The most effective microSD playing cards for the Nintendo Change 2

If you happen to’re fortunate sufficient to have a brand new Nintendo Switch 2 in hand proper now, you are most likely filling it up with outdated and new video games alike. The console comes with 256GB of storage in-built; that is eight occasions greater than the original Switch and 4 occasions greater than the Switch OLED. However the brand new console’s improved performance signifies that some video games will hog a ton of that area. Take, for example, Cyberpunk 2077, which is a 59GB obtain, whereas Split Fiction checks in at 69GB. Whereas not all titles hog a lot storage, there is a good probability you may need to add extra space to your Change 2 as time goes on.

You will want a microSD Categorical card to do this. These are not the identical as the usual microSD cards you might have for the primary Change or different gaming handhelds. They’re newer, sooner and (as to be anticipated) costlier. However in order for you extra space, they’re your only choice. If you happen to’re seeking to seize one at this time, we’ve laid out the perfect microSD playing cards for the Change 2 and damaged down what you need to know before you purchase.

The most effective microSD playing cards for the Change 2 (and why you would possibly need to wait to purchase)

The Change 2 is the primary mainstream machine 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

Nintendo says the Change 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 value 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 considerably patchy, significantly for the higher-capacity choices. However lots of the 128GB and 256GB fashions seem like steadily accessible as of the Change 2’s launch week. Simply be warned that you might have to cope with prolonged ship occasions 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 method, 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.

Bear in mind: You’re searching 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 may have an enormous “EX” emblem printed on it — should you see that, you need to be good to go.

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 sooner 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 cut back load occasions.

The Play Professional is faster for sequential writes (as much as 720 MB/s vs. 650 MB/s), accessible in additional sizes and must 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 must be equally adept at retaining 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 Change 2 stays to be seen. Nintendo didn’t ship out early evaluate items to press, and we have solely simply acquired our personal retail mannequin. So we’ll want a number of extra days to complete testing.

For now, although, we will’t say for positive if the console renders all microSD Categorical playing cards to related speeds. That was largely the case with the primary Change: 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 options. The Change 2 is working with a distinct commonplace, but when one thing related had been to occur once more, the “greatest” microSD Categorical card would merely be probably the most inexpensive one from a good model within the capability you need.

That brings us to our essential piece of recommendation: If you happen to can maintain off on shopping for one in every of these items early on, that’s most likely a good suggestion. It’s not simply concerning the lack of testing — in truth, we’d be shocked if any of those playing cards are actually “unhealthy.”

It is extra about worth: Barring extra tariff shenanigans, all of those playing cards are as costly at this time as they’re ever more likely to get. The Change 2 is already common and can proceed to be, thus extra microSD Categorical playing cards will should be made and costs will (ultimately) come down. Attempt to use all 256 of the gigabytes baked into the Change 2 first, even when it means having to delete a sport or two. However should you’re completely positive you need extra space immediately, the playing cards above ought to be ok.

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 might 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 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 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 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 really used it.

UHS-I playing cards have held on over time as a result of they’re low-cost, broadly 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 occasions as effectively.) So if the Change 2 goes to just accept microSD playing cards, it wants ones that received’t carry a severe drop-off in efficiency and may maintain up with fashionable video games.

Therefore, SD Categorical. This commonplace 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, nevertheless it lets microSD playing cards benefit from the PCI Categorical (PCIe)/NVMe interface, which is similar underlying tech utilized by modern SSDs. In consequence, it could 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 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 at the very least 5,500 MB/s.) And so they’ll fall effectively beneath their peak speeds underneath sustained hundreds: 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 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 Categorical 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 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 prolonged use, and there’s no solution to know precisely when their sky-high costs will drop. Non-Change 2 units that help microSD Categorical 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 (until 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 Change.