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SD Card and USB C Cord Suggestions for Switch

E

Enduin

No bald cap? Lies!
LiK said:
Quality is meh, imo.
Click to expand...

I really just need a long charging cable because the 5 foot one the official charger has is bullshit. 8 feet would be perfect. And looking at it now the Switch uses 15V/2.6A and this wall mount is only 2.4A. The bastards.

I'll just wait till after launch and let some other schmucks test this shit out and I'll buy the best one that doesn't fry my shit.
 
E

EloquentM

aka Mannny
Enduin said:
I really just need a long charging cable because the 5 foot one the official charger has is bullshit. 8 feet would be perfect. And looking at it now the Switch uses 15V/2.6A and this wall mount is only 2.4A. The bastards.

I'll just wait till after launch and let some other schmucks test this shit out and I'll buy the best one that doesn't fry my shit.
Click to expand...

I think im going to wait too
 
Shrike Alvaron

Shrike Alvaron

Member
Enduin said:
I really just need a long charging cable because the 5 foot one the official charger has is bullshit. 8 feet would be perfect. And looking at it now the Switch uses 15V/2.6A and this wall mount is only 2.4A. The bastards.

I'll just wait till after launch and let some other schmucks test this shit out and I'll buy the best one that doesn't fry my shit.
Click to expand...

The official charger can output two different voltages: 15V at 2.6A yes but also 5V at 1.5A. With USB-C the device negotiates the charging voltage with the power source, so likely this means that the 15V is used while docked while 5V is used while handheld. At this point it may be a bit wise to wait a few more days for tests, but I doubt it'll need 15V just to charge.
 
A

andrerobot

Member
RockmanBN said:
Should I be returning this SD card. I'm only getting a 14MB write speed and 30MB read speed. Isn't this supposed to read 80MB+ or is the adapter that the card comes with slows it down?

zNlkeLz.png
Click to expand...

The write speed seems to match one of the reviews in Amazon.
Your read speed could be caused by the card reader. If it's USB 2, you'll never get 80MB/s out of it.
 
L

LiK

Member
When it comes to anything related to charging and batteries etc, i would just buy official ones to avoid potential issues these days. I bought refurbished official 3DS AC plugs from Nintendo online store over new 3rd party ones when i needed a second one for convenience. Works fine.

Don't want some cheap 3rd party one to potentially fry my system.
 
E

Enduin

No bald cap? Lies!
Shrike Alvaron said:
The official charger can output two different voltages: 15V at 2.6A yes but also 5V at 1.5A. With USB-C the device negotiates the charging voltage with the power source, so likely this means that the 15V is used while docked while 5V is used while handheld. At this point it may be a bit wise to wait a few more days for tests, but I doubt it'll need 15V just to charge.
Click to expand...

I'm not at all wise to electronics and power sources but I do recall a reviewer saying they plugged their Switch into their PC outlet and it only slowed down the depletion of the systems charge while playing it, not actually charging it. And if Google is telling me correctly USB ports on PCs provide a 5V charge.

And this Verge article seems to support that:

As we can see, the Switch actually outputs two power at two different level: 5.0V/1.5A and 15.0V/2.6A, which works out to 7.5W and 39W, respectively. This is a bit of speculation, but if I had to guess, those correspond to regular charging (7.5W) and actively being used as a docked console (39W), which presumably needs more power. (Update: This assumption appears to no longer be correct. It appears the Switch requires the full 15V/2.6A to charge)
Click to expand...

So looks like waiting to see is the best bet.
 
R

Rootbeer

Banned
RockmanBN said:
Should I be returning this SD card. I'm only getting a 14MB write speed and 30MB read speed. Isn't this supposed to read 80MB+ or is the adapter that the card comes with slows it down?

zNlkeLz.png
Click to expand...

I don't think the adapter promises top speeds, it's just there for compatability.

you'd want to run a test like that on a native card slot that supports the microsd speeds the card is rated for, or higher. Or if you can find a USB 3.0 or similar adapter that is also rated for similar speeds.
 
L

Lexxism

Member
Enduin said:
And this Verge article seems to support that:
As we can see, the Switch actually outputs two power at two different level: 5.0V/1.5A and 15.0V/2.6A, which works out to 7.5W and 39W, respectively. This is a bit of speculation, but if I had to guess, those correspond to regular charging (7.5W) and actively being used as a docked console (39W), which presumably needs more power. (Update: This assumption appears to no longer be correct. It appears the Switch requires the full 15V/2.6A to charge)
Click to expand...

So looks like waiting to see is the best bet.
Click to expand...
If it does only support 15V/2.6A for charging, then it's going to be hard finding a power bank that support that power. I just hope 5V/3A is enough.
 
K

Kade

Member
piratepwnsninja said:
Sorry if it's been asked, but what's the consensus on the Anker 28600 vs the 20100? Both say they can charge a MacBook via USB-C, but is one considered better than the other for the Switch?
Click to expand...

Looks like the 28600 doesn't have a USB-C port so you can't use a USB-C to USB-C cable which would charge any device a lot faster than the USB-A to USB-C cable you'd need with the 28600.
 
T

The_Spaniard

Netmarble
I want to get a cable and plug that I can take with me so that I don't have to unplug the dock when I just want to charge my Switch on the go, but the one that it comes with has a big wallwart. So, I'm wondering what kind of plug I have to get for my secondary cable. Any insights?
 
N

ncslamm

Member
LiK said:
When it comes to anything related to charging and batteries etc, i would just buy official ones to avoid potential issues these days. I bought refurbished official 3DS AC plugs from Nintendo online store over new 3rd party ones when i needed a second one for convenience. Works fine.

Don't want some cheap 3rd party one to potentially fry my system.
Click to expand...

Yep. I don't trust any 3rd party battery/chargers. I bought a 2nd Nintendo AC adapter.
 
S

sugarless

Member
timshundo said:
I read somewhere that Apple's most recent revision of their USB type-C (2017) cable is actually the most standards compliant and future-proof cable you could buy at the moment but i can't find the really detailed article i read that from...

EDIT: Sorry this was referring to their USB Type-C to Type-C, not a Type-A to Type-C as most of you are probably looking for. I'm sure any cable from amazon would work well. Anker is my trusted brand. :)

Here we go: https://plus.google.com/102612254593917101378/posts/dcLuKzGeeuH?sfc=true
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for this link—I reassured myself by checking and seeing that I have the cable with the serial number on it. My MacBook charger lives at the plugs by my sofa, so I am glad to know that I should have a good solution for plugging the Switch in directly at home without having to unplug the dock.
 
Ashler

Ashler

Member
Just posted in another Switch thread, very relevant:

Apparition said:
Don't know if this has been mentioned yet but Nintendo's Japanese support site says the Switch supports UHS-I Class 1 cards (just like those licensed HORI cards).



"Q: What microSD cards could be used with the Switch?

A: Nintendo Switch can support microSD/microSDHC/microSDXC memory cards.

It also supports the UHS-I standard as well as UHS Speed Class 1."

--------------

On other news, the SD Association has just introduced the UHS-III standard which still utilizes the same layout as UHS-II cards.

bus_speed.jpg
Click to expand...
 
A

Alric

Member
I'm sure it's been answered in here but can someone help me with getting a 128gb SD card. I'm looking at these all between 40-45 dollars.

SanDisk Ultra 128GB

Samsung 128GB

Amplim 128GB


Is one better than another? Or is there a better one to get for the same price range I didn't post. Sorry again if it's been posted I just wanted to order now and get before I get my switch Friday.
 
A

andymcc

Banned
I don't know if this has been answered, but what's a good USB charging hub that could also charge the switch and a few other USB powered devices at the same time?
 
O

OverdriveOtaku

Member
How probable is it that Nintendo will eventually sell USB-C cables themselves? Saw unboxing vids for both the Pro Controller and the Joy-Con Charging Power Grip, and each of those comes with one USB-C to USB cable.
 
T

Terrell

Member
Ashler said:
Just posted in another Switch thread, very relevant:
Click to expand...

SD cards trying to maintain their relevance now that UFS is on the horizon, I see.

Alric said:
I'm sure it's been answered in here but can someone help me with getting a 128gb SD card. I'm looking at these all between 40-45 dollars.

SanDisk Ultra 128GB

Samsung 128GB

Amplim 128GB


Is one better than another? Or is there a better one to get for the same price range I didn't post. Sorry again if it's been posted I just wanted to order now and get before I get my switch Friday.
Click to expand...

Sandisk Ultra cards have better random read and write speeds than the Samsung SD cards do, which is important when discussing an SD card used for apps.
 
I

iRAWRasaurus

Banned
Alric said:
I'm sure it's been answered in here but can someone help me with getting a 128gb SD card. I'm looking at these all between 40-45 dollars.

SanDisk Ultra 128GB

Samsung 128GB

Amplim 128GB


Is one better than another? Or is there a better one to get for the same price range I didn't post. Sorry again if it's been posted I just wanted to order now and get before I get my switch Friday.
Click to expand...
I just bought this from Amazon Silicon Power 128GB for $36.99.
 
Z

Zeyphersan

Banned
I ordered the Anker 20100 USB-C but I might just wait until a power bank comes out that actually supports USB-PD. It would be more useful than the current crop both for charging my devices like MacBook and Switch and the portable battery itself

Experien said:
So the powerbank needed has to do 15V/2.6A ? any other requirements to look out for?
Click to expand...

Well none of them do that right now, at least that I can see. You probably won't find one that lists 15V/2.6A specially, it'll support USB-PD or Power Delivery. That means it can output 5V, 9V, 15V, or 20V at anywhere from 0.5W to 100W. It's way more flexible
 
L

Lexxism

Member
Zeyphersan said:
I ordered the Anker 20100 USB-C but I might just wait until a power bank comes out that actually supports USB-PD. It would be more useful than the current crop both for charging my devices like MacBook and Switch and the portable battery itself

Well none of them do that right now, at least that I can see. You probably won't find one that lists 15V/2.6A specially, it'll support USB-PD or Power Delivery. That means it can output 5V, 9V, 15V, or 20V at anywhere from 0.5W to 100W. It's way more flexible
Click to expand...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LRQDAEI/?tag=neogaf0e-20
 
N

Ninja Dom

Member
Nice!!

I checked my New 3DS and I've been using a Kingston 64GB Micro SD card in that. So I took it out and copied the data over to an 8GB Micro SD card that I already had, put it back in the 3DS and everything still works fine.

So now I have a 64GB Micro SD that I can put into the Switch.

Will the Switch self-format the Micro SD Card?
 
Z

Zeyphersan

Banned
Marty Chinn said:
What does USB-PD do?
Click to expand...

It's a standard that makes sure that devices can negotiate correctly for the right amount of power. No over-volting or under-volting. Check my initial post that was a reply to, it lays out what the voltages are and the power output they can support.
 
Minsc

Minsc

Gold Member
SystemUser said:
You aren't really wrong. The bank does 30W (15V x 2.0A). The wattage on 15V x 2.6A = 39W. There is a difference between 39W and 30W.
Click to expand...

There is, but going by what Thraktor has deduced here:

As I mentioned above, the fact that it's specifically advertised as supporting USB-PD is a good sign, and the 15V at 2A should be enough. Going by Ars' reports of the Switch charging at ~1% per minute on the included charger, that would suggest it's pulling around 15W tops, which would be just 1A at 15V. The additional power provided by the stock charger is likely for docked mode, where it may be charging at the same time as it's running (at higher clocks) and also possibly powering some USB peripherals.
Click to expand...

It's probably the safest bet at the moment for a power bank that will charge the fastest and not be 5 lbs with electric outlets, etc. People in the reviews say it can charge laptops like Macbooks and Dell's XPS 13 over USB-C while the laptop is in use, so there's an extremely good chance it'll do the same for the Switch. Much more so than normal 5V / 3A USB-C power banks anyway, which I still think will be good enough, but we'll see for sure in a few more days.
 
Z

Zeyphersan

Banned
Minsc said:
There is, but going by what Thraktor has deduced here:



It's probably the safest bet at the moment for a power bank that will charge the fastest and not be 5 lbs with electric outlets, etc. People in the reviews say it can charge laptops like Macbooks and Dell's XPS 13 over USB-C while the laptop is in use, so there's an extremely good chance it'll do the same for the Switch. Much more so than normal 5V / 3A USB-C power banks anyway, which I still think will be good enough, but we'll see for sure in a few more days.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the extra info

USB-C is my perfect connector but it's such a hellscape right now and trying to find any quality components is a surprisingly large hassle. I've changed my portable setup to all USB-C (2016 MacBook Pro, USB-C to Lightning cables, and now the Switch and that battery pack) but man it's a giant hassle. I've been a proponent of "waiting for the spec to settle out" but I know by time this version of USB-PD really gets a foothold that a new v3 will come out. Hell, Google right now sells their official wall adapter that I think is only v1 compliant, not this current v2 that everything is using.
 
jts

jts

...hate me...
Got my swagger in the mail today.

Anker 0.9m USB-A to USB-C braided cable in red. It's supposed to be the cable to take on the go.
Sandisk microSD 64GB.

Still to come:
Anker 1.8m USB-A to USB-C braided cable in grey. For bedroom usage.

Still need a nice powerful compact brick to take on the go but I'll hold off. Will just juice up from wherever 5V is available. Won't be fast, but don't plan on being out playing Switch all day anyway.

Those braided Anker cable fire incidents got me worried, but I had already placed the order, and the reviews of these particular ones don't mention anything of the sort, unlike for the Anker Lightning braided cable (which has a new version since). So more than hopefully, nothing bad will happen. Still don't plan to leave the Switch charging unatended.
 
SystemUser

SystemUser

Member
Minsc said:
There is, but going by what Thraktor has deduced here:



It's probably the safest bet at the moment for a power bank that will charge the fastest and not be 5 lbs with electric outlets, etc. People in the reviews say it can charge laptops like Macbooks and Dell's XPS 13 over USB-C while the laptop is in use, so there's an extremely good chance it'll do the same for the Switch. Much more so than normal 5V / 3A USB-C power banks anyway, which I still think will be good enough, but we'll see for sure in a few more days.
Click to expand...



I wonder if the 39W mode will even be available with charging in portable (or tablet top mode). I assumed that the higher power draw would only occur in docked mode. The official Hori car charger delivers 5V / 3A via USB-C so I assume that is enough to solidly charge the Switch in portable mode.


Do you guys think that the Switch will accept the higher power while in portable mode?
 
Z

Zeyphersan

Banned
Aukey is still a reputable company, correct? I bought a few USB-C to USB-C cables from them just now under the assumption they support USB-PD at least up to 60W despite the fact that their website does not say this

Edit: never mind, cancelled. Didn't want to risk it. Ordered 2 verified Anker ones for about the same price
 
J

Jswanko

Member
If i just buy a USB to USB-C cable and plug it into my iphone wall charger will that be fine? Not going to be some weird voltage problem?
 
T

timshundo

Member
Jswanko said:
If i just buy a USB to USB-C cable and plug it into my iphone wall charger will that be fine? Not going to be some weird voltage problem?
Click to expand...

Remains to be seen. IIRC that little cube charger is only 5w which may be too low even for a trickle charge. You may have more of a chance if you have a 12w iPad charger around.

I'm going to be using the AC adapter and hold off on buying any charging hardware/cables until people do more research with a system in hand.
 
J

Jswanko

Member
timshundo said:
Remains to be seen. IIRC that little cube charger is only 5w which may be too low even for a trickle charge. You may have more of a chance if you have a 12w iPad charger around.

I'm going to be using the AC adapter and hold off on buying any charging hardware/cables until people do more research with a system in hand.
Click to expand...

Ah, ok. Thanks!
 
D

DiabloTheGrey

Member
Bought the $16 64GB ScanDisk card.

I'll buy most games physically, so other than the occasional eShop exclusive and Virtual Console game, I should be set for memory for the entire Switch generation.

Bring on Friday!
 
Minsc

Minsc

Gold Member
SystemUser said:
I wonder if the 39W mode will even be available with charging in portable (or tablet top mode). I assumed that the higher power draw would only occur in docked mode. The official Hori car charger delivers 5V / 3A via USB-C so I assume that is enough to solidly charge the Switch in portable mode.


Do you guys think that the Switch will accept the higher power while in portable mode?
Click to expand...

It sounds kinda silly that you'd be unable to charge the system in a timely manner without the base... you'd think if you use the wall charger that it comes with directly to the Switch itself it'd charge at a similar speed as mentioned earlier when using the included charger. It's not exactly clear in the Ars preview if the 1% a minute charging was through the base or just direct, but it shouldn't matter, I'd hope. Guess we'll know in a few more days for sure...
 
G

Gitaroo

Member
does the switch charge from usb 3.0 pc port? Just wondering if I bring the system to work and play it during lunch.
 
SystemUser

SystemUser

Member
Minsc said:
It sounds kinda silly that you'd be unable to charge the system in a timely manner without the base... you'd think if you use the wall charger that it comes with directly to the Switch itself it'd charge at a similar speed as mentioned earlier when using the included charger. It's not exactly clear in the Ars preview if the 1% a minute charging was through the base or just direct, but it shouldn't matter, I'd hope. Guess we'll know in a few more days for sure...
Click to expand...



I feel like an 18W charger is plenty fast. The Switch battery is only 16Wh (4310 mah x 3.7v). On Nintendo.com it says the charge time is 3 hours.


I don't understand how it could accept 39W in portable mode and still take 3 hours to charge a 16Wh battery. When you look at the numbers that we know (from Nintendo's website and packaging/labels) it seems like the 39W mode could only be used to run the CPU and GPU in docked mode and will not benefit charging time. I guess Nintendo could be using worst case scenario for the charge time in thier estimate.

EDIT: I forgot about the batteries in the JoyCons. How big are those batteries? I didn't think about that, but seems like it makes the 18W charger taking 3 hours to fill a 16Wh battery make more sense when there is more batteries to fill. The JoyCon batteries probably aren't enough for the 39W mode taking 3 hours to charge. The JoyCons both have a 525mah batteries, but I haven't found the voltage.


EDIT 2: The JoyCons have been opened. The batteries are 525mah at 3.7 volts for about 2Wh each. That brings the total battery charge needed to about 20Wh for the Switch with JoyCons.
 
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