Steam Deck: Valve advises against larger SSDs

Valve does not recommend replacing SSDs in Steam Deck. This may have long term implications for the console.

Hybrid game consoles are on the rise. Building on the worldwide success of the Nintendo Switch, Valve launched Steam Deck some time ago using a very similar format, allowing games from their Steam catalog to be played in handheld or docked mode. A recipe that seems to work very well, but beware of those who would like to modify their console.

Valve advises against replacing SSDs in Steam Deck

Valve likes to warn users about the risks of modifying their Steam Deck on their own, and today Mountain View is extending that warning to expanding internal storage. In response to a PC Gamer article about modifying the Steam Deck, Valve’s hardware designer Lawrence Young cautions against replacing the console’s built-in NVMe SSD.

Indeed, while the operation is technically possible, the commonly seen 2242 M.2 drives (22mm wide x 42mm long) on ​​the market are hotter and more power hungry than the 2230 (22mm x 30mm) models that the console was designed to support. According to Lawrence Young, this could “significantly shorten”the device’s lifespan. And the man adds that you can’t move thermal pads either.

This may have long term implications for the console.

A PC Gamer article mentions modder Belli Gelli, who discovered that it was possible to integrate an M.2 2242 SSD into the Steam Deck, but with some design sacrifices. There were already concerns that this operation could cause overheating problems. Lawrence Young explained why this is a bad idea and reminded him of the likely long-term consequences.

This warning can be a real disappointment if you’re feeling limited by the 512GB maximum storage offered by Valve and don’t think a microSD card – usually much more compact than an SSD – can be an adequate replacement. That being said, it’s not surprising, mobile devices like these often have a lot of size and thermal management restrictions that make it very difficult to replace certain components.