Join The Community
Look, I get it, actually grabbing a Steam Deck at launch was more of a priority than its SSD size. However, now that you're wrestling with as little as 64GB built-in storage on the daily, it's perhaps time to give your portable library space to flourish. If that's the case, I've got just the Black Friday deal to treat your cramped handheld capacity, and it'll give you a 1TB of space for same price as a 500GB drive.
The drive in question you're looking for is the WD Black SN770M, and you'll find the 1TB version down to $89.99 from $129.99 at Best Buy. The $40 discount knocks it to the exact same price as the 500GB drive at Amazon, making it a solid Black Friday Steam Deck deal for anyone itching expand their handheld storage. It's still admittedly a price upgrade, but if you're rocking a 256GB or even 64GB version of Valve's handheld, it'll change the way you play.
Should you buy a WD Black SN770M SSD?
I upgraded my OG Steam Deck with a 2TB WD Black SN770M almost a year ago now, and the handheld is fighting fit. Not only does it now win against the Steam Deck OLED in terms of capacity, but its tiny 2230 drive puts my PC to shame with how many games it can hold onto. Before that, I was constantly packing my 512GB drive to the brim by spontaneously downloading new adventures for my travels, so I can't imagine how annoying trying to use 64GB or 256GB is.
If you'd like to potentially never see an "out of space" screen on your Steam Deck again, grabbing a WD Black SN770M SSD could be the perfect remedy. One of the only caveats tied to drives like this is that you'll have to crack open your Steam Deck and replace its existing storage. I'm fully aware that as someone who's constantly tinkering inside handhelds and PCs, it's easy for me to say this upgrade is a piece of cake, but I think most of you could pull it off without any horrific blunders.
That said, you will want to kit yourself out with the right tools before diving inside your Steam Deck. I personally use an iFixit essentials kit for small jobs like this, so picking one up for $29.96 could be worthwhile if you've not got something similar. That same company just so happens to have a guide that'll take you through the process, and it's the same place Valve will point you towards for replacement parts.
From my experience, there's not too much to worry about when upgrading your Steam Deck SSD. The only things I'd advise watching out for are more delicate connectors and the foil covers over the first screw hole and the drive itself. You'll have to reuse the latter with the SN770M since it doesn't come with its own, but the same goes for every 2230 option out there.
Speaking of which, the SN770M naturally isn't the only 2230 SSD compatible with the Steam Deck, and there's a Sabrent Rocket model going for $84.99 at Amazon right now. Both drives are going to virtually provide the same load speeds and performance since they're both PCIe gen 4. However, for an extra $5, you're getting a brand name you've probably heard of and a five year warranty, whereas Sabrent is only offering one year. Ideally, either drive will hold up for way beyond any warranty, but if things do go wrong, it's nice to know you'll at least be covered.
To put it simply, the WD Black SN770M is the SSD I'd recommend for Steam Deck by default, and it'll also work nicely with other handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally too. My only concern is that with models like the Asus ROG Ally X moving using a 2280 drive, the scene is toying with using full size m.2 storage. If their design still accommodates 2230 options, that won't be an issue. Otherwise, the upgrade might not carry across to many other devices in the generations ahead.
Looking for more seasonal offers? Swing by Black Friday Nintendo Switch deals and live coverage of Black Friday PS5 deals for console price cuts. Alternatively, take a peek at Black Friday TV deals if it's a big screen you're after.
