I was one of the first people to get my hands on a Steam Deck, but I was on a budget so I purchased one with a lower storage capacity. Because of this, I frequently found myself having to uninstall and delete files on my gaming handheld to make way for more game data. But that changed when I upgraded my Steam Deck storage with a higher-capacity SSD from WD_BLACK. I loved this SSD so much that I also upgraded my ASUS ROG Ally with it.
Thanks to some early Prime Day deals going on right now, this amazing WD_BLACK SN770M 1TB SSD is currently at a great discount — You can get it for $45 off at B&H.
🎃The best early Black Friday deals🦃
More Prime Day deals and anti-Prime Day deals
We at Windows Central are scouring the internet for the best Prime Day deals and anti-Prime Day deals, but there are plenty more discounts going on now. Here’s where to find more savings:
Why I love this WD_BLACK handheld SSD
I’m a big fan of Western Digital and its WD_Black gaming sub-brand. Throughout the years, I’ve either personally used or tested the company’s products and have found that they tend to provide some of the best storage quality on the market.
For instance, I personally used the WD_BLACK SN770M SSD when writing up our guides on how to upgrade ROG Ally SSD and how to upgrade Steam Deck SSD, so you can take a look at these step-by-step guides with pictures if you need help doing the install. In addition to working with ROG Ally and Steam Deck, this SSD works with Legion Go as well. The process is relatively easy, and you’ll love having more internal room for more games.
Most importantly, this SSD provides fast read speeds of up to 5150MB/s and high write speeds of up to 4900 MB/s to help me load and save data quickly. That’s waaay faster than what microSD cards can provide. For context, microSD cards typically only do a few hundred MB/s read and write speeds (or less).
What is a good SSD read and write speed for gaming handhelds?
When it comes to gaming, you want an SSD that can at least provide a read speed of 3000 MB/s and a write speed of up to 2000 MB/s. Your games will load quickly and save quickly too.
Is an SSD better than a microSD card?
That depends on what you intend to do with these storage devices. Overall, SSDs offer much faster transfer speeds than microSD cards. However, microSD cards are easier to install than internal SSDs. Of course, there are also a few external SSDs that just need to plug into a gaming handheld, but these tend to be very expensive.
What SSD does Steam Deck, Legion Go, and ROG Ally use?
Each of these gaming handhelds has one NVMe 2230 SSD slot, which is shorter than the SSD form factor found in laptops and desktops. Only an NVMe 2230 SSD will fit in Steam Deck, Legion Go, and ROG Ally.
Can you change the SSD in Steam Deck, Legion Go, and ROG Ally?
Yes! You can easily upgrade your gaming handheld’s internal SSD for a larger capacity as long as you replace it with a compatible NVMe 2230 SSD.
