The solely means so as to add extra storage to the Nintendo Switch is with a microSD card. However, not all SD playing cards are created equal, and utilizing some kinds of playing cards might decelerate your video games.
Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite consoles have 32 GB of inside storage, with the OLED mannequin bumping that as much as 64 GB, however the working system eats up some house on all fashions. That may solely go away you adequate room for a handful of video games, which is why the Switch additionally has a slot for microSD playing cards as much as 2 TB in dimension. Once you will have a microSD card, you possibly can obtain new video games or recreation information on to the SD card, or you possibly can transfer information backwards and forwards as wanted between inside and SD storage.
Not All SD Cards Are Equal on the Switch
The most important downside with SD playing cards is efficiency — even the quickest SD and microSD playing cards have a fraction of the learn and write speeds of different flash storage. For instance, Samsung’s new line of Pro Plus microSD playing cards have learn speeds of as much as 180 MB/s and write speeds of as much as 130 MB/s. That’s quicker than most USB flash drives, however lower than half the learn and write speeds of a typical SATA inside SSD — the Samsung 870 EVO maxes out at round 560 MB/s. The NVMe storage utilized in newer PCs and recreation consoles blow that out of the water, usually pushing 7,000 MB/s.
Since we’re coping with such gradual storage, each little bit of efficiency issues, even when recreation efficiency is finally restricted by the Nintendo Switch’s different {hardware}. You ought to ideally have the quickest microSD card attainable, particularly one with an A2 ranking. The A2 badge means the cardboard was designed for storing purposes with respectable learn and write efficiency. Read speeds are much more necessary for gaming on the Switch, since that determines loading instances, however quicker write speeds can pace up downloads and copying information. The Nintendo Switch all the time makes use of inside storage for save information.
Nintendo’s SanDisk microSD Cards Are Slower, Too
Nintendo has a partnership with SanDisk to promote Nintendo-themed microSD playing cards for the Switch, with photographs from the Mario and Zelda sequence. Annoyingly, regardless that they’re marketed because the advisable choice for Switch gaming, they’re not quick playing cards. Take the 256 GB card with a brilliant star from Mario, for instance — it’s solely rated for learn speeds of 100 MB/s, and writes of 90 MB/s. That’s virtually half the learn efficiency of Samsung’s newest Pro Plus sequence.
Switch Internal Storage vs. SD Card Benchmarks
How a lot do SD card speeds actually matter for Nintendo Switch video games? To reply that query, we examined recreation loading instances with two totally different SD playing cards in comparison with the Switch’s personal inside storage. I used a SanDisk Extreme 256 GB card to signify a contemporary A2-class card, and an previous 128 GB Samsung Evo UHS-1 card for instance of a low-end choice.
This isn’t essentially the most excellent scientific take a look at attainable, since some recreation information can’t be moved to exterior storage, and different components like temperatures can have an effect on efficiency. Still, it ought to provide you with a basic concept of how SD card speeds have an effect on gaming on a Switch.
| Internal Storage | A2 microSD | Old microSD | |
| Disk Speed | N/A | Write: 94 MB/s Read: 152 MB/s |
Write: 18 MB/s Read: 45 MB/s |
| The Outer Worlds (loading a save file) |
0:46 | 0:56 | 1:23 |
| Doom 3 (loading a save file) |
0:09 | 0:11 | 0:15 |
| Apex Legends (recreation startup) |
0:37 | 0:37 | 0:41 |
| Apex Legends (loading Training Area) |
0:06 | 0:06 | 0:06 |
| Animal Crossing (recreation startup) |
0:42 | 0:38 | 0:46 |
Notes: The take a look at for The Outer Worlds was with the cartridge model, however that requires a considerable amount of the sport to be downloaded. All checks have been performed with an identical save profiles on a Nintendo Switch OLED Edition working in handheld mode. Disk benchmarks have been examined with an Anker USB-C hub and Blackmagic Disk Speed Test on an M1 Mac Mini.
Broadly talking, loading video games from the SanDisk A2 card wasn’t considerably totally different than the inner storage. The most important distinction was the 22% slowdown with loading a save file in The Outer Worlds, which is smart — that’s an open world recreation that should load many textures and different belongings from storage, so quick learn speeds are essential. The older SD card pushed loading instances to 67% slower than the Switch’s inside storage.
In different video games, the distinction between a quick and reasonably-slow SD card is just a few seconds. Games with smaller ranges, like Doom 3, don’t have to load as a lot information without delay, so the drive pace isn’t as necessary. Other video games could be bottlenecked by the Switch’s growing old processor and graphics, somewhat than the storage medium.
Ensure Your Switch Has a Speedy SD Card
If you have already got an A1 card, and even one of many extra primary UHS-I playing cards bought by SanDisk with Nintendo branding, you most likely don’t have to toss it out and purchase a brand new SD card proper this second. Some video games will load 2-3 seconds quicker, however that’s about it. If you must purchase a brand new SD card anyway, the pace is certainly one thing it is best to contemplate.
On the opposite hand, utilizing an previous or extraordinarily low-cost microSD card in your Switch — particularly one with none UHS (Ultra High Speed) ranking — might very nicely be appearing as a bottleneck to your Switch’s efficiency. If you’re undecided, go to your Switch’s settings, transfer a recreation out of your SD again to the inner storage, and take a look at taking part in it for some time. If you discover quicker loading instances or usually snappier efficiency, it could be time to switch the cardboard.
The subsequent time you purchase an SD card for a Nintendo Switch, or actually something that may use the cardboard for working apps or video games, be sure it’s an A2 card. I’d suggest you don’t buy a card by Amazon, since counterfeit playing cards (which both cease working or have sub-par speeds) are nonetheless an ongoing downside. Look for A2 microSD playing cards at Best Buy, Target, Samsung’s on-line retailer, or actually anyplace else.
