The very best microSD playing cards for the Nintendo Change 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 comes with 256GB of built-in storage, eight instances greater than the original Switch and 4 instances greater than the Switch OLED. However the brand new console’s improved performance implies that some video games will hog a ton of that area: Cyberpunk 2077 is a 60GB obtain, for one, whereas Split Fiction checks in at 73GB. Different titles aren’t almost as massive, however chances are high you’ll ultimately need to add extra room to the system.

Whenever you do, you’ll want a microSD Categorical card. These are not the identical as the usual microSD cards you might have purchased for the primary Change or different gaming handhelds — they’re newer, sooner and considerably costlier. However if you would like more room, they’re your only choice. Should you’re seeking to seize one at the moment, we’ve laid out the most effective microSD playing cards for the Change 2 and damaged down what it is best to know before you purchase.

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

The Change 2 is the primary mainstream system to require microSD Categorical for storage growth, so there aren’t many choices in the stores 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 searching for microSD Categorical, not “Excessive,” a la the branding SanDisk makes use of for a few of its conventional microSD cards. A microSD Categorical card may have a giant “EX” brand printed on it — in the event you see that, try to be good to go.

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 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.

At present, inventory for every of those playing cards has been extraordinarily spotty. SanDisk’s microSD Categorical Card has additionally elevated in value 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 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 outfitted to cut back load instances.

The Play Professional is faster for sequential writes (as much as 720 MB/s vs. 650 MB/s), out there 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 holding massive 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. We’ll check as many choices as we are able to as soon as we’ve our palms on the console, however for now we are able to’t say if it’ll render all microSD Categorical playing cards to comparable 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 alternate options. The Change 2 is working with a unique customary, but when one thing comparable had been to occur once more, the “greatest” microSD Categorical card would merely be probably the most reasonably priced one from a good model within the capability you need.

That brings us to our most important piece of recommendation: Should you can maintain off on shopping for considered one of this stuff early on, that’s most likely a good suggestion. It’s not simply concerning the lack of testing — honestly, we’d be shocked if any of the playing cards above had been really “dangerous.” It comes right down to worth: Barring extra tariff shenanigans, all of those playing cards are as costly at the moment as they’re ever prone to get. The Change 2 is already standard and can proceed to be, thus extra microSD Categorical playing cards will must 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 in the event you’re completely positive you need more room straight away, the playing cards above ought to be adequate.

What are microSD Categorical playing cards?

Most microSD playing cards are primarily based on a normal referred to 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 might have purchased previously 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 might 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 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, broadly supported and quick sufficient for the issues most individuals want them to do: document 4K video, stash images 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 that will have initially been constructed for stronger {hardware} just like the PlayStation 5, Xbox Sequence X or gaming PCs. The system 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 ought to assist 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 might maintain up with trendy video games.

Therefore, SD Categorical. This customary 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. Because of this, 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 most effective 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.) And so they’ll fall effectively beneath their peak speeds underneath 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 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 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 had 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 prolonged use, and there’s no strategy to know precisely when their sky-high costs will drop. Non-Change 2 gadgets 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 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 Change.