Recently, one modder decided to stick a bigger 2242 M.2 SSD into their Steam Deck and after many other bigger PC sites picked it up — a Valve designer has warned people not to do it.
The Steam Deck was designed to specifically fit the much smaller 2230 M.2 and while it appears the 2242 can work, this appears to be a case of being so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. To completely pinch a quote from Jurassic Park.
Designer Lawrence Yang said on Twitter in reply:
Hi, please don’t do this. The charger IC gets very hot and nearby thermal pads should not be moved. In addition, most 2242 m.2 drives draw more power and get hotter than what Deck is designed for. This mod may appear to work but will significantly shorten the life of your Deck.
The modder replied to agree too.
Remember, Valve did their own teardown of the device but repeatedly told people to leave things to the professionals. However, they also teamed up with iFixit to offer spare parts too.
Best to stick to the smaller 2230 series if you really wish to open it up and put a bigger one in, or just put in a good Micro SD that works well and still loads everything quickly. Don't go following every crazy idea you see online, even when big sites report on it.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
It does bother me that there isn't just a little less spacing on one end to be able to fit one more card before the adapter. lol.
Those third party cases are nice. I do like that they include card holders but, all that other stuff sitting on top of the front of the Deck will ruin it. Imagine just a little too much pressure / force and the power adapter or something will crack the screen. Or, anything could depress the buttons. After enough of that they won't function as well as they used to.
I think anything other than the SD slot booklet either needs a solid partition or, better yet, should simply be stored elsewhere. There is an awkward space under the device.
Example: I have an Omnicharge+ power bank. It came with a hard shell case that has a soft interior and elastic bands meant to store USB cables and such. It took a little while before the case stretched out enough but the cables still obviously press down too much against the soft rubberized side (it's fully encased in this material) and leave markings. I only keep one short USB-C cable in there now and the rest in another pouch.
If there were more space in the Deck case, it would likely get used. lol. There would also need to be some sort of tie down to prevent the Deck from bouncing around.
Personally, I already have USB cables, a power bank, and ear buds stored safely in a bag. This will (the Deck + wall power adapter) be one more item in that bag. Only exception is if I'm wearing the ear buds / headphones and have the other items in my pockets.
Last edited by EWG on 14 July 2022 at 12:26 pm UTC
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