The slow data transfer speeds experienced when moving data to an SD card on the Nintendo Switch, compared to the rapid transfer capabilities of modern SSDs, can be attributed to several key factors:
The Nintendo Switch supports UHS-I (Ultra High Speed Phase I) microSD cards, which have a theoretical maximum read speed of 104 MB/s. However, in practice, the Switch's performance is capped at around 60 to 95 MB/s for these cards, meaning that even high-end SD cards cannot exceed this limit17. This is significantly slower than the capabilities of modern SSDs, which can reach speeds of up to 560 MB/s for SATA SSDs and even higher for NVMe SSDs, often exceeding 7000 MB/s38.
While some SD cards can achieve decent read speeds (e.g., up to 180 MB/s for certain models), their write speeds are typically much lower. For instance, high-performance microSD cards may have write speeds around 130 MB/s, but this is still far less than what SSDs can handle3. The write speeds directly affect how quickly data can be transferred onto the card, leading to longer transfer times on the Switch.
Transferring games and data on the Switch involves a specific process that can be cumbersome. Users often have to "archive" games (which deletes them from internal storage while keeping save data) and then redownload them from the eShop to move them to an SD card. This method is not only time-consuming but also adds additional steps that prolong the overall transfer time9. In contrast, SSDs typically allow for straightforward drag-and-drop file transfers without such restrictions.
SSDs excel in handling random input/output operations per second (IOPS), which is crucial for performance during various tasks. In contrast, SD cards generally have lower IOPS capabilities compared to SSDs, which means they struggle with non-sequential data access and can lead to longer wait times when transferring large amounts of data or when accessing multiple files simultaneously25.
In summary, the combination of SD card speed limitations, slower write speeds compared to SSDs, a cumbersome transfer process on the Switch, and lower IOPS performance all contribute to the lengthy data transfer times observed when using SD cards with the Nintendo Switch.