Valve’s upcoming piece of hardware, the Steam Deck, often receives many questions. As pre-orders are still queued for Q2 2022, the wait is mounting quite heavily on consumers. Concerning the performance of new games as well as third-party applications, fans are curious about the internals of the device. Debating on the upgradability and replaceability of the components, many have been quick to assert the ease of these processes. While fans have debated for some time on the practicality of this warning, today Valve has answered several remaining questions. In a new video, Valve takes a Steam Deck t0 teardown and teaches how to replace the thumbstick and SSD to showcase how arduous and risky the procedure is.
How Difficult is it to Replace the SSD on Valve’s Steam Deck Teardown?
Unlike the Xbox Series X/S and PS5, the Steam Deck upgradability is much more difficult. While they both are SSD based systems, the Steam Deck SSD will certainly differ. For one, Valve states that opening the device will ruin the Torx screws in place that are used to keep the device sealed. While advising against the process, the official Valve Steam Deck Teardown video teaches the proper way to disassemble it. While the thumbstick assembly seems like a very simple ribbon cable and 3 screws, the SSD on the other hand is much more difficult.
Valve has a few reasons to advise against the replacement of such a component. For one, the power consumption and electromagnetic interference of a different SSD could interfere with the components or battery. The SSD is also buried deep in the motherboard of the device which is rated for vibrations that can be impacted after a replacement SSD is installed. After disconnecting the battery and screw holding the 2230 SSD, the final step is complete and reassembly is in order. While replacing the SSD might be a bit risky, there is also the microSD card slot to expand the storage of a Steam Deck.
