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Buying an SD Card Thread.

lostmario

By lostmario
in Nintendo Gaming

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nekunando Contributor

nekunando

Posted
Posted
I'm looking at getting a 16 or 32gb SD card for the 3DS, any recommendations?

Make, class etc.

 

I'm probably gonna have to invest in one soon too :hehe:

 

I've always liked having a physical copy of my games where possible but the thought of having loads of quality 3DS games available with me on the go without having to carry around the cartridges? That's tempting.. and I'd definitely need a bigger card than the standard 2GB one for that (which was already full weeks ago :eek:)

 

It would be even better for me, though, to be able to buy a physical copy but install it onto your system and leave the cartridge at home. They could make it so that your cartridge and 3DS become paired when you first install it so that you can't install the game on other consoles.. or something..

-Dem0- Newbie

-Dem0-

Posted
Posted

Actually I was looking to purchase a 32gb SD myself, found this for £16.99 however it's class 4. I haven't ordered it because I'm not sure how much different classes will influence the transfer speeds on the 3DS. Whereas the one Ike purchased is Class 10. I'll wait.

RedShell Enthusiast

RedShell

Posted
Posted

I picked up one of these a while back:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-16GB-Class-Extreme-Speed/dp/B00569J5JC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335638573&sr=8-1

 

So far so good. Although I wouldn't say that it being Class 10 really speeded things up that much. It's definitely a bit quicker than the card included with the 3DS, but there's still a noticeable delay whenever I switch on the system, while the various icons (that are stored on the SD card) load up. :hmm:

 

I remember thinking that a 32GB card would be overkill, back when I got my replacement card. But now, with the prospect of DD retail titles, it's clearly not. :hehe:

 

Wonder if we'll eventually see support for even larger SDXC cards as a result? :blank: Not sure if the 3DS can be updated to use those, but it would be cool if it could.

That would mean a potential 2TB of storage space! :heh:

Dcubed Proficient

Dcubed

Posted
Posted (edited)

Apparently, the class doesn't actually really matter that much when it comes to 3DS load times.

The "Class" on the card only measures the speed in which it transfers large files ( I.e, when you copy a file from your SD card to your PC and vice versa). What really matters for 3DS load times is the random access speed (which the class has no bearing on). In some cases, a class 2 card can be faster than a class 10! (there's a nice comparison spreadsheet of various SD cards that someone compiled here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?key=0AjPE3ZAD2eVudE9vZmQ3aHlfTkFvU2J4ZUplRDJQTEE )

 

That being said, I imagine that faster cards wouldn't make much of a difference, since Nintendo probably hard coded a limit on the highest possible random access speed (to ensure the best compatibility across the different models of SD Card)

 

As long as you're not buying a dodgy knockoff from Hong Kong, most cards will probably give similar levels of performance. I have a few SD/SDHC cards that I've tried out on the 3DS and I've not noticed any big discrepancy in performance.

Edited by Dcubed
darksnowman Enthusiast

darksnowman

Posted
Posted

I've 8.896 free blocks still on the SD Card that came with the 3DS, so I should be ok for a while longer. I see that deleting the Eurosport app would gain back ~2,500 blocks which sounds like a good option! Its the same for Nintendo Video but I need it for Shaun the Sheep. :grin:

Cube Community Regular

Cube

Posted
Posted

Avoid cheap ones like Play.com's own brand.

 

I do hope Nintendo release a patch for the 3DS to show actual memory. Unlike back on the GameCube, knowledge of memory measurements (MB/GB) is much more well known.

Cube Community Regular

Cube

Posted
Posted
I have a Sandisk Ultra, but 8Gb. Its a class 10 but but feels no quicker old one bundled in with the unit - transfering photos, populating the menu all seems to take ages.

 

But it won't stop working and erase everything like lower class ones.

Mandalore Newbie

Mandalore

Posted
Posted

I'm interested in getting a new SD Card as well now that Nintendo have said they'll make retail games downloadable. One slight problem though, I don't have any SD card reader, how would I transfer all my current 3DS data onto a new one?

 

Also would loading off an SD card significantly effect loading time or performance of retail games? I know some unscrupulous individuals have SD cards jam packed with old DS games, I wonder if they run any worse than a legitimate DS game...

Mokong Newbie

Mokong

Posted
Posted

I bought a 16GB Sandisk one a few months back.... though had I known at the time we could see retail games offered for download I would have gone for the 32GB.

 

Though I don't know yet if I would go for a download over a physical card (or disc on Wii U) as I like to have the physical stuff :)

Ike Enthusiast

Ike

Posted
Posted
Avoid cheap ones like Play.com's own brand.

 

I tried a play.com brand SD card, seemed to make the 3DS boot slower, so yeah. Avoid.

f00had Newbie

f00had

Posted
Posted (edited)
I'm interested in getting a new SD Card as well now that Nintendo have said they'll make retail games downloadable. One slight problem though, I don't have any SD card reader, how would I transfer all my current 3DS data onto a new one?

 

Also would loading off an SD card significantly effect loading time or performance of retail games? I know some unscrupulous individuals have SD cards jam packed with old DS games, I wonder if they run any worse than a legitimate DS game...

You can buy a cheap SD card reader from eBay... Just don't get one of those "42-in-1" readers lol

 

Unlike DS games which had some slowdown in cutscenes when running games from an SD card, the 3DS games you download should load just as fast as a cartridge you bought from a shop since it's officially supported by Nintendo.

 

EDIT: I agree with Retro Link that SanDisk are the best for SD cards, they offer a fair price for the best quality.

 

EDIT EDIT: I normally buy SD cards from here http://www.mymemory.co.uk/SD-Cards

 

Just sort it by price low to high and see what takes your fancy

Edited by f00had
Ike Enthusiast

Ike

Posted
Posted (edited)

My memory card arrived today. Went from 46,412 open blocks on my 16GB card to 229,232 blocks :o

 

Originally thought it took longer to boot but after comparing it takes around the same amount of time (takes around ~15 seconds for mine to boot, including loading apps).

 

There is a notable speed increase in booting and closing apps. When you first power on it still takes a second for the extra apps to load but again I can see an increase in speed over my previous card (which was a class 4).

 

Initial impressions seems to be worth the upgrade. 32GB is possibly a bit high (at least for now), but then again my 8GB card for my PSP is no where near enough and I won't have to upgrade for a long time. Haven't decided if I'll go completely Digital Download, will probably depend on the title and/or pricing.

 

Edit: Made a quick video of the initial boot up for people to compare. Apologies for the all round terribleness: Video

Edited by Ike
  • 4 weeks later...
dazzybee Newbie

dazzybee

Posted
Posted
Is there any way to transfer the e shop game save data across to the new card ?

 

Don't you just literally copy the folders to a computer then put them on the new sd card and it all works perfectly?!

f00had Newbie

f00had

Posted
Posted

Yeah you just turn off your 3DS, take out the SD card, put it into your computer, copy everything to the computer, put your new SD card into the computer, copy everything from the computer to the new SD card, pop the new SD card into the 3DS and turn it back on and everything will be there.

Mandalore Newbie

Mandalore

Posted
Posted

My 32GB card arrived today, but I've run into a problem. The only SD card reader in the house is on my brothers old laptop. It can detect the old 2GB card fine and copy everything from it.

 

However when I plug the new 32GB card in, it can't detect it at all. Is this because the card is too new and the reader is too old? Or should the reader be able to detect any SD card no matter the age?

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