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SD Card and USB C Cord Suggestions for Switch

Lgndryhr

Member

You always want your Amps to match or exceed the rating is my understanding so make sure it is 2.6 or greater. Also, USB C to USB C will provide a proper and cleaner charge so not to wear out the charger or battery in either. The volts can be lower than the 15 rating, but will be a slower charge.
 

Koyuga

Member
My 20,000 mAh outputs at 5V/4.2A but isn't USB-C so I guess I'll have to settle for charging my Switch while not playing it, right? I'm okay with that for now.
 

tenchir

Member
Those are both more expensive than the official charger (Nintendo 39W wall wart is priced at $30) and neither one puts out 39W.

Why would you recommend those over the Nintendo one that is cheaper and can power the Switch in docked mode?

The 22.5W charger has 2 port so it can charge two device at once, one at 15W, and the other at 7.5W.

The 18W charger can charge USB-PD devices at 18W(9V/2A) if they can charge that fast.

I recommended them because they can do 1 extra thing the official charger can't do and you can use your own USB-C cord with them. I think the official one had a permanent cord attached to it?

They are pretty much for taking them with you to travel.
 

enbred

Banned
Has there been any info about loading times? Physical cart vs SD download?

I think SD cards are known to be on the slower end of storage media options in general.

My guess would be (from faster to slower): game cart >= internal memory > SD cards
 
My 20,000 mAh outputs at 5V/4.2A but isn't USB-C so I guess I'll have to settle for charging my Switch while not playing it, right? I'm okay with that for now.

Are there multiple USB ports? I don't think one USB-A port can output 4.2A, it seems more likely that it would be 2.1A per port

And that should be fine while playing as well, according to some tests and math on the last page
 

tenchir

Member
I think SD cards are known to be on the slower end of storage media options in general.

My guess would be (from faster to slower): game cart >= internal memory > SD cards

Internal flash is 400 MB/s. UHS-1 MicroSD card can potentially reach 104 MB/s.
 

Koyuga

Member
Are there multiple USB ports? I don't think one USB-A port can output 4.2A, it seems more likely that it would be 2.1A per port

And that should be fine while playing as well, according to some tests and math on the last page
It does have two ports, so that's probably correct.
Either way, all this speculation shouldn't matter too much compared to real world testing. I'll find out tomorrow.
 

Lexxism

Member
It does have two ports, so that's probably correct.
Either way, all this speculation shouldn't matter too much compared to real world testing. I'll find out tomorrow.
Are you sure it is 4.2 and not 2.4? That could be an easy typo.
 

SystemUser

Member
The 22.5W charger has 2 port so it can charge two device at once, one at 15W, and the other at 7.5W.

The 18W charger can charge USB-PD devices at 18W(9V/2A) if they can charge that fast.

I recommended them because they can do 1 extra thing the official charger can't do and you can use your own USB-C cord with them. I think the official one had a permanent cord attached to it?

They are pretty much for taking them with you to travel.


I don't own any USB-C stuff yet. Is USB-C durable like mini-USB or Lightning or is it fragile and prone to failure like micro-USB? I am hoping that USB-C is more durable than micro-USB which is trash. I have had so many micro-USB cables stop working or get weird.


If -USBC is not durable then I can definitely see the upside to have a detachable cable.
 

Koyuga

Member
Are you sure it is 4.2 and not 2.4? That could be an easy typo.

That's what it says on the bottom, would be pretty bad if that ended up being a typo, lol.
mRCzopJ.jpg
 

SystemUser

Member
That's what it says on the bottom, would be pretty bad if that ended up being a typo, lol.

It's not a typo. It says "4.2A Max" and that means both ports combined the whole unit can output 4.2A not that each port can output 4.2A. This means you get 2.1A on both ports at the same time. Many power banks have a "fast" port that is >2.0A and a "slow" port that is <1.0A.
 
I have a Switch in hand and currently using Ankers Powerline+ USB A to USB C 6ft cable with Anker Quick Charge 3.0 39W Dual USB Wall Charger. Will update on how that turns out.
 

BruceCLea

Banned
I have a Mophie powerstation 3x rearing to go. It's 6,000mAh.

I've got a Nomad micro usb, lightning, usb c cable (it has an interchangeable head)

This is thing I'm wondering. If I plan to play my Switch on the go for a longer time, shouldn't I connect the external battery from the get go?

The reason I ask is that I've heard that the console doesn't charge fast enough as its spent when connected. Atleast that's what I've read and heard with reviews.
 

Minsc

Gold Member
I have a Mophie powerstation 3x rearing to go. It's 6,000mAh.

I've got a Nomad micro usb, lightning, usb c cable (it has an interchangeable head)

This is thing I'm wondering. If I plan to play my Switch on the go for a longer time, shouldn't I connect the external battery from the get go?

The reason I ask is that I've heard that the console doesn't charge fast enough as its spent when connected. Atleast that's what I've read and heard with reviews.

Depends on what it is connected to. If you look at the DF Switch review thread, you'll see they have a dirt cheap USB-C power bank, and it increases the charge of the Switch 8% an hour at max brightness and max volume, while playing Zelda. It's only 8%, sure, but not all games run the system that hard, you might not really need max brightness, and if you plug it in at 100%, it will hold the charge at 100% until the power bank dies (likewise if you plug it in at 50% and play for about 4 hours, you'll then be up to over 80% charge). And if you turn it off and charge it with the power bank, it will charge to full in just 2-3 hours.
 
I recommend anything from Anker. Great brand and awesome customer support. Plus usually at the low end of pricing. Been exclusively buying their wires for a few years now.
 
I get a little confused when it comes to the max power output on these kind of things... would I be able to charge a Switch + iPhone + Apple Watch + possibly another external battery with one of those at once?

So you just gotta do a little bit of math. The USB-C slot has 30W* all to its own, and 30W for the rest of the four ports. Each USB-A slot does a maximum of 2.4A and they all run at 5V.

So the Switch is cool on the USB-C slot, the iPhone pulls a max of 2.4A, the Watch pulls 1A, and your battery pack will also likely pull a max of 2.4A. So that's theoretically 28W out of a possible 30W on all four USB-A ports

*Everything advertises that device at 30W, including Anker itself, but my MacBook Pro has been pulling 45W off of it and apparently it's been tested at 20V/2.25A or 45W. I'm waiting to hear back from Anker about the discrepancy
 

Mairu

Member
So you just gotta do a little bit of math. The USB-C slot has 30W* all to its own, and 30W for the rest of the four ports. Each USB-A slot does a maximum of 2.4A and they all run at 5V.

So the Switch is cool on the USB-C slot, the iPhone pulls a max of 2.4A, the Watch pulls 1A, and your battery pack will also likely pull a max of 2.4A. So that's theoretically 28W out of a possible 30W on all four USB-A ports

*Everything advertises that device at 30W, including Anker itself, but my MacBook Pro has been pulling 45W off of it and apparently it's been tested at 20V/2.25A or 45W. I'm waiting to hear back from Anker about the discrepancy

Thanks! Sounds like it should be good, and if not I'll have one of these with me as well for the smaller stuff.
 

ekim

Member
So what charger do I need to feed the Switch while playing in handheld mode? Not sure if I should simply buy an official one or if my iPhone charger is strong enough.
 

Minsc

Gold Member
I have a microsd that's rated at 80MB/s read and 20MB/s write, is that good enough?

Seems to be almost best case scenario as far as read speeds go, given Switch only does UHS-I afaik. Write is on the slower side, but it's probably still faster than your internet download speed (from Nintendo's servers), and really isn't used when playing games.
 

PMS341

Member
Sort of curious if there are any good/worthwhile angled USB-C cables, if that would make things a bit easier.
 

Minsc

Gold Member
Sort of curious if there are any good/worthwhile angled USB-C cables, if that would make things a bit easier.

USB C > USB C cables avoid most of the dodgy issues USB A > USB C cables face, so caution isn't really needed as much. If it's said to work for things, it will (look for laptop compatibility, etc). Searching for "right angle USB C cable" gives a bunch of choices from Amazon.
 
So just to confirm, a USB-A to USB-C cable like the Pro controller cable, through a wall plug or external battery, will only charge the Switch in portable mode really slowly or not at all?
 

jts

...hate me...
So just to confirm, a USB-A to USB-C cable like the Pro controller cable, through a wall plug or external battery, will only charge the Switch in portable mode really slowly or not at all?

It depends on the voltage/amperage of the USB port you plug it into... I think?
 

Minsc

Gold Member
You really should be looking for power banks with USB-C ports and using USB-C to USB-C cables, especially if you're buying new. Even if USB-A ports can charge while in use and increase charge, USB-C will be more and more common going forward.

With power banks you can expect about 1 hour of playtime per 2,000 mAh (give or take depending on how taxing the game is, brightness, etc). So 10,000 mAh would give around 5 extra hours, and 20,000 mAh around 10, and so on.
 

T.O.P

Banned
You really should be looking for power banks with USB-C ports and using USB-C to USB-C cables, especially if you're buying new. Even if USB-A ports can charge while in use and increase charge, USB-C will be more and more common going forward.

With power banks you can expect about 1 hour of playtime per 2,000 mAh (give or take depending on how taxing the game is, brightness, etc). So 10,000 mAh would give around 5 extra hours, and 20,000 mAh around 10, and so on.

Ok so usb-c to usb-c
https://www.amazon.it/dp/B017MYNUKS/

And a power bank with a usb-c port
https://www.amazon.it/dp/B01CO8LCP2/
 
This thread is sooooo confusing.

Here is what I need and price is not an issue. I want to have a power cable for the wall so when i play in bed. I know Nintendo has an official one , what im wondering is, is there a better one that charges faster while playing from the wall socket that i can buy? Or the official nintendo one is the best?

2. Im new to all this usb c stuff and 2.4 v and all thatcrap it makes my head hurt.

Can someone link me the best Aukey or Anker usb c to usb c battery pack and best usb c to usb c cable that i can buy. Thank you.
 

Kiyo

Member
This thread is sooooo confusing.

Here is what I need and price is not an issue. I want to have a power cable for the wall so when i play in bed. I know Nintendo has an official one , what im wondering is, is there a better one that charges faster while playing from the wall socket that i can buy? Or the official nintendo one is the best?

2. Im new to all this usb c stuff and 2.4 v and all thatcrap it makes my head hurt.

Can someone link me the best Aukey or Anker usb c to usb c battery pack and best usb c to usb c cable that i can buy. Thank you.

If you're not worried about price then go with this one for battery packs: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014ZO46LK/?tag=neogaf0e-20 . It comes with all the cables you need, including the USB-C to USB-C cable that will let you plug the Switch directly into the battery.

As for wall chargers, there's most likely nothing that will charge faster than the official Nintendo charger so you're safe buying that one.
 
If you're not worried about price then go with this one for battery packs: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014ZO46LK/?tag=neogaf0e-20 . It comes with all the cables you need, including the USB-C to USB-C cable that will let you plug the Switch directly into the battery.

As for wall chargers, there's most likely nothing that will charge faster than the official Nintendo charger so you're safe buying that one.

Is 20000 the bigest they have? Is aukey better or this brand?
 

Kiyo

Member
Is 20000 the bigest they have? Is aukey better or this brand?

I personally prefer Anker but Aukey is just as good and I wouldn't mind either one.

edit: I actually misread the power bank I linked before this edit. It does not support USB-C input so the biggest one is the one I linked a few posts up.
 
So I just bought a USB C to USB cord that was on the compatible list, but then I read something on Kotaku saying it's better to get a higher current output cord with the AC adapter built in for charging faster... what am I missing here?
 
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