The most effective microSD playing cards for the Nintendo Change 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 is right here, and which means tens of millions 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 area. Cyberpunk 2077 is a 60GB obtain, for instance, whereas Split Fiction checks in at 69GB. Different titles aren’t almost as large (notably these made by Nintendo itself), nevertheless it’s not onerous to see how you can find yourself deleting and redownloading video games inside a pair months.

Everytime you do need 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 The “Categorical” half is necessary: These are not the identical because the outdated dependable microSD cards you may’ve purchased for the unique Change or different gaming handhelds — they’re newer, quicker and considerably costlier. However they’re your only choice. If you happen to’re in search of the very best microSD card for the Change 2 at this time, we’ve damaged down what it is best to know before you purchase.

The most effective microSD playing cards for the Change 2 (aren’t all that necessary)

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. Of the small handful of appropriate fashions we’ve seen to date, 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 spread of Change 2 video games, our recommendation is easy: Get whichever one is obtainable for the bottom worth within the capability you need. They aren’t an identical, particularly if you wish to transfer a recreation to the cardboard from the console’s inside storage (or vice versa). However the variations in load occasions and general efficiency inside precise video games are robust to note except you will have a stopwatch useful.

All 5 playing cards loaded up the digital model of Mario Kart World, for 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 Change 2 recreation, 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 state of affairs with the Change 2 improve for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (utilizing a Change 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 hundreds when taking part in every recreation, both.

All of this implies that the Change 2 has a comparatively particular goal for these playing cards to hit, and that there might not be a lot room for one mannequin to leap too far out in entrance of the others. We’ll additionally observe that the console’s built-in storage was persistently quicker than any exterior possibility: The hole wasn’t all the time large, however no card actually 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 recreation on a card in any respect.

If you happen to want the psychological consolation of understanding you technically have the very best card obtainable, get the SanDisk microSD Express Card. It had no outliers throughout our many recreation 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 affords 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 median of 27 seconds throughout three runs. Solely PNY’s card was quicker 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 observe 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 individual mannequin will take for much longer.

Virtually talking, although, pace variations aren’t as necessary on this case as having a lot of area to carry video games at a worth you possibly can 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 could have an enormous “EX” emblem 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 possibly can see, whereas the SanDisk card is quick, it’s additionally the most costly of an already-pricey bunch. Is it value an additional $10-20 to shave a pair seconds off sure hundreds in sure video games, or a pair minutes when transferring a recreation to exterior storage? Most likely not for most individuals.

However inventory for all of those playing cards has been patchy for the reason that Change 2 landed, particularly for the Walmart Onn mannequin, which is by far the most cost effective alternative. If just one card is definitely obtainable by the point you learn this — and you need to have it at this time — it’s protected to simply get it. You gained’t lose or acquire all that a lot in terms of real-world efficiency.

In the end, although, we advise holding off on shopping for any microSD Categorical card for so long as you possibly can. President Trump’s tariff shenanigans might spike costs a bit larger within the quick time period, however usually, all of those playing cards ought to be as costly at this time 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 Change 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 nicely: Nintendo says the Change 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 is best to attempt to use all 256GB baked into the Change 2 first, even when it means having to delete a recreation or two. However should you completely want extra space straight away, the playing cards above ought to be fantastic.

What are microSD Categorical playing cards?

Most microSD playing cards are primarily based on a typical 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 could 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 capable of 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 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 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: document 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 that will have initially been constructed for stronger {hardware} just like the PlayStation 5, Xbox Collection 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 nicely.) So if the Change 2 goes to simply accept microSD playing cards, it wants ones that gained’t convey a severe drop-off in efficiency and may maintain up with trendy video games.

Therefore, SD Categorical. This normal 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 identical underlying tech utilized by modern SSDs. Because of this, it might probably produce significantly quicker 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 very 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 no less than 5,500 MB/s.) They usually’ll fall nicely under 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 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 decide in our normal 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 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 Categorical 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-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 (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 Change.

How we take a look at microSD Categorical playing cards

We put our microSD Categorical playing cards by a collection of assessments meant to simulate how folks would use every card on the Change 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 massive one in Cyberpunk 2077 and a hybrid in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which ran off a Change 1 cartridge however used a roughly 10GB Change 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 inside 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 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 recordsdata 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 no less than an hour taking part in 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 go by this information to substantiate our recommendation remains 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 offered at Walmart has the identical efficiency as the usual SanDisk mannequin we advocate above, simply with a special identify.