Sabrent has announced a new solution to the slowdown of Steam Deck (open in new tab) SSDs: the Rocket 2230, a small form factor PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD that fits perfectly in the Steam Deck. 256GB, 512GB and 1 TB capacities, this could be the mini PCIe Gen 4 SSD I've been waiting for.

For some time, Steam Deck users have been chasing a better NVMe SSD solution. However, finding a reliable, fast, and readily available SSD in the right form factor has proven to be a more difficult task than expected.

Of course, one could say, "I know, I can just stick a 2242 drive in the Steam Deck's 2230-sized M.2 slot. But Steam Deck's designers warn that such a move would "severely shorten the life of the Deck (opens in new tab)."

So let's get back to looking for a 2230 NVMe drive.

Sabrent is not the first manufacturer to launch a 2230 form factor M.2-bound SSD, but most manufacturers have not been able to match the speeds seen in larger form factor SSDs.

Samsung has its own 2230 solution in the form of the PM991, with read speeds of about 2,400 MB/s and write speeds of 1,950 MB/s. Dell offered us a Class 35 2230 NVMe SSD (opens in new tab), but honestly, no one knows how fast this SSD will be, as we cannot even find a review.

Kioxia updated its 2230 SSD lineup in November 2021 to include the PCIe 4.0 BG5 series, but with sequential read/write speeds of only 3,500 MB/sec and 2,900 MB/sec respectively for the 1TB model, Whatever Sabrent's latest claims, there's a good chance they'll be covered in dust.

The Gen4 Sabrent Rocket 2230 is said to deliver 4,750 MB/sec read speeds and 4,300 MB/sec write speeds, up to three times the write performance of the Steam Deck.

Valve's official teardown video shows how to safely remove the Steam Deck SSD (opens in new tab),

but is accompanied by the warning, "Commercial SSDs may cause problems. Increased power consumption is one potential problem, "which can cause overheating and reduced battery life."

Replacing SSDs can also cause electromagnetic and mechanical interference, Valve notes; SSDs are in close proximity to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules and several other components, and new SSDs have "different emission patterns may have, which could spoil connectivity or simply vibrate incorrectly, causing other components to stop working properly.

Thermal modules are also closely related to SSDs, so don't mess with them unless you are confident you know what you are doing.

Aside from this disclaimer, the Sabrent Rocket 2230 is "expected to arrive in our warehouse shortly," according to Sabrent. No word on pricing, however. In any case, we should be able to get one for testing soon, so wish us luck in swapping that bad boy. If we don't completely brick the deck for review, we'll have a look at the Steam Deck benchmark soon.