Games on SD card/Deck

[abbyzero]

I have installed a mix of AAA and Indie games on my SD..subsequently I got a 512 microcard and I’m wondering:
1: Will games run worse if installed on the removable card?
2: What is best practice for moving games from my Deck onto the storage card (or vice versa)?

[[?]legit]

1. You'll get the same performance and the same fps, but using a slower sd card may give you longer loading screens, i.e. when starting a game, or loading into a new level. As long as you don't use an extremely slow card you're good. Although I can't tell you what would be considered too slow for the deck, I can tell you that class 10 cards work perfectly fine.

[Bratty Patty]

2. Press the Steam Button. Move to Storage. There you can move your Games.

[Mat.W]

if you have one of those ultra sandisk cards the loading times might be a tiny bit slower that's as bad as that will go

[abbyzero]

Thanks for the info everyone!

[yokoshlomo]

Doesnt have to be this card, but after some research it where the most community endorsed specs.

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B09D3LP52K/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&ref_=ox_sc_saved_image_1&smid=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF

[JumpingJack]

It also depends on the microSD card you choose, if you get a faster one (say a U3/A2) it will have load speeds just a little slower than a SATA SSD drive. I only notice about a 20-30% longer load time from the microSD I use.

The steam deck is also a great dual booter, you can install a different OS on the microSD if needed and simply dual boot it from the BIOS screen (hold down VOL UP when pressing the power key).

[retrogunner]

tl;dr - don't use a basic SD card cause, "ya basic".

This YT explains it all. Get U3 that's an A1 or better. I use a 400GB U2 A1 with no real perceivable difference against my Steam Deck's 4 lane NVMe (I don't have the 2 lane model -- which was determined a downgrade of lanes had no performance hit either.)
https://youtu.be/JGHZs8RTlVU