the “finest” microSD Categorical card would merely be essentially the most inexpensive one from a good model within the capability you need.

That brings us to our primary piece of recommendation: In case you can maintain off on shopping for considered one of these items early on, that’s in all probability a good suggestion. It’s not simply in regards to the lack of testing — in truth, we’d be stunned if any of the playing cards above had been actually “unhealthy.” It comes all the way down to worth: Barring extra tariff shenanigans, all of those playing cards are as costly as we speak as they’re ever more likely to get. The Swap 2 is already common and can proceed to be, thus extra microSD Categorical playing cards will have to be made and costs will (ultimately) 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 when 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 a typical 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 will 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 velocity 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 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 concept (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, 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 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 Collection X or gaming PCs. The system 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 ought to assist 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 fashionable video games.

Therefore, SD Categorical. This normal 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, but it surely lets microSD playing cards make the most of the PCI Categorical (PCIe)/NVMe interface, which is similar underlying tech utilized by modern SSDs. Because of this, it could actually 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, one of the 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 a minimum of 5,500 MB/s.) They usually’ll fall effectively under their peak speeds beneath sustained masses: SanDisk, as an illustration, 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 outdated UHS-I playing cards, and in concept, 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 choose 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 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 strategy 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 suitable with UHS-II, so that you’ll be restricted to UHS-I speeds if you wish to use your card with one other system (except 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.