Samsung unleashes high-speed P9 Express microSD Express cards for the Switch 2 at highly competitive prices — 256GB and 512GB available for $54 and $99

(Image credit: Samsung)

Samsung has introduced its P9 Express to contend with the best microSD Express cards available for the Nintendo Switch 2. They are priced at $54.99 for the 256GB model and $99.99 for the 512GB variant.

Samsung has already released a Nintendo-licensed Super Mario Edition microSD Express 256GB card, coinciding with the launch of the Switch 2. However, the P9 Express represents the company's formal entry into the microSD Express market.

The P9 Express offers sequential read speeds of up to 800 MB/s, aligning with some of the fastest microSD Express cards currently available. The random read and write speeds are rated for 65,000 IOPS and 52,000 IOPS, respectively. The P9 Express is specifically designed for devices that support microSD Express, such as gaming handhelds, action cameras, drones, laptops, smartphones, and tablets. However, the current usage is likely limited to the Switch 2, the only device to have hopped on the microSD Express bandwagon.

MicroSD Express uses the PCIe 3.0 x1 interface, enabling significantly enhanced transfer performance. A ballpark figure is approximately 4X faster than standard microSD UHS-1 cards. As with all microSD cards, microSD Express cards are also backward-compatible with older devices. Nevertheless, this compatibility limits speeds to UHS-1, or, in the case of the P9 Express, to up to 90 MB/s for sequential reads and 2,000 IOPS for random reads and writes.

Samsung P9 Express Specifications

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Model	Pricing	Sequential Read (MB/s)	Random Read (IOPS)	Random Write (IOPS)	Capacity (GB)	Part Number
Samsung P9 Express 512GB	$99.99	800	65,000	52,000	512	MB-MK512T
Samsung P9 Express 256GB	$54.99	800	65,000	52,000	256	MB-MK256T

Samsung's P9 Express cards demonstrate durability comparable to that of microSD Express cards from other manufacturers. They are temperature-, magnet-, X-ray-, drop-, water-, and wearout-proof, so the P9 Express should survive even in the most rigorous conditions. While the P9 Express card is highly resilient, it is advisable to handle devices, such as the Switch 2, with care and avoid using them in adverse weather conditions.

A distinguishing feature of the P9 Express is the incorporation of Samsung's Dynamic Thermal Guard (DTG) technology, originally developed for its SSDs. The manufacturer claims that this advanced technology intelligently monitors and regulates the card's temperature, effectively preventing overheating and ensuring consistent performance during long gaming sessions.

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The P9 Express is compatible with the Samsung Magician software, which is included with Samsung's SSD product line. This software provides several crucial features, including verifying the authenticity of the P9 Express, monitoring the card's health, and benchmarking its performance. Given the prevalence of counterfeit Samsung products in the market, the authenticity verification feature is particularly valuable.

Samsung offers a limited three-year warranty for the P9 Express. This warranty is longer than that provided by some competitors, who may only offer one year; however, it is not as extensive as the lifetime warranties supplied by a few other brands. The P9 Express is available in 256GB and 512GB capacities, priced at $54.99 and $99.99, respectively. Currently, Amazon is promoting a $5 discount on the 512GB version, reducing the price to $94.99 for a limited time.

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Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.