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.

[PopinFRESH]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από {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?

SATA and NVMe are two different communication protocols. PCIe is the bus those protocols are communicating across.

I don't believe the SteamDeck will support SATA SSDs, however, even if it did you don't want to use one as they will be significantly more limited in performance compared to NVMe. You'll want to find an NVMe SSD that is using PCIe Gen3 or later. The SSDs that ship with the Steam Deck are using the NVMe 1.3 spec, they are a DRAMless SSD (meaning they don't have a DRAM cache on the SSD), and they are single-sided (meaning they have the controller and NAND module only on 1 side of the PCB. If you stick to similar SSDs in the M.2 2230 form factor that are similar in idle and peak power consumption you'll be g2g.

The specs on that Newegg listing are wrong. The WD SN530 is a decent option that is fairly similar to the SSDs shipping with the Deck in the 512GB model. The actual Product Page for the SN530[www.westerndigital.com] shows that it is NVMe 1.4, PCIe Gen3 x4, and the 2230 version is single sided with a Z height of 2.38mm. Performance is also pretty much the same as the 512GB model's SSD.

[{ИЯm} Keith]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από PopinFRESH:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από {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?

SATA and NVMe are two different communication protocols. PCIe is the bus those protocols are communicating across.

I don't believe the SteamDeck will support SATA SSDs, however, even if it did you don't want to use one as they will be significantly more limited in performance compared to NVMe. You'll want to find an NVMe SSD that is using PCIe Gen3 or later. The SSDs that ship with the Steam Deck are using the NVMe 1.3 spec, they are a DRAMless SSD (meaning they don't have a DRAM cache on the SSD), and they are single-sided (meaning they have the controller and NAND module only on 1 side of the PCB. If you stick to similar SSDs in the M.2 2230 form factor that are similar in idle and peak power consumption you'll be g2g.

The specs on that Newegg listing are wrong. The WD SN530 is a decent option that is fairly similar to the SSDs shipping with the Deck in the 512GB model. The actual Product Page for the SN530[www.westerndigital.com] shows that it is NVMe 1.4, PCIe Gen3 x4, and the 2230 version is single sided with a Z height of 2.38mm. Performance is also pretty much the same as the 512GB model's SSD.

Thanks!
I appreciate the help.
I always get confused with these because both of those fit in an M2 slot.
(my laptop apparently takes either in the same slot making it even more confusing)

[PopinFRESH]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από {ИЯm} Keith:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από PopinFRESH:

SATA and NVMe are two different communication protocols. PCIe is the bus those protocols are communicating across.

I don't believe the SteamDeck will support SATA SSDs, however, even if it did you don't want to use one as they will be significantly more limited in performance compared to NVMe. You'll want to find an NVMe SSD that is using PCIe Gen3 or later. The SSDs that ship with the Steam Deck are using the NVMe 1.3 spec, they are a DRAMless SSD (meaning they don't have a DRAM cache on the SSD), and they are single-sided (meaning they have the controller and NAND module only on 1 side of the PCB. If you stick to similar SSDs in the M.2 2230 form factor that are similar in idle and peak power consumption you'll be g2g.

The specs on that Newegg listing are wrong. The WD SN530 is a decent option that is fairly similar to the SSDs shipping with the Deck in the 512GB model. The actual Product Page for the SN530[www.westerndigital.com] shows that it is NVMe 1.4, PCIe Gen3 x4, and the 2230 version is single sided with a Z height of 2.38mm. Performance is also pretty much the same as the 512GB model's SSD.

Thanks!
I appreciate the help.
I always get confused with these because both of those fit in an M2 slot.
(my laptop apparently takes either in the same slot making it even more confusing)

No problem. M.2 is a form factor that isn't tied to a specific protocol. There are multiple variants within the M.2 spec that are for different types of devices. You'll see that those M.2 slots are "keyed" physically (that is what the little nub at one of the pins, and the little slot in the connector on the device are) for the devices they are compatible with the slot. So, physically it's not going to be confused because the keying won't physically fit, however, marketing wise it definitely can be confusing if people aren't aware of it and just look at "M.2".

Here's a decent resource with more details if you are interested

https://www.atpinc.com/blog/what-is-m.2-M-B-BM-key-socket-3

Most commonly on motherboards you'll find some Key-M and sometimes a Key-E for a WiFi/Blutooth module.

[DeathAxe]

I would not bother with changing the SSD drive as Valve have already said that they don't recommend it and a bigger one may generate more heat than the deck was designed for.

Go to a reputable company for a micro SD card there is a con where low spec "cheap" cards can have their firmware modified to show large amount of space which in reality isn't there.

I got a San Disk Ulta 400 gigabyte when it was cheap at £50 at the start of the year but there is also Samsung or Kingston just get a decent brand from a decent retailer.

But the deck does take a while to check and format a big drive (5 mins for my 400 gig)

[SIR LIONEL GHOULMAN]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από DeathAxe:

I would not bother with changing the SSD drive as Valve have already said that they don't recommend it and a bigger one may generate more heat than the deck was designed for.

Go to a reputable company for a micro SD card there is a con where low spec "cheap" cards can have their firmware modified to show large amount of space which in reality isn't there.

I got a San Disk Ulta 400 gigabyte when it was cheap at £50 at the start of the year but there is also Samsung or Kingston just get a decent brand from a decent retailer.

But the deck does take a while to check and format a big drive (5 mins for my 400 gig)

that’s wrong info. they said they don’t recommend that you MOD your system to fit a 2242 ssd. a 2230 with the same power consumption as the kingston ssd that’s comes in the deck is fine.

[{ИЯm} Keith]

the larger physical size draw more power. (not a lot more, but still) A large GB size probably won't change much.
And I'll probably put one of each in my system.

[{ИЯm} Keith]

ordered the SN 530 and the sandisc. So hopefully both work out great. I'll update when I get them into the deck.

[{ИЯm} Keith]

Update: I installed the 1TB NVME drive, it actually went in rather easy.
I had issues actually downloading the OS image, somehow I got a corrupted image.
But I eventually got it on a key with Rufas and used an amazon USB-C dock to load it onto the deck.
So far so Good.
I'm at the point of installing Deathstranding now. Just waiting for the download.
I should be able to do some speed tests after that.

Then it'll be on to the Micro SD card.