The Steam Deck is awesome, and so is the fact that it’s wide open for users to modify. But actually accomplishing that can be tricky, since it’s using a ton of custom parts. Take the upgraded model’s storage, for example: an M.2 2230 SSD, a teeny-tiny, semi-standard size that doesn’t exactly show up on the shelves of Best Buy. But Sabrent is out to change that with its latest Rocket NVMe drive. The 30mm-long NVMe drives were announced over the weekend.
The new Gen 4 2230 drives are the perfect size to replace the one in the Steam Deck, requiring only a screwdriver and about ten minutes for a complete swap. With speeds of up to 5000MB/s read and 4300MB/s write, they should be approximately double the speed of the fastest stock drive available from Valve (because even the pricier models are using a Gen 3 drive). They’ll be available in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB capacities, according to StorageReview.
Of course you can use a 2230-sized drive in more than the Steam Deck — it’s a popular option in ultra-portable laptops like the Dell XPS 13, and nothing’s stopping you from installing it in any other M.2 port. But finding one that’s available from a retailer drive supplier is a huge boon for portable gamers in particular. There’s no word on a release date or pricing for the new drives, but we’d guess they should arrive sometime early in 2023.
