Up to 61 TB of storage space on Steam Deck? It’s possible, but not within everyone’s reach.

Relatively simple modifications to the Steam Deck – but absolutely overpriced – allow unprecedented storage capacity.

Since the release of the Steam Deck in the first half of 2022, most portable consoles available on the market suffer from the same “illness”: relatively reduced storage capacity.

Problem is, if some like the AYANEO 2S can be equipped with a 2280 SSD, the most widespread format, the Steam Deck or the ROG Ally are forced to use units in the 2230 format. Finally, it’s not all actually true…

61.44 TB in U.2 15 mm format

Having too much free time, Jordan Ranous actually decided to take advantage of the “ numerous toys available at StorageReview premises », the site for which he officiates.

THE ” toy » which is mainly in question here is a professional SSD, the P5336 that the Solidigm brand distributes in several formats and in particular a 15 millimeter U.2 model. Although the name sounds like our M.2 SSDs, the product is actually much closer to the standard 2.5-inch format, even if the SATA connection is not used.

The Solidigm P5336 also and above all stands out for its absolutely prodigious storage capacity of 61.44 TB. A capacity which therefore gave ideas to Jordan Ranous: to explode the available space of the Steam Deck.

55.7 TB of space available on the Steam Deck

The main interested party obviously does not aim to give a kind of step-by-step guide: even if the cost per gigabyte of the P5336 is average, its 61.44 TB makes it an inaccessible product… well, except for Jordan Ranous who has gathered some accessories for his business.

The U.2 format actually involves using an external M.2 to U.2 adapter… because there is obviously no question of fitting the P5336 into the Steam Deck case. To accommodate the SSD, an Icy Dock box was used and an ATX power supply was also necessary since the console’s M.2 port is not intended for such a device.

Jordan Ranous explains that in reality, he did not experience any particular problem in completing his assembly and praises the “openness and flexibility of Valve’s design” at this level. Once the P5336 was plugged in and after using the image system set up by Valve, it was possible to easily recognize the SSD, formatted at 55.7 TB.

The performance then noted is nothing extraordinary, but with 3,600 MB/s in sequential reading, we remain well above what the Steam Deck’s internal SSD offers (2,300 MB/s). Note that the P5336 is limited here by the PCIe Gen 3 interface of the Valve console. A montage “for the beauty of the gesture” that we salute here, even if it will obviously not be intended to serve as an example.

Source : Storage Review