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What Kind of SD Card Does the DSi Take?

Released in 2009, the Nintendo DSi supports up to 32GB of memory and is compatible with standard Secure Digital (SD) and high-capacity SD (SDHC) memory cards. Each of these card types offer differing amounts of memory and are built to the international standards for interchangeable memory devices as established by the SD Association.

Types and Capacities
- As of the date of publication, SD cards are produced in three categories: SD, SDHC and extra-capacity SD (SDXC). Each group is divided into subcategories, which include standard-, mini- and micro-sized versions, except for the SDXC category, which comes in standard- and micro-sized forms only. SD cards, the type the DSi uses, offer up to 2GB of memory and are available in varying capacities, such as 256MB and 512MB. SDHC cards, which are compatible with the DSi, provide between 2GB and 32GB of memory and are available in several capacities, including 4GB, 8GB and 16GB. As a side note, SDXC cards, which are not compatible with the DSi, offer between 32GB and 2TB of memory.
Physical Dimensions
- To further help you identify the type of SD card that's compatible with the Nintendo DSi, familiarize yourself with the various SD card sizes. About the size of a postage stamp, SD, SDHC -- the types that the DSi take -- and SDXC cards are the largest SD cards currently available, measuring 0.08 inch deep, 1.3 inches long and 0.9 inch wide and weighing 0.07 ounces. MiniSD and miniSDHC cards are about a third the size of SD, SDHC and SDXC cards, measuring 0.06 inch deep, 0.8 inches long and 0.8 inch deep, and weighing 0.03 ounces. At 0.02 ounces, microSD, microSDHC and microSDXC cards are about the size of a fingernail, measuring 0.04 inch deep, 0.6 inch long and 0.4 inch wide.
Uses
- Depending on the capacity of the card installed, the SD and SDHC cards offer differing amounts of data storage blocks. Typically, a 1GB SD card will have about 8,000 blocks, which support 128KB of data per block, available for game data storage. Unlike the company's GameCube or Wii gamin consoles, you have no way to manage the data blocks using the Nintendo DSi. With added memory, you can perform a variety of in-game functions, including saving photos taken by the DSi camera and playing AAC audio files.
Miscellaneous
- SD and SDHC cards installed on the Nintendo DSi don't allow you to view photos taken by other devices, such as digital cameras or smartphones. You may not store sounds recorded by the DSi on the installed SD memory card. SD and SDHC cards that contain game data created on the Nintendo DS may not be copied or saved on the DSi.

Nintendo DS