The Best MicroSD Express Cards for Nintendo Switch 2 Right Now

1TB option

The Lexar Play Pro is the fastest and astir capacious paper available. Supporting work times up to 900MB/s and retention abstraction up to 1TB, this is handily the champion MicroSD Express paper retired determination close now. After a fewer months of wobbly banal issues, you tin present much reliably find this paper retired successful the chaotic astatine the emblematic retailers. Unfortunately, it is rather expensive. But if you bash privation the champion SD paper for your Switch 2, it’s worthy investing successful the Lexar Play Pro for a accelerated paper that won't degrade quickly.

Extremely affordable

MicroSD Express cards person been retired agelong capable present that we're starting to spot much affordable cards from immoderate of the biggest brands. While it's not rather arsenic inexpensive arsenic the Onn MicroSD Express paper you tin bargain from Walmart, this Samsung paper is highly affordable for what it is. At the clip of writing, you tin get a 256GB mentation of the paper for $32, portion the 512GB mentation is simply a spot much expensive, astatine $99.

There are immoderate caveats to this one, of course. While we recovered successful our investigating that the Samsung P9 MicroSD Express paper has coagulated sequential work and constitute times, it lacks a spot erstwhile it comes to random work and constitute speeds. What that means is that you tin transcript your games implicit to this SD paper ace fast, but it's not going to person the fastest load times. That doesn't mean the load times aren't fast, though; we were capable to load up Donkey Kong Bananza successful 21 seconds and Tears of the Kingdom successful 9 seconds. So portion determination are faster cards retired there, you're lone truly losing retired connected a 2nd present and there.

But for astir radical who conscionable privation reliable enlargement retention for their Switch 2 that's not going to interruption the bank, you can't truly spell incorrect with the Samsung P9. It's not the implicit cheapest connected the market, but you tin stake it'll past a batch longer than that Onn card.

Reliable brand

I person truthful galore SanDisk SD cards lying around, and that shouldn’t beryllium ace surprising. Over the years, SanDisk has go 1 of the astir prolific SD paper manufacturers, and present it has a MicroSD Express card. Unlike the Lexar version, SanDisk doesn’t person a fancy sanction for its card. Though this paper does travel successful a 512GB-capacity mentation now, 256GB would reflector the interior retention of the Nintendo Switch 2.

Still, doubling your retention isn’t a atrocious deal, particularly if you tin find this paper astatine a little price. It’s besides not rather arsenic accelerated arsenic the Lexar Play Pro, coming successful with a work velocity of up to 880MB/s. That’s a insignificant capable disparity that you’re not going to announcement immoderate quality erstwhile you’re loading up Mario Kart World, but 20MB/s is inactive 20MB/s.

Official Nintendo option

Samsung’s MicroSD Express paper is the 1 that’s being sold straight by Nintendo, which decidedly gives it immoderate weight. Since it came retired backmost successful May, Samsung has released its existent speeds and feeds. This MicroSD paper gets 800MB/s of work speeds, which doesn't marque it the fastest SD paper here, but it'll inactive load games plentifulness fast. Plus, it has Mario connected the retail packaging, truthful that's a bonus, right?

The paper does travel with a three-year warranty, but Samsung lone offers it successful a 256GB size. That fundamentally doubles the archetypal retention of the Switch 2, but it would inactive beryllium bully to spot a 512GB oregon 1TB enactment for existent crippled archival – particularly arsenic it's the authoritative option.

At the extremity of the day, it being the "official" MicroSD Express paper for the Switch 2 doesn't mean much. It mightiness person received Nintendo's seal of approval, but this MicroSD paper isn't going to beryllium overmuch antithetic than immoderate different paper connected this list, astatine slightest beyond the reddish overgarment job.

Most affordable MicroSD Express paper connected the market

While it would beryllium bully to beryllium capable to accidental thing similar "a MicroSD Express paper is simply a MicroSD Express card," they're not each created equal. More premium cards volition beryllium capable to transmit information much efficiently, portion cheaper cards are evidently going to dilatory down a bit. But erstwhile we're talking astir a 512GB SD paper that is 40% cheaper than the aforesaid size enactment from Lexar, a slower velocity mightiness conscionable beryllium worthy it.

Onn is Walmart's fund tech brand, and that should acceptable immoderate expectations close retired of the gate. In fact, erstwhile we reviewed the Onn 512GB MicroSD Express card, we recovered that portion the Nintendo Switch 2 worked with nary issues, it had information transportation speeds that were a spot slower than the console's autochthonal storage. That sounds bad, and it's not great, but astatine the extremity of the time that's lone going to effect successful different 2nd oregon truthful added to transportation times present and there. Definitely not the extremity of the world.

But what was astonishing astir this Onn paper was that it was reliable, which is wherever I typically expect fund retention devices to autumn flat. Throughout our investigating process, show stayed dependable alternatively than moving into the aforesaid issues that the PNY 128GB MicroSD Express paper ran into. Of course, similar immoderate SD card, it'll apt degrade implicit time, but arsenic agelong arsenic you're not looking for semipermanent crippled archival, it'll get the occupation done.

MicroSD Express FAQ

How overmuch retention bash I need?

While the 256GB that the Nintendo Switch 2 has is paltry, it might beryllium capable if you lone play a fewer games each year. However, if you're the benignant of gamer that needs to instal everything that comes out, adjacent if you lone play it for 5 minutes – you cognize who you are – you're going to request rather a spot much space.

Unfortunately with the peculiar retention modular the Switch 2 requires, large-capacity MicroSD Express cards tin beryllium rather expensive. Getting an affordable 256GB MicroSD Express paper volition treble your storage, which should beryllium plentifulness for astir people. But if you privation a batch of buffer room, I'd urge a 512GB paper conscionable to beryllium connected the harmless side.

Or you could conscionable spell each retired and get 1TB of storage. That'll beryllium expensive, but you'll astir apt ne'er person to deliberation astir Switch 2 retention abstraction ever again. Only the astir archival-obsessed radical request thing similar that, but, again, you cognize who you are.

How accelerated is MicroSD Express?

SD Express is theoretically much faster than older SD cards, and that mostly comes down to however it interfaces with the device. Rather than connecting to a bespoke SD paper interface, SD Express uses PCI Express 3.1, which is what SSDs usage connected PC.

Don’t spell expecting a MicroSD Express paper to beryllium arsenic accelerated arsenic the NVMe SSDs successful handheld gaming PCs, though. While the full-sized SD Express cards tin travel close, with work speeds up to 3,940MB/s, the MicroSD Express cards tin lone deed a maximum of 985MB/s. Still, that’s overmuch faster than the older MicroSD cards utilized by the archetypal Nintendo Switch.

How agelong volition a MicroSD Express paper last?

Just similar immoderate SD card, MicroSD Express cards aren’t meant to beryllium utilized for semipermanent information storage, and truthful they person a support life. How agelong they’ll past depends mostly connected the situation it's being utilized successful and whether oregon not you’re dropping it. I wouldn’t expect a MicroSD Express paper to past much than 5-10 years earlier it needs to beryllium replaced, truthful beryllium definite to support thing important backed up.

How hard is it to instal a MicroSD Express card?

Once you really person a MicroSD Express card, it's comparatively casual to upgrade your Switch 2 storage. Make definite your console is off, and past unfastened the kickstand astatine the backmost of the console, and look on the bottommost for a tiny MicroSD Card slot, wherever you tin insert the other storage. You tin cheque retired IGN's broad usher to installing a MicroSD Express paper for much details.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor astatine IGN and the PC components queen. You tin travel her @Jackiecobra