The Steam Deck has established itself as a more than capable extension of the PC, and the fact that after a year it managed to sell without reservation and with a post-pandemic launch, says a lot about it. However, and with what we like this Valve hardware, we have not talked about solutions of storage and of which Micro SD cards we recommend buying.
Recommended SD Cards for Steam Deck
Kingston Canvas Select Plus of 64 GB for 6.20 euros. Below this, you will not find anything, but it is fine if you want to start tinkering with the console or if you have the 512 GB model and only need secondary storage. Not bad this Knigston model with 100MB/s read and a minimum of 10 Mb/s.
SanDisk microSDXC Extreme of 128 GB for 20.70 euros. With this MicroSD you stop fiddling with the console to get the most out of it thanks to its 190MB/s speed of reading, a minimum of 30 write mb/s and an SD adapter.
SanDisk 128GB Extreme microSDXC Card + SD Adapter + RescuePRO Deluxe up to 190MB/s, with A2, UHS-I, Class 10, U3, V30 Application Performance
Lexar Play of 256 GB for 24.55 euros. In this case, if you have a 64 GB Steam Deck, this is the recommended minimum. And the Lexar model is nothing wrong with 150MB/s transfer speedwhile a not inconsiderable minimum of 30 MB/s.
Samsung microSDXC EVO Select of 512 GB for 47.68 euros. We are already talking about something more than a standard and that is that with 512 GB you can put almost any game. Samsung SD offers 130MB/s transfer speed (UHS I), a minimum of 30 MB/s writing and with an SD adapter.
Samsung 512GB U3 EVO Select microSDXC UHS-I Memory Card, 130MB/s, Full HD and 4K UHD, including SD Adapter (MB-ME512KA/EU), Blue
What you need to know about MicroSD cards
In case none of these cards convince you, we are not going to take you by the arm and force you to go through the store with these models. If you want to search on your own, let’s see What must be considered when purchasing an SD card for our Steam Deck:
- Beware of the MicroSDUC! They don’t work on Valve’s console and if you buy one you’ll get a not-so-nice paperweight.
- eye to the reading speed. SD speeds are marked on the card itself in silk-screened Roman numerals: I (up to 104 Mbps, although some SanDisk models go as high as 190 Mbps), II (up to 312 Mbps), and III (up to 624 Mbps). In this case, from 100 MB/s good quality and performance can be obtained.
- Choose the best Class. The Micro SD have Classes and indicate the minimum write speed of a memory card. It appears silkscreened as a number inside a C, a U or next to a V (below you have the table with the information). To get good performance You must not go below 10 Mb/s.
Micro SD cards with V(number) are of the SDXC format, that is, newer.
- Pay attention to storage. Steam games are not lightweight. They are not made for a mobile or portable device, and the Steam Deck is a PC through and through. This means that to experiment or play from time to time, 64 GB of memory is enough. If you want to squeeze the console, or play powerful titles and make much use of it, establish a 256 GB minimum.
Image by Kingston Technology
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