Western Digital's Tiny New SSDs Are The Perfect Upgrade For Steam Deck Owners
Handheld gaming consoles are experiencing a fantastic resurgence in 2023, so it was only natural that peripheral makers would pounce on the opportunity. The latest name to enter the segment is Western Digital, which has just introduced a new small form factor SSD tailor-made for the likes of Valve's Steam Deck and the Asus ROG Ally.
The WD Black SN770 NVMe SSD comes in the M.2 2230 format which is ideal for gaming handhelds due to its small size, but it is also available in a handful of laptops such as Microsoft's Surface tablets. And just in case you're wondering, you can also pop it inside compatible laptops offered by the likes of Microsoft and Dell.
Western Digital is offering its gaming-centric storage drive in three sizes: 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB. It serves the proprietary nCache 4.0 tech, support for Microsoft DirectStorage API to enhance gaming performance, and the all-important PCIe Gen 4.0 data transfer standard. The company is also offering a warranty worth five years with its latest WD Black SN770 NVMe SSD.
A price premium for quicker speeds
The San Jose, California-based storage device maker says its latest offering can deliver a peak read speed of up to 5,150 MB/s, but that high-speed transfer rate is limited to the 1 TB and 2 TB storage configurations only. The SSD is available via Western Digital's official website and Best Buy, as well.
For the 500 GB variant, you need to part ways with $74.99, while the 1 TB version costs $110. If you plan on maintaining a massive games library, the 2 TB SSD can be yours for $220. Interestingly, the 2 TB configuration is exclusive to Best Buy, but the online store has the 1 TB and 2TB SSDs listed for $129.99 and $239.99 respectively, a $20 markup over the official asking price.
If you are looking at alternative SSD options for your Steam Deck and the Asus ROG Ally, you can pick between the SABRENT Rocket 2230, SYONCON AP425, and the XPC Technologies X740-2T0 M.2 SSD. You can find iFixit's detailed Steam Deck SSD replacement guide here, while the official support document covering the Asus ROG Ally is listed here.