The 5 best Nintendo Switch microSD cards of 2024

Nintendo Switch is known for not having much internal memory. Even the OLED model doesn't change that with 64GB on average. To be fair, Switch games are smaller than those on PlayStation and Xbox, but if you're someone who regularly buys digital games, internal storage will fill up quickly. Whether you are one or not, having one of the best microSD cards for memory expansion is a must.

SanDisk Extreme

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With read and write speeds of 190MB/s and 130MB/s respectively, the SanDisk Extreme clearly outperforms the limitations of the Nintendo Switch. Although this console is limited to UHS-I speeds, the outstanding performance from the Extreme just means you'll often be topping the charts in real-world situations.

If anything, the most impressive aspect of the SanDisk Extreme is its durability. With resistance to shock, temperature, water, and X-rays, this tiny microSD card is quite sturdy. Heat protection is especially useful as it protects the console from any heat generated. You can leave the SanDisk Extreme in your Switch and never have to worry about it again.

PNY Elite-X

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If you're interested in a low-cost option, the PNY Elite-X is a recommendation worth considering. Although it doesn't have as much space as the SanDisk Extreme in terms of performance, the PNY Elite-X has read and write speeds of 100MB/s and 90MB/s respectively. This is the limit of the Switch, which is great for a cheap microSD card.

The storage options for the PNY Elite-X are quite strange, to put it mildly. They come in 64GB packs, 2 or 3 cards in a pack, but you can also choose 128GB and 256GB single cards. In the end, it doesn't matter if you're primarily buying physical copies of the game. You don't need a lot of storage when you buy it.

Samsung EVO Select

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Whether you travel often, change cards, or want to protect your game data for the foreseeable future, the Samsung EVO Select is the right choice. Its 6 layers of protection are unmatched, able to withstand water, temperature, magnetism, X-rays, drops and general wear and tear.

Samsung EVO Select also impresses with its data transfer speed. Since it hits 160MB/s for both reads and writes, some of that performance is lost on the Switch, but you'll still benefit from more consistent load and download times (assuming your ISP catch up).

SanDisk Ultra

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With digital games becoming more popular, having plenty of storage space is essential. If you regularly buy digital games or just hate deleting games to make room for others, the SanDisk Ultra's 1.5TB of storage is a shameful waste. With just one terabyte, you can store dozens of games (about 20GB each) and still have enough room for more.

In addition to large storage capacity, SanDisk Ultra also has equally good data transfer speeds. It's capable of reaching 150MB/s, although the Nintendo Switch won't be able to use a fraction of that. However, more is better to ensure stable data transmission.

SanDisk Extreme PRO

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Last but certainly not least, we have the SanDisk Extreme PRO, the fastest microSD card on this list. Achieving read and write speeds of 200MB/s and 140MB/s respectively, Extreme PRO is really fast. That means load times and data transfers are faster than ever.

The SanDisk Extreme PRO is also quite durable, although not as sturdy as the Samsung EVO Select. It's resistant to shock, temperature, water, and X-rays. You'll probably never have to worry about any of those threats, especially X-rays, but it's better to have measures in place. That protection is better than nothing at all.

David Pac

Update 02 August 2024