John Chad, Bachelor Degree in Computer Science & Computer Engineering.
Russel Collins
The Nintendo New 3DS XL has been a huge success for the company. So much so that it seems like every other retailer in your local mall or supermarket now stocks up on stock of the consoles and accessories, with several months’ worth of supplies already built into their initial shipments to retailers worldwide. You’ll be lucky if you can even find one at all!
As such, the demand for Nintendo New 3DS XL games is skyrocketing. If you’ve got a Switch or a New 3DS XL (or are planning to buy one), then you need a way to store your game data. And while most users rely on internal storage, there are some who prefer using external storage devices instead. In fact, many people go as far as buying multiple USB sticks just to keep more than one copy of their favorite titles safe from harm… But why do they have to throw away perfectly good physical media when they could simply transfer those same files onto an SD Memory Card first?
That would make transferring over 100+ hours of gameplay extremely easy, wouldn’t it? Here’s how you can easily move video game ROMs from your old console to a brand-spanking-new system by using an SD Memory Card. We’re also going to compare two different types of SD Cards commonly used in handheld gaming systems today, including which is better suited for Nintendo New 3DS XL owners.
What is an SD Card?
SD stands for Secure Digital, whereas “memory” refers to its ability to retain information without power. It was released back in 2001 under Sony’s proprietary tech, but soon became widespread across electronics manufacturers because of its universal compatibility and affordability. As time went on, newer iterations were developed, such as SDHC, which added support for faster transfers and improved reliability. However, SDXC wasn’t introduced until 2018, allowing for bigger capacities and quicker read/write times.
So, what exactly happens when you insert an SD Card into your computer? Well, here’s what happens in action.
When inserted, the device sends out small electrical signals through the contacts. These are interpreted by the microchip inside the card reader itself, whereupon it decides whether or not it wants to accept the command. Once accepted, the contents of the SD Card will automatically begin copying themselves to the PC’s file directory. Pretty nifty, eh?
Now let’s take a look at what type of SD Card Nintendo New 3DS XL owners should purchase based upon what model of the console they own.
What SD Card does the new 3DS XL use?
Although technically speaking, any standard size SD Memory Card can work with both models of Nintendo New 3DSes, there are certain considerations you must take into account before purchasing them. While the older models used smaller SD Cards due to space constraints, the newest version uses larger ones, mainly due to the addition of extra features. Thus, you may want to consider investing in high-capacity memory cards specifically designed for the latest generation of handheld consoles.
Of course, you don’t necessarily need to spend hundreds of dollars on these expensive items right off the bat. There are plenty of budget options available online, too. For example, SanDisk offers various sizes of SD Memory Cards ranging from 64 GB to 256 GB for $19.99 each. This allows players to carry around their entire library of digital content wherever they please. Alternatively, Amazon often sells bundles containing multiple SD Memory Cards together for significantly less money.
If you happen to own either of the New 2DS versions, however, you might be interested in learning about the differences between SDHC and SDXC. Keep reading below to learn more.
Can New 3DS XL hold 128GB SD Card?
Yes, absolutely! With regards to the amount of storage space available, there aren’t really any limitations to holding as large of a capacity as you’d wish. That being said, however, performance isn’t perfect. Since it has to send commands to the SD Card’s chip every time something gets transferred, processing speed becomes slower as its volume increases. This means that even though you can fit as much stuff as possible on one card, things won’t always run smoothly.
On top of that, if you ever try to open up the SD Card slot within your console yourself, you risk damaging the hardware. Because of this, it’s recommended that you only remove the card once it’s safely plugged into a compatible SD Card Reader. Then again, having a ton of games saved on the cloud makes this problem negligible.
What is the difference between SDHC and SDXC?
While the general consensus among experts is that SDHC provides enough capacity for regular gamers, SDXC is primarily useful for professionals looking to record footage for editing purposes. Not only is it capable of storing higher quality videos, but it also supports faster recording speeds. Additionally, SDXC is backwards compatible with SDHC, meaning that you can still use existing SDHC cards with your newer handheld.
For reference, SDHC comes equipped with a maximum storage limit of 32 GB. Whereas SDXC boasts a theoretical max cap of 2 TB (yes, trillion bytes). Although theoretically feasible, it takes quite a bit longer to write to SDXC cards compared to SDHC ones.
However, if you’re someone who doesn’t typically edit anything beyond 8 minutes long, then you probably won’t notice much of a difference anyway. Plus, SDHC cards tend to cost less overall, making them easier to afford. All in all, unless you plan on doing professional audio and video editing, SDXC is unnecessary.
There’s no denying that SD Memory Cards are incredibly convenient and versatile tools. They offer convenience unlike nothing else, plus allow us to save our beloved collections offline in case of emergencies. Nowadays, most major companies offer special deals on SD Storage Devices, so check out your nearest retail location to see if they sell them. Just remember that if you intend to put lots of data on it, you should invest in a reliable SD Card Reader. Otherwise, you may end up destroying your console trying to access everything stored on it.