Valve's Steam Deck has done more for the world of handheld PC gaming than perhaps any other device in history. Reports indicate that the Steam Deck could sell over 3 million units before the end of 2023, and many games have started to add "Steam Deck" settings options to make them run better on the low-power hardware.
All three models of the Steam Deck that Valve sells have similar core features. The only real change is in the storage capacity, as well as the display coating — the most expensive model comes with an anti-glare screen — and a few potential extras in the way of Steam profile options.
The base model comes with a 64GB eMMC storage drive, which uses an mSATA interface. It costs $399, and the upgraded 256GB model, with a full PCIe 3.0 x4 interface, tacks on $130 to the price and sells for $529. Finally, the top model comes with a 512GB SSD and the premium display, for another $120 on top of the middle tier — $649 total.
We don't know precisely how much of the cost is related to the display, but it's likely not more than about $25 in raw costs. Any way you slice it, that's a big upcharge for what still amounts to a relatively pathetic amount of storage — plenty of modern games will happily swallow 50GB or more of your storage, with a growing number passing the 100GB mark.
Perhaps more importantly, SSDs are damn cheap right now. For standard PCs, you can pick up 2TB of capacity for under $100. Of course, that's using the minimum spec devices that aren't likely to perform as well, but even high-performance PCIe 4.0 x4 drives like the WD Black SN850X 2TB start at just $100.
But M.2 2230 SSDs are a different story. Prices aren't terrible, but the 1TB drives start at around $100, while the 2TB drives can cost $200 or more. That's above pricing for standard SSDs. Still, that's far better than what Valve charges, and anyone who knows how to use a screwdriver shouldn't even consider paying extra for a Valve-certified SSD, not when you can get larger and faster drives for less. The only reason to get the 512GB model from Valve is for the premium display, which is a steep price to pay if you're just going to replace the provided storage with something more spacious.
