Expand storage with M.2 SSD or SD card

Valve’s handheld PC “Steam Deck” is available in three different versions at launch. You can find out here how much and what memory they offer and how you can expand the memory on the Steam Deck.

How much memory does the Steam Deck have?

The Steam Deck is available in three different versions, which differ mainly in terms of storage space and the type of storage used.

The cheapest option has one 64GB eMMC storage (PCIe Gen2 x1) while the 256 and 512GB models rely on the faster NVMe SSD technology (PCIe Gen3 x2).

Expand storage with a microSD card

All types of the Steam Deck have one on the underside microSD card slot, with which you can easily expand the memory of the handheld PC. Thanks to the SDXC standard, you can use the deck with cards expand up to 2 TB.

The real-world tests have shown that good SD cards show little or no difference in terms of loading times and reloading of textures compared to the internally installed memory. You only have to make concessions with the SD card when it comes to the write speed, but this is only relevant for transferring data and has no effect on the games themselves.

You can read here how you can recognize the speed class, bus speed and other aspects of an SD card from the outside:

SSD: The Steam Deck’s M.2 slot

As Valve already in the technical details of the Steam Deck announced, all models have an interface for an SSD in the M.2 2230 form factor. However, this cannot be accessed via a service flap and can only be replaced if you disassemble the entire device.

Valve states that the SSD “not intended for exchange by the end user” is. So if you still want to replace the SSD, you should have enough technical skills and accept the risk of losing the device’s warranty.

In the following video, Valve shows how the handheld PC is unscrewed and how it looks from the inside:

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