Have you managed to get hold of a Steam Deck and need a way to pack it full of all your games? There are two ways to expand the storage capacity of this portable console and change the way you play games. One is through the use of microSD cards and the other is the replacement of the internal SSD. The easiest method is adding a microSD card, the same form of storage that can be used to expand the capacity of a tablet or smartphone. The microSD card can be any size, but it should support the UHS-I speed standard, which most microSD cards support these days.
If the goal is to provide as much storage room for games as possible, we'd recommend going down the route of replacing the internal SSD. It's worth noting that this will void your warranty, but it is perfectly safe, so long as you follow the necessary steps and cause no damage to the internal components of the Steam Deck. You'll need to buy an M.2 2230 NVMe SSD, which we're suggesting below. Remember, have operating system installation files handy, a backup of your files, and be prepared to reinstall a fresh OS after swapping the SSD.
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SABRENT Rocket 2230 NVMe 4.0 1TB SSD
This is one of the best SSDs for the Steam Deck. Compared to a microSD card, it offers faster read/write speeds. You'll get 4,750MB/s read and 4,300 MB/s write speeds.
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XPC Technologies 2TB M.2 2230 NVMe PCIe SSD
XPC Technologies's 2TB, 2230-sized SSD is a rebranded SN740 from Western Digital that can fit into handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally. It's rated for reads of up to 5,100MB/s and writes of 4,800MB/s.
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Silicon Power 1TB NVMe 2230 SSD
The Silicon Power 1TB SSD is one of the more affordable SSDs for the Steam Deck. It is under $100, but it still has read speeds of up to 4,900MB/s and write speeds of up to 3,200MB/s. It also has a 5-ear limited warranty.
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Corsair MP600 Mini
The Corsair MP600 is a great SSD that you can put in the Asus ROG Ally or a Steam Deck, and it packs 1TB of storage that you can fill up with as many games as you'd like.
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SanDisk Extreme microSD card
Storing Windows 11-capable games takes up a lot of space, so add up to 1TB of storage to the ROG Ally with this microSD card from SanDisk. That way all you have to think about is what to play next.
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Samsung EVO Select microSD
Value SD cardIf you don't want a lot of storage, then this 64GB Samsung EVO microSD card should give you plenty of room to store some of your favorite games. It has fast transfer speeds, water resistance, and a 10-year of warranty.
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Kingston Canvas Go Plus microSD card
Affordable durable microSD cardThe Kingston Canvas Go Plus is an affordable microSD card. It's $17 and comes with data transfer speeds of up to 170 MB/s. The card supports UHS Speed Class 3 speeds and has the A2 app performance rating. It's also waterproof, and vibration and shockproof, too.
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SanDisk Extreme Pro microSD card
The SanDisk Extreme Pro microSD card is what the name suggests. It's a microSD card that can survive the most extreme conditions. It's temperate-proof, waterproof, and X-ray-proof. Not to forget it supports the SanDisk QuickFlow technology for 200MB/s read speeds and 140MB/s write speeds
Best storage options for the Steam Deck: Bottom line
Those are the best storage options for the Steam Deck in 2023. We covered a traditional SSD like the SABRENT Rocket 2230 NVMe 4.0 1TB SSD which offers the fastest possible read and write speeds for your games. And then we also looked at several popular microSD cards, like the SanDisk Extreme which offers 1TB of storage, the Samsung Evo Select, which is a value microSD card, and even the SanDisk Extreme Pro, which is the fastest possible SD card you can buy.
The most important thing when picking out a microSD card on Amazon is to make sure that you pick one out from a verified seller. On Amazon, in particular, there are plenty of fake SD cards being sold that report higher storage but will actually fill up and not accept any more data, or start overwriting existing data, way earlier than you expect. This is why we suggest you pick from a trusted brand.
If you don't already own a Steam Deck, you can check out our Steam Deck review for more. It might not be one of the best gaming laptops, but it's still an excellent way to game on the go.
Steam Deck
Valve's first portable gaming PC, the Steam Deck is one of the best gaming devices on the market, giving you access to a huge library of games you can play anywhere you go.