The Nintendo 3DS is a pretty amazing device. Once you start using the device regularly you are going to realize that you are going to need to get yourself a new memory card for your Nintendo 3DS. For those of you who are confused as to what type of card will work in the device or what size you should get; then read along.
Nintendo 3DS Memory Card Types
The Nintendo 3DS will be able to take a variety of memory card formats. I will look at the different types that can be used in this device.
- SD Cards – This memory card format can hold up to 4GB of game saves, images, music and video.
- SDHC Cards – This memory card format can hold up to 32GB of game saves, images, music and video.
- Micro SD (With SD Adapter) – This memory card format can hold up to 4GB of game saves, images, music and video.
- Micro SDHC (With SD Adapter) – This memory card that can hold up to 32GB of eBooks, images, music and video.
When it comes to the difference between SD and SDHC formats, some people often get confused. These cards are basically the same thing; the main difference is the cards size capacity.
SD cards can hold up to 4GB worth of music, images, video, save game data and pictures.
SDHC cards can hold up to 32GB worth of music, video, save game data and pictures.
Other Vital Memory Card Information
You should be aware that all memory cards have a Speed Class Rating. This speed rating basically determines how fast data can be written to the card. The speed classes for SD and SDHC cards are 2, 4, 6 and 10.
- Class 2 – Minimum of 2 MB/s performance. (Slowest)
- Class 4 – Minimum of 4 MB/s performance. (Average)
- Class 6 – Minimum of 6 MB/s performance. (Above Average)
- Class 10 – Minimum of 10 MB/s performance. (Fastest)
For those of you who are planning on getting a Nintendo 3DS Memory Card, I suggest that you get a card that has a card rating of Class 6 or higher. Using slower cards on the 3DS may not be a problem, but writing data can be slow and it can become pretty annoying after a while. If you are also planning on using this card in different devices, then the slower speed cards might cause you to regret not buying the faster cards from the get go.
Do I Need a Memory Card for My Nintendo 3DS?
The Nintendo 3DS ships with a 2GB card and this amount of memory might be enough for some people. If you are one of those individuals who plan on saving a lot of game data, music, pictures and video to the 3DS, then you will definitely need a bigger SD card.
What Size Nintendo 3DS SD Card Should I Get?
When looking at getting a SD or SDHC card for the 3DS, the size is really up to you. Cards are available in 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32GB sizes.
Based off my experience, it is always a good idea to get the biggest sized card. A 32GB card will serve all your data needs and in 2 years from now, you will not have to worry about space as file sizes increase. Having a 4GB card, you might have to spend more money and purchase another card, once you find out that the 4GB is just not cutting it.
How Much Data Can Hold on a Nintendo 3DS Memory Card?
Now that you have a good idea about memory cards for the Nintendo 3DS, it is now time to see how much data these cards can hold.
**Just for comparison purposes, I used an average file size for the different data formats. These cards could hold more or less as file sizes will vary. This table is just to show you how much each card can hold.
| MP3’s | Videos | Images | Game Saves | |
| 4GB | 800 | 5 | 2000 | A lot |
| 8GB | 1600 | 10 | 4000 | A Whole Lot |
| 16GB | 3200 | 20 | 8000 | Just Too Much |
| 32GB | 6400 | 40 | 16,000 | Overload |
Best SD Memory Card for the Nintendo 3DS
Below I am going to list my best memory card picks for the Nintendo 3DS.
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- My number one option is certainly the Transcend 32GB SDHC Card. I love this card simply because you get a card that has a lot of storage space, fast (Class 10) and not expensive. This card performs really well and this is definitely a memory card that you need inside your Nintendo 3DS.
- My second memory card choice for the Nintendo 3DS is the Transcend 16GB SDHC. This card is half the size of the 32GB, but it still has a substantial amount of storage space. You will be able to store all your save game data, pictures, videos and music with no problems with a card this size. What’s even better about this card is the fact that it is really not that expensive.
*Compatibility Issues
If you are planning on copying files to your SDHC card from the computer, you should be aware that not all computers have the ability to read SDHC cards. You need to check to see if your computer has a SDHC reader. If it can only read SD, then you are definitely going to have to get a card reader. These card readers are not expensive and they usually cost under $15. If you are interested in getting one, you can get it here.
i guess u have tested all the cards in a 3ds nd they all worked?
I have not tested all the cards in the 3DS, but it has the ability to use both SD and SDHC cards. These cards follow certain specifications, which means they will work perfectly in the 3DS.
I have tried the 8 gig Transcend class 10 and the 3DS doesn’t recognize it at all
The 3DS should have no problem recognizing Class 10 cards. Maybe that card is faulty. Did you check to see if works in any other device?
My Bad–It does recognise the card It just doesn’t reaalocate anything to compensate. I figured that if a 2 GIG card would show that 3000 photos could be stored that 8GIG would show more starage. The 3DS appears to allocate a certain size for various storage apps. PERIOD and is not smart enough to allocate more space for things as Larger size permits. A fixed number of blocks is set for each app.-so the only thing extra memory appears to be good for is if you buy a whole lot of downloadable material. Right?
What about SDXC cards (64 GB)?
I saw your website, bought a transcend 32 GB SDHC class 10 and I have big problems with the mp3 player. It doesnt match with the sd card. Besides that, there’s no problem but the mp3 problem kills all the stuff. I did have to return to my class 4 2 gb card.
hi there best buy has a sell a 64 gb scxd card for $99 soo i will let you know if i go beyound the 32 gb limit
I have purchased cave story from the eshop and saved it on my 2gb stick that came with the 3ds. I am going to buy a 32gb, will I have to repurchase the game in order to have it on the new memory card or is it set up like the psp where I can redownload the title 5 times?