Micro SD recommendation?

[{ИЯm} Keith]

I was looking for a large size Micro SD card and also an M2 SSD for the deck.
I found a lot of Micro SD cards on Amazon, but I'm not sure which ones are good.
I imagine speed is important.

Also anyone got a lead on a good prices M2 SSD for the deck ? Anyone tried sticking in a physically larger one or is there literally not enough space?

(I've got a spare 128GB in the correct size format but I'd love to buy a 1TB one.

[AceHercules1196]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Extreme-microSDXC-Adapter-Performance/dp/B07P9W5HJV/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3DJO8HR36NH3W&keywords=1tb+micro+sd+card&qid=1657930579&sprefix=%2Caps%2C53&sr=8-6

[{ИЯm} Keith]

Originally posted by Corey:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Extreme-microSDXC-Adapter-Performance/dp/B07P9W5HJV/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3DJO8HR36NH3W&keywords=1tb+micro+sd+card&qid=1657930579&sprefix=%2Caps%2C53&sr=8-6

Out of stock / also more expensive then a steam deck once you convert to my currency.

[PopinFRESH]

The limitation is a physical size limit for the M.2 2230 form factor. There have been some people who made some 3D printed mod to adjust the mount to an M.2 2242, however, Lawrence Yang (one of the Valve designers for Steam Deck) strongly advised against it. I'd agree with him as the mod protrudes over the charging IC and will impact the cooling of that chip which will get hot.

Micron announced a 2TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 2230 SSD recently (Micron 2400 series) but it hasn't actually been launched yet. There are several 1TB M.2 2230 SSDs available such as the Samsung PM991 (MZ-VLQ1T0HALB)

[{ИЯm} Keith]

Originally posted by PopinFRESH:

The limitation is a physical size limit for the M.2 2230 form factor. There have been some people who made some 3D printed mod to adjust the mount to an M.2 2242, however, Lawrence Yang (one of the Valve designers for Steam Deck) strongly advised against it. I'd agree with him as the mod protrudes over the charging IC and will impact the cooling of that chip which will get hot.

Micron announced a 2TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 2230 SSD recently (Micron 2400 series) but it hasn't actually been launched yet. There are several 1TB M.2 2230 SSDs available such as the Samsung PM991 (MZ-VLQ1T0HALB)

Thanks.

I found this for $250 CAD
https://www.amazon.ca/SSSTC-1024GB-CL4-3D1024-Q11-Surface-Ultrabook/dp/B09YYGJV7B/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=2230+ssd&qid=1657932982&s=pc&sr=1-1

I did find a samsung on ebay.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1TB-Samsung-PM991-SSD-M-2-Internal-PCIe-3-0x4-2230-NVMe-R31264-Solid-State-Drive-/373495631052

I'll keep hunting.

You seem knowledgeable. Recommendation on an MicroSD?

[PopinFRESH]

My main recommendation on microSD cards is to get them at a local retailer with a good return policy. Its crazy the amount of counterfeit microSD cards there are, even when getting them "directly" from the Vendor's Amazon store (because all of the same skus are sorted and stored in the same bins). Some people seem to indicate that A2 cards have issues with Steam Deck, however, I've seen plenty of others who are using them without issue. I don't have my Steam Deck yet, however, the microSD cards I use for other things are the Sandisk Extreme and Samsung Evo Select.

SanDisk Extreme A2 models (64GB/128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB)
Samsung Evo Select A2/v30/U3 models (64GB/128GB/256GB/512GB)

Note, I'd check some other links for that Sandisk Extreme because that pricing seems way off. That same model on the US amazon store is only $180 USD. That listing looks like it's bundled with some trash software you don't need.

[invision2212]

i have the 400gb version of this sd card, it works fine for what it is.

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-256GB-MicroSDXC-Memory-Adapter/dp/B08HCPTMJG/ref=sr_1_3?crid=12IGX311MIZJ1&keywords=micro%2Bsd%2Bcard&qid=1657934888&sprefix=%2Caps%2C84&sr=8-3&th=1

[Brohands McSmooth]

You may appreciate this https://i.redd.it/22286e62kcj71.jpg an image detailing Micro SD card labels

[Bene]

Cool, another SD card recommendation thread! It was about time since the other one is already 11 hrs. old.

[jlpotocki]

Originally posted by {ИЯm} Keith:

I was looking for a large size Micro SD card and also an M2 SSD for the deck.
I found a lot of Micro SD cards on Amazon, but I'm not sure which ones are good.
I imagine speed is important.

Also anyone got a lead on a good prices M2 SSD for the deck ? Anyone tried sticking in a physically larger one or is there literally not enough space?

(I've got a spare 128GB in the correct size format but I'd love to buy a 1TB one.

Okay here is a list of good brands ADATA, TEAMGROUP, Silicon Power (SP for short), PNY, Samsung, Sandisk, Lexar, Amazon Basic, and Micro Center. To make sure it's not a fake buy from these manufactures store fronts or from Amazon directly. Also avoid "Sponsored" These come from sellers/manufactures that are 90% BS companies that have to pay Amazon to be anywhere near the top listings (mostly fly by night bootleggers go this route). The cheapest for a 1TB is from TEAMGROUP at $131 US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09494YF5N/ref=twister_B09LSBB8SN?_encoding=UTF8&th=1 I have the 256GB version in mine currently while they have a listed rating of 90/45 R/W speed mine on the deck runs at 100/60. I plan to buy one next month. As for M.2s as long as you can even find a 1TB or larger in the 2230 format will be fine though finding one cheap is a problem for now. give it a year or so for those prices to go down. One thing to note on Micro SD Cards manufactures will either promise a real high speed with a "UP TO" or a more R/W speed that is lower than the actual speeds due to fickle consumers. If the card can not reach the Up To speed they'll complain, but the did say Up To which mean your mileage may vary however it's not guaranteed. While the lower speeds may seem low they can guarantee those speed, but you'll be pleased when it runs better so it builds brand loyalty with consumers. It's all smart marketing, and I've been in electronic sales for a long time (decades).

[Clone303]

buy SanDisk Ultra 1 TB, it's one im using and it's more then fine

[....]

Originally posted by {ИЯm} Keith:

I was looking for a large size Micro SD card and also an M2 SSD for the deck.
I found a lot of Micro SD cards on Amazon, but I'm not sure which ones are good.
I imagine speed is important.

Also anyone got a lead on a good prices M2 SSD for the deck ? Anyone tried sticking in a physically larger one or is there literally not enough space?

(I've got a spare 128GB in the correct size format but I'd love to buy a 1TB one.

Important Tips:
- from what ive read games wont run better with a better SD card (maybe slower if you buy a really bad one but i doubt normal sellers sell those)
- the main difference is download/install/move speed of games (that one is really noticeable)
- look at the games you want to use -> i almost instantly regretted buying a 512 GB one instead of 1 TB
- in theory you can hotswap SD-Cards BUT neither is it very pratical due to the size nor perfectly save (potential loss of data) according to some threads i read - also keep in mind as far as i know your shader-pre-cache will still be on your main SSD

[applemop2000]

Originally posted by {ИЯm} Keith:

I was looking for a large size Micro SD card and also an M2 SSD for the deck.
I found a lot of Micro SD cards on Amazon, but I'm not sure which ones are good.
I imagine speed is important.

Also anyone got a lead on a good prices M2 SSD for the deck ? Anyone tried sticking in a physically larger one or is there literally not enough space?

(I've got a spare 128GB in the correct size format but I'd love to buy a 1TB one.

Go with a SanDisk Extreme, my Samsung evo plus only downloads games at 10mpbs where my SanDisk extreme is 70mbps.

[PopinFRESH]

Originally posted by ....:

...
- from what ive read games wont run better with a better SD card (maybe slower if you buy a really bad one but i doubt normal sellers sell those)
- the main difference is download/install/move speed of games (that one is really noticeable)
- look at the games you want to use -> i almost instantly regretted buying a 512 GB one instead of 1 TB
- in theory you can hotswap SD-Cards BUT neither is it very pratical due to the size nor perfectly save (potential loss of data) according to some threads i read - also keep in mind as far as i know your shader-pre-cache will still be on your main SSD

Games running from the microSD card will depend mostly on the read performance of the card. As long as its a UHS-I card, games will run from the card ok. I think you're reading about comparing cards that are A1 vs A2, which won't make any difference currently because SteamOS 3.2 currently doesn't have a Linux kernel that supports the additional paging and caching advantages that A2 cards support. You will notice a fairly large difference in downloads and copying games/saves to the microSD card depending on the performance specs of the card. In general, look for a UHS-I (Steam Deck doesn't support UHS-II or UHS-III), U3, V30 (or higher), A1 or A2.

Originally posted by Brohands McSmooth:

You may appreciate this https://i.redd.it/22286e62kcj71.jpg an image detailing Micro SD card labels

^ this is a good link showing the various SD card standards and branding meanings.

This is another one that shows the target bandwidth differences, and the physical (data contacts) differences between HS, UHS-I, UHS-II, and UHS-III.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1520/4366/files/UHS-II_SD_Card_Comparision_updated_1024x1024.png?v=1531242361

EDIT: I'd also concur with applemop2000 and lean toward the SanDisk Extreme based on performance with other devices (including copying data to/from a PC), however, I won't have first hand experience with it on the Deck until I get my Deck (YMMV).

[karmazyn1]

I got sandisk ultra recommended here and it works flawlessely. I paid £ 33.99 for disk. I have 256GB deck. If I had 64GB deck, naturally I would have gone for 1TB, but these are pricy.

[{ИЯm} Keith]

I found this.
https://www.newegg.ca/p/0D9-00WV-00003?Description=m.2%20ssd%202230&cm_re=m.2_ssd%202230-_-9SIB72BGPV7609-_-Product

I also found it cheaper on ali-express

Would a SN530 m.2 2230 SSD 1TB work?

Does the deck take both PCI express and SATA NVME?