Happiness COULD It has a processor 4 cores and 8 threads processor operating at a base frequency of 2.4 GHz and which reaches 3.5 GHz in Boost mode. Graphic cardon the other hand, has 8 compute units operating at a frequency between 1.0 GHz and 1.6 GHz, providing a power of 1.6 TFLOPS FP32.
The Steam Deck uses a total of 16GB LPDDR5 RAM It is soldered directly to the PCB. When it comes to storage, the most basic model has 64 GB capacity eMMC type. Top models are unit-based 256 GB and 512 GB NVMe SSD.
Something very interesting indicated by Valve is that the console of all models has a M.2 SSD socket. The 64 GB console, being based on eMMC memory, has a free socket, so we could add a secondary SSD to store the games. But, in 256 GB and 512 GB consoles, it is occupied, because in these cases an M.2 SSD is already used
Finally, indicate that the Valve console uses the SteamOS 3.0 operating system. Said operating system is a version of Arch Linux, one of the many open source distributions that exist.
Increase the capacity of the Steam Deck
Technically, we can increase the storage capacity of the Valve console. It is true that the company claims that the Steam Deack M.2 Modules they are not intended to be modified by the end user. You should know that you can modify the storage capacity of the console, but at your own risk.
Which SSDs are supported?
As stated in the official specifications, the Steam Deck features a M.2 2230 port. This means that you can only mount M.2 SSDs in 2230 format. Saying that this format tells us the width (22 mm) and the length (30 mm).
2230 format drives are the smallest and These are not exactly the most common. Currently, the most common format on the market is 2280, as it is the standardized format of M.2 SSDs for desktop computers and laptops.
In addition to this, it should be noted that in the 256 GB and 512 GB variants, the M.2 PCIe SSD slot is occupied. It is only available on the console with 64GB eMMC, but Valve recommends against using this M.2 socket and do not replace the main unit.
It must be said that M.2 2230 SSDs have a capacity limit of 1 TB. This may be interesting for the 64 GB model, but for the other two variants, the ideal is to use SD, SDXC and SD memory cards. SDHC.
Models compatible with consoles
The supply of 2230 form factor M.2 SSDs is quite limited. Note that including this additional hard drive in the 64GB model could cause temperature issues. Currently, we have only found two models available to increase capacity.
Kioxia BG4 512 GB
As the most interesting model we have this latest generation Kioxia unit with a 512 GB capacity. This unit gives us a Up to 2200 MB/s read and up to 1400 MB/s write. In addition, the manufacturer itself indicates compatibility with the Steam Deck, as well as Microsoft’s Surface and Surface Pro.
Western Digital SN530 256GB
We found as an alternative this drive from WD which meets the format requirements. The disk has a smaller capacity, only 256 GB. This device offers a speed of read up to 2400 MB/s and a speed of write up to 950 MB/yes It’s much worse than the Kioxia unit, but there’s no more choice, because those are the only two options on the market.
An alternative with some risk
twitter user, TheSmcelrea indicated that he had capable of installing a 2242 format M.2 SSD in the console. As mentioned, there are no compatibility issues since the device does not play with the other elements of the portable console. This indicates that the biggest problem seems to be in the heatsink or thermal pad, which had to be moved around a bit.
For this he used a 30mm to 42mm extension bracket which can be purchased on AliExpress with no problem. This allows us to securely fasten the storage unit. According to TheSmcelrea, he was able to close the lid with no problem and everything works fine.
The circuit board seems to work well enough to adapt a 2242 m2 to the steam bridge, it doesn’t collide with anything on the motherboard and doesn’t put any extra strain on the cables. However, this tilts the heat sink a bit. The back plate reassembled with no problem. pic.twitter.com/4j4LVbS0NG
— Belly jelly (@TheSmcelrea) June 21, 2022
Indicate that the design and software engineer at ValveLawrence Yang, asked on Twitter that users do not do that. Indicates that this could increase the operating temperature of the console. In addition, it also specifies that consumption would increase and autonomy would be reduced. He points out that the console was not developed to support 2242 form factor M.2 SSDs.
Hi, please don’t do this. The charger IC gets very hot and nearby thermal pads should not be moved. Additionally, most 2242 m.2 drives consume more power and run hotter than Deck is designed for. This mod may seem to work but will significantly reduce the life of your Deck.
— Lawrence Yang (@lawrenceyang) June 26, 2022
If you do this, nothing may happen beyond a small decrease in range. You might also notice a little more temperature, although it shouldn’t increase excessively either.
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