Steam Deck Utilizes Standard M.2 2230 Slot For Its SSD And Appears To Be User Replaceable

Gabe Newell, President and Co-Founder of Valve, answered user's questions on Reddit, including questions surrounding the SSD that is under the hood -- the M.2 2230 SSD. The M.2 2230 SSD has a small form factor but is not readily available to be purchased alone.

[masterfox]

was wondering about this since its announcement, also I see another missed opportunity from valve for not letting a user friendly replacement for the SSD, they could even reduce costs of the handheld by doing so imo, the more I see so many lost opportunities from this device the more I want a PSP 2 now lol, Sony could just do the same mechanics and create an extension from the main console, I mean we already reaching M2 SSD with TBs configurations, high speed transfer rates drives or cable connections, so why limit your storage with a SD card for expansion?, come on Gabe you have to think even bigger is not like we asking for Half Life 3 :D

[THEzRude]

Sure. Sony could. But they wont. And did you even read the title ? Steam Deck Utilizes Standard M.2 2230 Slot For Its SSD AND APPEARS TO BE USER REPLACEABLE !

[masterfox]

"Appears to be user replaceable", hmmm it said "appears to be" so it means "maybe", then in the article spec sheet it mentions is not user friendly, so this also means you most probably need to open completely this thing to reach the socket, so by essence means it Doesn't have a A UUUUSER FRIENDLY replacement for the SSD, lol I really need to explain this XD, and before someone says what is a user friendly replacement thing, it means you specifically have a port cover in a device you can remove it easily and put a damn extra device in there or for replacement, just like the 360 and PS3 era.

[Lionsguard]

"is not readily available to be purchased alone." What's the point if you can't even buy one?

[Si-Fly]

Reading comprehension = zero

[masterfox]

Spec sheet: "All models use socketed 2230 m.2 modules (not intended for end-user replacement)" <---

Now read again what I wrote.

[THEzRude]

Just because a dum dum dont know how to do it himself, Aint our problem. You can change it, but id you are incapable to operate screwdriver, you are doomed.

[masterfox]

so if a person doesn't know how to open up completely a digital electronic device and manipulate its internals is a "dum dum" then?,yikes!, also by your statement you are implying that a person who knows how to do basic stuff with a screwdriver you are saying they should be fine working / opening every single electronic device outhere?, sorry pal in the real world things doesn't work that way, lets wait and see how easy is the SSD can be replaced in this thing even thou it mentions is not intended for end user replacement.

[zahdab]

we know very little, whether its a easy for most users thing or there's more risk for the average user is yet to be tested... coz u know most users can't replace a screen on a phone for example doesn't make them dum dums, this might be assembled in a way that favors form over upgradability...
Think Microsoft surface 6 and below ... accessing and replacing the SSD wasn't recommended and very few people attempted it

[jznrpg]

They could permanently affix the drive so it’s not removable . We don’t know yet .

[THEzRude]

Yes. Dum dum.

[uth11]

I think the strategy is to upsell the customer. Sure they offer the base model for a crowd pleasing $399, and that grabs all the headlines. But look closer and you will realize the $399 model is inadequate. So then add over than $100 more and $200 for the 256gb and 512gb models-- ignoring the fact that you could buy your own 1Tb or 2Tb SSDs for the same upgrade price.

Car manufacturers have been doing the same trick forever. They'll offer a base model that lacks some key feature like power steering, so most buyers end up going with the mid tier model. Yet the advertisements all show the price of the base model that nobody wants

So it seems that Valve has figured out that the 256 and 512 models is where they are going to make their money and they will steer users to these and discourage nvme ssd upgrades

[darthv72]

Wonder if the 64gb will have the slot, just unpopulated.

[Jin_Sakai]

Supposedly it was confirmed to have one by an email from Gabe.

[darthv72]

So they could use the exact same board in all three. Which could mean they all might have 64gb of flash storage and then the two models with nvme would have their slots populated. So all of them could [theoretically] be upgradable.

And its the same size 2230 slot as series x/s.

[elazz]

The emmc storage is also connected via the M2 interface.

[ScootaKuH]

Yes. They have added this to their website that all models have an M2 2230 socket but it's not user replaceable

[kryteris]

what's not? the socket or the tear down getting to it?

[ScootaKuH]

@kryteris

The socket I guess. I've dunno, its was worded a bit strange.

I'd like to see a teardown though, really interested to see what's going on inside

[TheExecutioner]

My main concer is the analog stick age and how it can br repaired specially if the support in some region is dead

[camel_toad]

Yeh the big 3 (Nintendo, Sony and MS) all have drift problems. I wonder if Valve has solved it or if it's just a universal inherent issue with analog sticks.

Maybe all of them already know how the problem is solved but it's too costly. That would explain why even the new oled switch still uses the same problematic joy cons.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Is it confirmed that Valve is using the same joysticks as the other 3?

[HOLDERofFOOD]

All else fails you can always connect a Bluetooth controller but that’s a far far less than optimal solution. Makes you appreciate that on switch you can at least swap out the controllers rather than being stuck with what you’ve got. All in all just hoping there’s no drift issues.

[John_McClane]

That's a very good point.

[ScootaKuH]

Steam say it's not user replaceable. I think if you're tech savvy you'll be able to do it yourself but I think the idea will be that you will be able to select from some additional storage options and Valve will customise to your requirements before shipping. A bit like how you can choose from various options when buying a laptop from Dell and the like.

[Whxian]

while opening such a small device can be difficult for people, i dont think this is merely a problem of being tech savvy. since steam tells you it's not meant to be user replaceable. They could have a sticker, or other means of checking if you have opened up your device to void your warranty, so it becomes an issue of do you want your warranty or do you wanna risk it for larger storage.

[Stanjara]

Ok, so this thing is probably not user replaceable. It's the same thing as xbox series x/s. You can't swap 1tb xbox x ssd to xbox s ssd...even tho they are the same, same format, same data.
Reason is firmware.