Thread: External HD and SD Cards for the Wii U?

I'm planning on getting the regular $299 edition of the Wii U. In fact, I tried to purchase the $349 Limited Edition version but:

1. It was sold out
2. The guy at GameStop told me it was stupid anyways

One of the ONLY benefits is increased storage which I'm not even sure I'll use. That being said, I've been thinking about getting an external hard drive anyways (for music and media) and just wanted to share a couple good deals from experience.

(1) Shop NewEgg.com - they often have GREAT deals on external storage - Newegg.com - Computer Parts, Laptops, Electronics, HDTVs, Digital Cameras and More!

(2) Western Digital is my favorite brand. Reliable and affordable. You can get a 1TB hard drive for under $100. Here is an example: Newegg.com - Western Digital Elements SE 1TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive WDBPCK0010BBK-NESN

(3) For SD Cards, shop Amazon. NEVER walk into a store like Best Buy as for this type of product SPECIFICALLY you'll be paying about 10X what you need to spend.

(4) There are some important features of SD cards you'll want to note, mainly the read/write speed. The "Class" number is how many Mb/s they can write data. DO NOT get a class 2. Class 4 is the lowest class you should purchase and Class 6 is good too. You could get Class 10 but you'll probably be paying more and not really notice any difference in performance or reliability.

If you have any more suggestions/tips for others buying External Storage, External Hard Drive, or SD Cards for the Wii U, please share!

Great suggestions Rob!

To expand just a bit, New Egg is my favorite PC online retailer, also Microcenter - which has the added bonus of having physical locations all over the US. You never know, they may have a store near you and they are very competitively priced.

Also no matter where you first find (any) a product. Be sure to check other sites. Newegg, Amazon, Tigerdirect, Microcenter... they are always competing so there will be deals on some great stuff, you just need to find them.

New egg's email newsletter is great for finding deals, and they have this also: Newegg.com - Shell Shocker Deal. Exclusive Jaw Dropping Savings on PC Components and Electronics. this changes every few hours

Great info, Rob.

I'll be getting the deluxe version simply because I want the black console instead of the white. I've had a white Wii and it's currently the only console that isn't black. Chalk it up to my OCD. That being said, for parents who are considering purchasing this for their children, you should be aware that the deluxe version does come with Nintendoland, which is a suite of games that kids can play together.

The Link and Metroid games are actually pretty fun, so if you want a base game to get started with plus the extra storage, the $349 option isn't that bad.

I am with LlamaPants on this one, I would go for the base version, but I do NOT want a white console. LOL. I know it sounds totally ridiculous, but I really want the console to match with everything else. I think Nintendo should have given us the option to choose between black and white for both versions.

Either way, I am still getting an external hard drive, I probably won't need a whole terabyte, as most of my media is either streamed or in the cloud. I sure hope we will be able to access Google Music (or anything similar) at some point. That seems too far off, though, so I will probably just have to transfer my music. I will probably just get a cheaper 500 GB drive or something.

I went with the deluxe version. You get more. More storage, more accessories. I probably will not use the system holders/cradle, but it does come with the game pad charger. Plus you also get bonuses for buying the deluxe with Nintendo. For games you buy, you get points for the Eshop. I love the fact that Nintendo stated if you want to plug a 3TB external drive to it, go for it. Now would I ever fill up 3TB of storage, no. Am I going to put music on it...well it depends...can you add your music to the games that you play?

I also wen with the deluxe due to being black. My receiver, Direct TV, speakers and tv are black. Even the wii motes and nunchucks I bought for the Wii U are black. Might as well keep it all the same. But the question how big of a sd card can fit on there? My phone has a 64 gig micro sd card now. But if the Wii U can support lets say a 64 gig sd card or even 128 gig card...it might be worth it to buy a 1 or 2 tb external hard drive. Because remember there are demos and what not plus if for some reason you buy Teken...you need at least 16 + gigs just for that.

Plus the black just has that more zombieish feel to it. But you do realize that even if you get the basic one, there will be skins for it, like what they have for the Wii U. Maybe even one with brains. mmmmm

One thing to keep in mind is that Wii U only has USB 2.0 ports, so while 3.0 drives will be backwards compatible it'll still transfer data at the slower speed. It may be smarter to just buy a 2.0 drive since you'd be likely to get more memory for your money.

Anyway, good points all around. I've been eying this myself.

They guy at Gamestop told you it was stupid anyways? Oh yea.. trust the Gamestop employee for sterling advice. What is so "stupid" about the Deluxe? It comes with more memory, a free game, a vertical stand, the digital discount, and a cradle/charger.

I'm not saying you have to get either the Basic or Deluxe. But I'll be damned if I call either package stupid. Both serve their part and are great deals for the price/content.

Originally Posted by TheWalkingDead

I went with the deluxe version. You get more. More storage, more accessories. I probably will not use the system holders/cradle, but it does come with the game pad charger. Plus you also get bonuses for buying the deluxe with Nintendo. For games you buy, you get points for the Eshop. I love the fact that Nintendo stated if you want to plug a 3TB external drive to it, go for it. Now would I ever fill up 3TB of storage, no. Am I going to put music on it...well it depends...can you add your music to the games that you play?

I also wen with the deluxe due to being black. My receiver, Direct TV, speakers and tv are black. Even the wii motes and nunchucks I bought for the Wii U are black. Might as well keep it all the same. But the question how big of a sd card can fit on there? My phone has a 64 gig micro sd card now. But if the Wii U can support lets say a 64 gig sd card or even 128 gig card...it might be worth it to buy a 1 or 2 tb external hard drive. Because remember there are demos and what not plus if for some reason you buy Teken...you need at least 16 + gigs just for that.

Plus the black just has that more zombieish feel to it. But you do realize that even if you get the basic one, there will be skins for it, like what they have for the Wii U. Maybe even one with brains. mmmmm

I don't think a maximum SD card size has been officially confirmed, but Wikipedia states that it only uses SDHC cards (32GB max).

It's probably safe to assume that SDXC cards will be supported, but due to the USB2.0 interface anything over a class 10 would be wasted as that interface speed is approached.

UHS cards are pointless in this instance, regular class 10's will be fine. You'll save a mint.

And if you do go for an external platter drive, best go for a high-speed USB2.0 over a USB3.0.

Edit: Choosing a console for colour is pretty pointless, really. A new case for a console like the wii can be had for under 30 bucks (my launch Wii is now red). The benefits of the deluxe are numerous and obvious, more high-speed internal storage, a good game (believe me, it's great!), and the digital credits are well worth the slight expense.

Originally Posted by Cubits

It's probably safe to assume that SDXC cards will be supported, but due to the USB2.0 interface anything over a class 10 would be wasted as that interface speed is approached.

UHS cards are pointless in this instance, regular class 10's will be fine. You'll save a mint.

And if you do go for an external platter drive, best go for a high-speed USB2.0 over a USB3.0.

Edit: Choosing a console for colour is pretty pointless, really. A new case for a console like the wii can be had for under 30 bucks (my launch Wii is now red). The benefits of the deluxe are numerous and obvious, more high-speed internal storage, a good game (believe me, it's great!), and the digital credits are well worth the slight expense.

Yeah, I would have much preferred to have a white Wii U as all of my Wii accessories are white, but the Deluxe was just a much better value for the money that I just couldn't resist.

Originally Posted by Cubits

It's probably safe to assume that SDXC cards will be supported, but due to the USB2.0 interface anything over a class 10 would be wasted as that interface speed is approached.

UHS cards are pointless in this instance, regular class 10's will be fine. You'll save a mint.

And if you do go for an external platter drive, best go for a high-speed USB2.0 over a USB3.0.

Edit: Choosing a console for colour is pretty pointless, really. A new case for a console like the wii can be had for under 30 bucks (my launch Wii is now red). The benefits of the deluxe are numerous and obvious, more high-speed internal storage, a good game (believe me, it's great!), and the digital credits are well worth the slight expense.

So apparently the 3DS can support up to 128GB SDXC cards as long as it is formatted in FAT32. If the 3DS can do it, I would imagine so can the Wii U.

Just putting this out there, these are two very good deals:

32 GB SanDisk Class 4 SDHC Card

And just for an extra $3, you can upgrade to class 10.

32 GB Samsung Class 10 SDHC Card

And the Samsung one is Waterproof, Shockproof and Magnetproof.


And even better, I got a 200 GB HDD for $22. It's and internal IDE Drive, so you may have to buy some adapters and cases.

I don't have the link, but there were 300 GB SATA Drives for $300 too.