Each day, games are increasing in file size. For those playing games on the Nintendo Switch, that means every little byte of your micro SD is precious, as it contains your entire game library, condensed onto a tiny card. And while prices have been dropping steadily across the board, getting a large enough micro SD can still cost more than an entire first-party Switch game. What if there was a candidate out there that offered both read/write speed along with affordable prices? Well, we're going to find out, with a review of Silicon Power's microSD card lineup. 

Discussed here today will be a variety of different sizes and types of microSD cards, from their 256GB offerings in the Elite and Superior range, to the massive 512GB Superior card as well. Cosmetically, each of their cards look identical, outside of the right edge, where the color and name both indicate which type of their microSD you're using. At lower storage sizes, you're not looking at much difference between Silicon Power, and say, Samsung, but once you get into the 256GB and above tiers, you'll start noticing that the former is more budget-friendly. Does that come at a cost, or is it purely a testament to Silicon Power being able to offer a similar card for cheaper than the competition?

For the first round of testing, ATTO Disk Benchmark was used, which involved putting the card through its paces in read and write tests to check just how fast it could handle data. Cluster sizes started at 512B and went up to 64MB, and the read/write speeds were noted each time. The method of testing involved the cards being inserted into a USB 3.0 adapter. First up was the 256GB Superior, which had stable performance, going through the bulk of the test at a little above 60 MB/s write speed, and a 90 MB/s read speed. Moving large files such as video recordings or Switch games was snappy, and it handled numerous tiny files, such as screenshots flawlessly.

Test #1: Silicon Power Superior, used through USB 3.0 adapter. (Class 10. UHS-I U3. V30. A2. 4K UHD)

The 256GB Superior is a Class 10 microSD, and according to Silicon Power, file transfers can max out at 100MB/s and 80MB/s for read and write speeds, respectively. If you're not interested in using the card for gaming, then it has a V30 classification, meaning it can easily handle recording 4K video from a camera or on your phone. Compare this to something like a 128GB Sandisk Edge, used for the sake of this review as it was the most similar card on hand, and the Silicon Power Superior blows it out of the water, in terms of write speeds.

Test #2: Silicon Power Elite, used through USB 3.0 adapter. (Class 10. A1. UHS-I U1. Full HD)

Though not as high-class as the Superior line, Silicon Power's Elite branded cards are cheaper, but by contrast, they have storage options, going up to 512GB, meaning you'll be able to fit a lot more games, at the expense of a little speed. For gaming on the Switch, this won't make much of a difference. The only major change between the 256GB Superior and a 400GB Sandisk Ultra--the typical go-to for having lots of space on your Switch--occurred when saving data; if you tried to record your progress and audio was still playing in the background, you'd get a slight little crackle or delay in the music, until the save was written and everything would return to normal. When it came to the Elite VS the Superior, file transfers were noticeably slower than with the former, though the actual benchmark itself conversely showed the cards being much more similar than originally thought.

Test #3: Silicon Power Superior, used through USB 3.0 adapter. (Class 10. UHS-I U3. V30. A1. 4K UHD)

Unless you're working with a camera or device that revolves around transferring files commonly, the Elite brand should be ideal for gaming. On the other hand, the Superior lives up to its name, and has the raw performance stats to show its capabilities. However, the larger 512GB Superior had a tendency of being unstable in its benchmarks, especially at larger file sizes, and while it doesn't seem to affect games, it is worth noting for if you plan to move files to and from the card frequently. For example, the process of moving NAND backup files was a little sluggish. Considering the use case we're focusing on here is for gaming specifically, the card still is superb for having massive amounts of Switch games installed onto it and being able to play them without issue.

As far as North America goes, finding Silicon Power branded MicroSDs isn't the easiest task--Amazon did not seem to carry the 512GB Superior at the time of writing, so despite its great performance and solid price, it doesn't mean much if it's difficult to get a hold of. If you are lucky enough to find them online where you shop, however, they're absolutely worth grabbing, either to use in order to install some large games, or for when you'll inevitably need an upgrade.