this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2023
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I feel obligated to recommend a Steam Deck if you have interest in one and can afford it.
We have 2 and I would get a 3rd if I could lol (with a bulky protective case etc. so I can be less careful)
The most cost efficient way to go is buy the cheapest version and then put something like this in it https://www.westerndigital.com/en-il/products/internal-drives/pc-sn740-ssd#SDDPTQD-256G
IMPORTANT NOTE: MAKE SURE YOU GET A 2230 SIZED NVME DRIVE. 2280 drives will NOT fit.
If you don't want to do that you can alternatively just get a big micro SD card and save the SSD swap for later For best speeds you want it to say A2 and have a 3 inside a U.
Even besides playing video games it's an awesome little mini pc. Not perfect but awesome, and an amazing value at $359.
Wait does the 64GB option support M.2 NVMe? I thought it only supports eMMC and that you can't swap with a different NVMe drive, but maybe I'm wrong?
Yes, exactly what I did. You can just buy a 2230 nvme ssd and slap it in. Process is pretty painless (just remember to take any micro SD card out before you take the shell off or there’s a chance you’ll snap it)
The hardest part for me was finding a usb-c to usb-a converter so I could plug in a usb stick to reinstall the OS.
I just ordered the 64GB version and a 512 GB NVMe drive from Amazon, so now my wallet hates you a lot. But thanks for the recommendation and tips.
Ayy! Happy for you. I know you'll love it.
Luckily I already had some of that stuff from my switch. I do hope v2 steamdeck has a USB-A port (And I wouldn't mind a second USB-C on the bottom)
I just loaded it from a MicroSD. It worked. I've got a few USB-C docks and a USB-C KVM so it would have been a bigger deal for me to actually find a USB stick around the house.
Seconded on it being painless. I did have to cut the foil and tape it on the new one because the drive is slightly bigger than the one that came with it.
That's a good question but no, it will work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSWb6jFlDk4
as someone with a 64gb deck with a 512gb drive swapped in I can confirm it works!
The 64GB emmc drive in the Deck uses the m.2 expansion slot, so you can pop out the emmc drive and swap in a 2230 form factor nvme drive and be gtg after reinstalling SteamOS.
I myself went from a 256GB drive to a 1TB drive, and this weekend, I'll be popping in a 2TB drive I just received in the mail.
I swapped the 64GB with a 256GB m2 2230 ssd and would definitely recommend just buying the base model and doing the same to save some $.
Yes, you can change the disk, I bought the cheapest and changed the ssd with another better than the mounted in the most expensive and set an antiglare screen saver
It would cost more to lock out the capability than not.
Everything but the storage drive, the screen, and the case is identical between the three units.
Yo Valve can you please sell them where I live already so that I don't have to pay some shitty eBay scalper or overpriced reshipper?
Do you know how much it would cost to cost to ship from the US?
Looking at Shipitto it's about $65 for the cheapest option currently.
Last time I checked they were all over $100.
I second this. Seriously one of the best things I’ve bought in years. 64gb + 1tb+ m2 is such a ridiculous bargain if you can operate a screwdriver.
They’re incredibly good emulation platforms too.
I honestly hope they just sell this model for a few years while dropping the price - something to be said for having a standard hardware platform with a huge install base.
I'd love to buy one, but they won't sell to me. "This item is not available for reservation in your country"
Do you know around how much it would cost to ship from the US?
That really sucks, I'm sorry.
I concur. It changed the way I play games, especially last gen and indies.
Is there a most cost effective choice for ssd that's "known" (or was that the one you linked)
Or is it just get the cheapest 2230 you can find
I did a lot of searching myself like 2 weeks ago because I had to swap out both mine and my partner's and AFAIK, the standard 1TB price for trustworthy 2230's are about 100 bucks unfortunately. If you still want a recommendation, this is what I bought
I was going to do that but I didn't actually swap my ssd and am not sure what the best options are. I do know that 'crucial' brand is very affordable and has good reviews from steamdeckers on reddit.
Ultimately I just didn't feel comfortable recommending something without first hand experience with it
If you find a deal I'd be happy to give my opinion if you want.
You could also buy the 64g and get a sd card that what i did no slowing with any game and enough space for 4-5 big game or a lot of small one but i never have more than 2-3 games installed anyway otherwise i just game jump and never finish any l
To add context for people viewing, putting games on a fast micro sd card (A2, 3 in a U) has negligible performance losses compared to putting the game on an internal drive. I was skeptical at first, but other than slightly longer times loading SD cards work beautifully for steamdeck games
thanks for adding context ! For added bonus you can use multiple micro sd so you don't have to download and install games each time just swap the card and ready to go.
I had heard that swapping the ssd yourself voids warranty, is that true? Or is it only if you swap more stuff
No that is not true. Also even if you drop it they have a repair center you can ship to that charges fair prices. They have a very positive reputation about this kind of thing (also RMAs, which I went through personally)
Depends where you are. The US ruled a couple years ago that opening cases cannot void warranties, however the rest of the world doesn't really have that protection.
I'm talking about Valve's company practices, not what they are legally obligated to do
Feel free to research for yourself but Valve is extremely pro customer/'generous' about RMAs and repairs.
Or are you talking about Komodo?
In the US, that's illegal (Magnuson Moss warranty act). In a lot of the rest of the first world, there are similar laws. But regardless, Valve hasn't shown any of the patterns some do of ignoring the law and forcing you to jump through hoops to exercise your rights, and there were a decent number of stories on Reddit of them fixing clear customer damage under warranty.
You can swap the ssd! Why are they charging so much to upgrade to only 256gb of Nvme storage?
Probably because they're losing money on the cheapest one
or at least not making much. it's a pretty common pattern with anything devices like this.
so long as it's user-upgradable, I'm happy. I'll take something apart for a discount any day of the week.
Because you still need to take the device apart to replace the drive. They've always been transparent about the fact that the SSD is easy to swap, but there are options available for people who want more storage who don't want to or don't feel comfortable about taking it apart.