The perfect microSD playing cards for the Nintendo Swap 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 is right here, and meaning hundreds of thousands of individuals will ultimately have to purchase a brand new microSD card. Whereas the console comes with 256GB of storage by itself, its improved performance signifies that some video games will chew up a ton of house. Cyberpunk 2077 is a 60GB obtain, for instance, whereas Split Fiction checks in at 69GB. Different titles aren’t almost as massive (significantly these made by Nintendo itself), nevertheless it’s not onerous to see how you might find yourself deleting and redownloading video games inside a pair months.

Everytime you do wish to add room, you’ll want a microSD Categorical card. The “Categorical” half is necessary: These are not the identical because the outdated dependable microSD cards you would possibly’ve purchased for the unique Swap or different gaming handhelds — they’re newer, sooner and considerably costlier. However they’re your only choice. If you happen to’re searching for one of the best microSD card for the Swap 2 at the moment, we’ve damaged down what you must know before you purchase.

The perfect microSD playing cards for the Swap 2 (aren’t all that necessary)

The Swap 2 is the primary mainstream gadget to require microSD Categorical for storage growth, so there aren’t many choices that can be purchased simply but. Of the small handful of suitable fashions we’ve seen so far, we’ve examined 5: the SanDisk microSD Express Card (aka the “SanDisk GamePlay microSD Express Card” at Walmart), 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 underneath its Onn sub-brand, which hasn’t been in inventory for a lot of the previous a number of months.) We used the 256GB model of each card apart from Lexar Play Professional, which was 1TB.

After timing these microSD Categorical playing cards throughout a variety of Swap 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 an identical, 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 occasions and total efficiency inside precise video games are powerful to note except you’ve got a stopwatch useful.

All 5 playing cards loaded up the digital model of Mario Kart World, as an illustration, 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 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 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 sport, both.

All of this means that the Swap 2 has a comparatively particular goal for these playing cards to hit, and that there will not be 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 all the time massive, however no card really 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 would like absolutely the quickest load occasions, don’t put your sport on a card in any respect.

If you happen to want the psychological consolation of figuring out you technically have one of the best card out there, 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 transferring video games to and from system storage, which implies it provides 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 put in writing 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 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 sport to that individual mannequin will take for much longer.

Virtually talking, although, pace variations aren’t as necessary on this case as having plenty of house to carry video games at a worth you may stay 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 may have a giant “EX” brand printed on it.

128GB

• SanDisk microSD Express Card ($64 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 price an additional $10-20 to shave a pair seconds off sure masses in sure video games, or a pair minutes when transferring a sport 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 affordable alternative. If just one card is definitely out there by the point you learn this — and you should have it at the moment — it’s protected to only get it. You gained’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 Categorical card for so long as you may. President Trump’s tariff shenanigans might spike costs just a little increased within the quick time period, however typically, all of those playing cards ought to be as costly at the moment as they’ll ever be. And in comparison with conventional microSD choices, they are dear: 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 Categorical playing cards will should be made and costs will (ultimately) come down. Ideally, we’ll see extra high-capacity choices as effectively: 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 you must attempt to use all 256GB baked into the Swap 2 first, even when it means having to delete a sport or two. However for those who completely want more room instantly, the playing cards above ought to be superb.

What are microSD Categorical playing cards?

Most microSD playing cards are primarily based on a regular 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’ll 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 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 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 principle (624 MB/s), however no microSD playing cards have truly 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: document 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 Collection X or gaming PCs. The gadget also uses UFS 3.1 storage internally, which is way speedier than the eMMC storage utilized by the unique Swap. (A customized file decompression engine helps enhance load occasions as effectively.) So if the Swap 2 goes to simply accept microSD playing cards, it wants ones that gained’t deliver a severe drop-off in efficiency and may maintain up with trendy video games.

Therefore, SD Categorical. This customary 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, nevertheless it lets microSD playing cards make the most of the PCI Categorical (PCIe)/NVMe interface, which is identical underlying tech utilized by modern SSDs. Consequently, 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 gained’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 at the very least 5,500 MB/s.) And so they’ll fall effectively under 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 principle, 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 Swap, it’d be nearer to 100 MB/s.) Sequential writes and random speeds have been three to 4 occasions 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 years of use, and there’s no strategy to know precisely when their sky-high costs will drop. Non-Swap 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 gadget (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 Swap.

How we take a look at microSD Categorical playing cards

We put our microSD Categorical playing cards by way of a collection of assessments meant to simulate how individuals would use every card on the Swap 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 massive 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 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 shortly the playing cards might load sure in-game situations: 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 Citadel 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 completely different save information in these areas.

With every take a look at, we accomplished three to 5 runs to account for any irregularities and marked down the common time taken between them. We did every take a look at in airplane mode, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off, to reduce any efficiency drain that might come up from background downloads. Between every take a look at, we additionally spent at the very least 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.

Latest updates

September 2025: We’ve taken one other move by way of this information to substantiate our recommendation continues to be correct. We’ve additionally famous a brand new 512GB model of PNY’s microSD Categorical card and confirmed {that a} “SanDisk GamePlay” Categorical card bought at Walmart has the identical efficiency as the usual SanDisk mannequin we advocate above, simply with a distinct title.