If say I bought the cheapest variant, could the same type of SSD upgrades fit in it, just as they would the mid and higher tier steamdecks?
The only thing you’d be missing is the anti-glare screen that comes with the top model.
I have a matte screen protector instead, does well enough for me!
And you can always get an anti-glare screen protector
I bought the lowest level Steam Deck, cracked it open before I even turned it on. Replaced it with a 1TB Sabrent drive. Couldn’t be happier.
i did the same but mine was from a windows surface from someone off ebay. threw it in an external housing and ran software, cant remember the name but the one everyone recommends for this, and it was legit. if youre handy with a screwdriver and can follow basic instructions on flashing the software its fairly easy. just make sure you have the right size bit as the screws are easy to strip. i saw a post on reddit about a guy taking a hammer to his. dont be that guy.
There are some minor hardware differences depending on when you bought your deck and random chance. If you buy a brand new deck for example you may find you have a different heat shield than in most of the older tutorial videos for the deck.
Another example of differences is that two different styles of thumbstick were used, and until recently you were limited in what replacement thumbstick upgrades would work depending on which type you had (now they have universal upgrades that work with both kinds).
Yes.
Awesome. Thank you.
theres a screen replacement that can be done. but personally id rather have an oled 720p screen at 7" than a higher resolution one. the deck is pushing its limits as it is and adding more resolution will hurt that more than anything. or maybe im wrong idk.
This is the way to go. Personally I prefer the glossy screen over the matte anyway.
I believe valve suggests not changing the ssd, voids the warranty and all that as well. For me I just got a proper sd card with good stats (A2, class 10, etc.)
That said, I feel like they should be swappable if you were to get your hands on one of the bigger ssds
3.0 Exclusions
The Limited Warranty does not apply if the Hardware:
has been modified or repaired by anyone except a Valve-designated service center and the cause of the issue for which you seek service is the modification or repair, or damage caused by either;Quote from Valve Hardware Warranty.
In other words, simply changing SSD doesn’t void warranty, but damaging the Steam Deck in the process of doing so does.
I did this for a while until recently I put in a 2TB SSD and the performance difference is night and day.