G350 microSD card: 64GB or 128GB, which to choose?

No internal memory: everything runs from microSD

The G350 has no built-in storage at all. Everything you see on screen, from the menu to the game files, is read from a microSD card. The console has two card slots, one on each side. On the left, the TF1/INT slot holds the system card. This card contains the factory 64-bit Linux system and its EmulationStation menu. On the right, the TF2/EXT slot takes a card used only for games. Keeping them separate has a real advantage: you can swap, clear or upgrade the games card without touching the one that boots the console.

The direct consequence is simple. With no card in the left-hand slot, the console has nothing to start. So the system card is not just somewhere to keep files. It is part of how the console works, just like the battery. Handle it with care, avoid removing it while the console is on and never format it out of habit. The formatting advice in this guide applies to the games card, not the system card.

What card size changes, and what it doesn't

A card's capacity decides how many files you can keep on the console. It does not make any game run more smoothly. Performance depends on the hardware: the quad-core Rockchip RK3326 processor, the Mali-G31 MP2 graphics chip and 1GB of RAM. This hardware runs 8-bit and 16-bit consoles, classic arcade games, handhelds such as the GBA and a large part of the PS1 library very well. For N64, PSP, Dreamcast and NDS, results depend heavily on the game and the settings, whatever the size of the card.

As for the upper limit, the manufacturer states support for cards up to 256GB. Beyond that, nothing is guaranteed, and a card far bigger than you need adds nothing. Bear in mind too that a slow or worn card can make copying from your computer and some loading take longer, and it will never improve emulation. So the right test stays simple: the space your library actually needs, plus a little headroom.

Why a 64GB card shows less than 64GB

Usable space after formatting is always lower than the capacity printed on the card. There are two reasons for this. Card makers count in billions of bytes, while most operating systems count in multiples of 1,024, so the same amount of space looks smaller on screen. On top of that, the file system itself takes up a little room. On the system card, the factory Linux system and its files use another share of the space. This is neither a fault nor a con, as long as the gap is only a few gigabytes. A huge gap, on the other hand, is a warning sign.

According to the manual, the games card needs to be formatted as FAT32. Many cards of 64GB and above come formatted differently from the factory. So you will often need to reformat the games card before filling it. Depending on your computer, the built-in tool may not offer FAT32 at these sizes: a dedicated formatting utility solves this. Formatting wipes everything, so copy off whatever is on the card first. FAT32 also limits each file to 4GB, which is still plenty for a PS1 disc image.

64GB or 128GB: it depends on what you emulate

File sizes vary enormously depending on the original machine. A game for an 8-bit or 16-bit console is usually somewhere between a few kilobytes and a few megabytes. Even a large library for these systems takes up little space, leaving plenty free on a 64GB card. PS1 disc images are on another scale: a single one can be several hundred megabytes, and some games span several discs. PSP, NDS and Dreamcast files are also much larger than those for 8-bit and 16-bit consoles.

In practice, 64GB works well if you mostly play 8-bit and 16-bit consoles, classic arcade games and handhelds, with a few PS1 games. A 128GB card makes sense if the PS1 makes up a big part of your collection, or if you want to try heavier games whose behaviour varies from title to title. Whatever you choose, only copy games you own the rights to.

A branded card and a copy of the system card

A branded card from a reputable seller is not a luxury. Counterfeit cards sometimes claim a capacity they don't have: everything seems fine until new files overwrite old ones, or vanish. Other poor-quality cards wear out quickly with repeated writes, such as game saves. On a console with no internal memory, that hits your progress directly. Before filling a new card, a capacity-checking program run from a computer lets you confirm it lives up to its label.

The system card deserves one extra precaution: a full copy. If it fails, the console will no longer start, and what's on it may be lost too. An image of the card kept on a computer lets you start again on a new card. This copy is essential before trying a community system such as ArkOS or ROCKNIX, as switching is done at your own risk.

• Switch the console off, then remove the card from the TF1/INT slot.
• Create a full image of the card using disk imaging software on your computer.
• Keep this image in two places, for example your computer and an external drive.
• Copy your game save files separately as well.
• Put the card back in the same slot before switching the console on again.

What comes with the G350 we sell

The G350 shop, an independent retailer of the console, sells the 64GB version, which comes with a microSD card of that size. The box contents we describe are those seen in published unboxings: if anything in yours differs, write to us. A 128GB version will only be offered if a branded card is confirmed: a sensible, reliable capacity is better than a large card of uncertain origin.

If 64GB feels tight, there's no need to wait for another version. The TF2/EXT slot lets you add your own games card later: branded, formatted as FAT32 according to the manual, and up to 256GB according to the manufacturer. The system card then stays in place, untouched, and your backup copy remains just as useful. This is often the simplest way to grow a PS1-focused library.