Makes sense to me, if it’s soldered in you need to make three separate models of the base device. With a slot you only need to make one. Then you just pop a M.2 in (or not), attach either the normal or antiglare display, and put it in a box.
Interesting. The guys IGN interviewed were directly asked if any parts were user replaceable and said no. Might make the 64gb version more viable if true.
That means they aren’t intended to be user-replaceable, so it isn’t easy. And they may deny warranty if you do it.
The tech specs have been updated on the website specifically with:
All models use socketed 2230 m.2 modules (not intended for end-user replacement)
The 2230 M2 slot isn’t the usual NVME slot, so most sticks you buy today won’t work in it. Other things floating around the net is that you have to remove the thermal shielding of the device to access the storage slot (thus why not intended to be replaceable).
So buying the cheaper one under the assumption you’ll be able to upgrade it probably isn’t the best idea.
I went ahead and put down a reservation for the $650 model. It’s $5 so I figured why not, I"m late enough that it won’t ship until plenty of reviews will be able to tell me if it has any glaring issues.
M.2 2230 SSDs are widely available on Amazon from a quick search, although you will have to be careful to buy NVMe and not SATA (assuming it doesn’t support SATA, that is). I see 128GB modules starting at $15 and 256GB at $44. I don’t see any 512GB or 1TB modules though.
Dell sells a 512GB 2230 NVMe for $150, which seems like a pretty big markup.
My brother is considering the cheapest with a big SD card.
The difference would mostly only be seen in loading screens right?
Loading times only, in theory.
Yeah, and even then, I have great confidence there’ll be YouTube videos explaining how to open it up and install one of those $44 256GB SSDs if he wants it.
Are you sure you aren’t just misinterpreting Amazon’s results? While amazon brings up a bunch when you search for 2230, most of them are standard 2280s or 2242, not 2230.
Edit I see 128Gb 2230s on there for $14 but I don’t see any 256GB or larger
A lot of game relies on streaming assets on the fly these days, so he could easily end up with a lot of in game stutter in those cases.
nVME key type
B key = PCIe x2 / SATA
M Key = PCIe x4 / SATA
I can’t find that Amazon listing now, but here’s one for $40:
And here’s a 512GB for $61:
Dell also sells a 256GB one direct for $80 if you’re skeeved about eBay (don’t be, buyers are extremely well-protected, just buy from a seller with lots of positive feedback). They do make them, it’s just an uncommon size compared to even 2242, mostly found in OEM laptops.
The real question is how rough it is to crack open the Steam Deck, if it has lots of little plastic clips you’re likely to break, or worse is glued together.
Yeah and if the rumors are true of it being behind a heat shield, supposedly those can be soldered on for better heat dissipation, which is going to make it much harder to DIY.
Hilariously, Elgato debuted a new Stream Deck or tried to on the same day Valve announced this Steam Deck.
Yep.
Not that I’ve ever heard of the first iteration of that device though.
Lotta confused grandmas going to be buying Stream Decks for Christmas gifts this year.
There’s a handful of 1tb ones on ebay for $200, so that’s an option too.
Ifixit rates Valve’s previous hardware at an 8/10 on ease of reparability, so there’s an excellent chance this will be similar, especially with the small clues like screw holes on the back and the analog sticks probably being on separate boards.
When I first saw this topic I thought it was about stream decks. Can you use a stream deck with a Steam Deck?
The tech is super cool. I’ve seen handheld PCs in this form factor for years at E3, CES, and PAX. But Valve doing it will be a boost compared to those niche machines.
Not gonna be a good option for flight sims, so not really interested for my own gaming.
I’ve streamed out my dick rather often over the years.
I too find this thing really cool, but have very few use cases I could see myself gaming on this. Like, when I travel for work is the only time I am handheld gaming that much, and that is pretty rare, and on many occasions, I bring my 600$ gaming laptop with me.
Very cool for those who think they will use it, would be great just for the massive amount of library I have on steam already, along with the flexibility to run windows on it as well (opening up epic game store and xbox game pass options)
Valve’s previous hardware efforts have been mixed. I saw a lot of people talking about the various steam machines as valve’s problem, but they were just licensing out to 3rd parties, and I thought those were pretty dang good gaming boxes for the money, especially the windows versions.
As for the valve hardware, the index is great, the steam link works well (at least in my usage).