I've owned a Steam Deck from day one, but I've managed to avoid a distracted boyfriend meme scenario with the best gaming handhelds. That's largely thanks to various mods and tweaks that have kept Valve's portable powerhouse pulling punches in the ring, but out of all the upgrades I've made so far, modding the tiny rig with a larger SSD has made the biggest difference.
Last year, I upgraded my original LCD Steam Deck with a WD Black SN700M SSD, ramping up its storage from 512GB to a massive 2TB. Even the priciest handhelds out there cap out at 1TB, so while Valve's portable is rocking an older custom RDNA 2 AMD Ryzen APU, it's already beating the Asus ROG Xbox Ally when it comes to capacity.
I want to hammer home that this Steam Deck SSD mod isn't technically 'plug and play', meaning you'll have to crack your handheld open to install the drive. If you're not used to tinkering around inside compact tech, you might want to ask someone more experienced to give you a hand.
That said, I'd still say this is one of the simplest mods you can carry out on your Steam Deck, largely because you won't have to rip out the main board or any front-facing components. The job boils down to removing the back shell and metal shielding surrounding the M.2 slot, disconnecting the battery, then unscrewing the SDD just like you would with a gaming PC.
The one additional step that might catch you out is making sure to retain the original Steam Deck drive's metal shielding. It can be removed gently with a pair of tweezers and applied to the new SSD, and while it might feel unnecessary, it'll prevent interference from the handheld's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals.
Once you've got the Deck buttoned back up, you'll also want to re-image SteamOS, as your new drive will be completely blank. Valve actually provides instructions for this since it comes in handy even if you aren't upgrading an SSD, but the process will effectively boot into the operating system just like you'd get with a box-fresh handheld.
It's worth noting that while I chose to upgrade Valve's original Steam Deck, you can arm virtually any handheld with a '2230' M.2 SSD with this beefier drive. That includes the Steam Deck OLED and the OG Asus ROG Ally, and I feel like the latter will appeal to anyone hoping to buy the portable instead of the cheapest incoming Xbox flavor.
I want to stress that the SN770M is far from being the only Steam Deck-compatible SSD out there. You'll find plenty of 2230 M.2 drives at Amazon, and you can grab the likes of Teamgroup's MP44S for $75.99 at Amazon. You'll be stuck with PCIe 3 Gen 3 speeds on Valve's handheld regardless, and while the ROG Ally will leverage any PCI 4 drive you throw at it, the WD Black boasts slightly higher read speeds.
By and large, most 2230 SSDs are going to provide the same handheld benefits, but Western Digital does go the extra mile with a five-year warranty. I wouldn't value that benefit if the drive tapped out after a year, and the one within my Deck is providing reliable. But, in the instance that something catastrophic does occur, it's nice knowing I won't have to fork out for a new drive to get the portable back on the ground.
I'm not saying upgrading your Steam Deck SSD is going to save you from thinking about new handhelds, and it probably shouldn't. New contenders are set to emerge that will change the performance bar, and Valve's iconic portable could look pretty puny by comparison. However, I'm also wary that prices are getting astronomical, so if you'd rather hold on to your Deck for a while longer, a drive swap can make all the difference.
- More ways to mod your Steam Deck at Amazon
- GuliKit Hall Effect joysticks | $29.70 at Amazon
- Jsuax transparent back shell | $29.99 at Amazon
Upgrading your handheld setup? Check out the best Steam Deck accessories and best Steam Deck docks for great add-ons. Alternatively, take a peek at the best retro consoles for ways to emulate the classics and use your physical old games.
