PNY’s microSD Express Card Challenges Performance Expectations for Nintendo Switch
New testing reveals PNY’s microSD Express card,while offering improved read speeds for faster game loading,doesn’t consistently deliver on its advertised write speeds when used with the Nintendo Switch. Despite a 150MB/s write speed advantage over competing budget options like the Onn card, the PNY card achieved write throughputs of 55MB/s during a 7-minute, 31-second transfer of a 24.6GB Mario Kart file and 61MB/s for an 8.6GB Bananza transfer in two minutes and 22 seconds. These results are comparable to, and sometimes slower than, those observed with older Switch games and the Onn card.
However, the PNY card demonstrates superior read throughput, translating to quicker game loading times and faster file transfers to the Switch system. This could be a significant benefit for users who prioritize these functions over frequent file shuffling. Digital Foundry testing following the Switch 2 launch indicated microSD Express loading speeds could even surpass the console’s internal UFS 3.1 storage,though this wasn’t the case with the PNY and Onn cards tested.
The PNY microSD Express card is currently available in 128GB and 256GB capacities from amazon and directly from PNY. The author notes that, as with other budget microSD Express cards, long-term reliability remains a consideration, citing personal experience with both durable and short-lived storage devices.
