If you're going to main your games on a steam deck, definitely go with one of the higher GB versions.
this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2025
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Steam Hardware
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Depends how many games you have on the go at once and how fast your internet is, I've never felt limited by the 256GB model
I haven't had any issues just running games off a microSD card.
$320
335,20€
$399.20
256GB ought to be enough for anyone!
I run most of my games off an SD card and it's been fine.
(It seems people have not heard of the Bill Gates 640KB quote and/or my delivery is off)
It's definitely not enough, I filled it in no time. SD card works fine for me, tho.
And even if it is not, upgrading the ssd was really easy.
As a secondary device to play games besides my big PC, yes. But lot of people have no other PC and the Steam Deck is the only device. Given that some games come at 100gb install size, and people want to install multiple games, 256gb can be low. I use internal space for Steam games and all stuff, and have an 512gb external card just for emulators and Roms.
Hence me saying games run fine off an SD card after a reference to a quote falsely attributed to Bill Gates 😁
I originally bought a Steam Deck to travel with but I feel it was just too big. I recently bought an Asrock BC-250 and have it setup with Sunshine. Now I use my Retroid Pocket 5 and Moonlight. Much more of a manageable size for traveling
I wish the steam deck was a tablet with detachable controllers. It would open up the door to more sales.
Sooo, a Switch?
Would it though? If you are using it with a controller, it's probably plugged into the tv, at which point you can just connect controllers to it with Bluetooth.
The switch style controller is cute but mostly a gimmick imo.
Yeah, it was a novelty when the Switch came out, but how often do those crappy little joycons actually get used separated? Anyone who's planning to play local multiplayer a lot will have multiple regular controllers.
It would make it more expensive and less durable. However being able to replace the controllers would definitely by nice, or even buy alternative builds with different buttons. But then, Valve couldn't possibly hit the price with such an expensive luxurious feature.
Have you tried opening it up? Replacing the controller elements is pretty easy. The board is well laid out and everything is clearly labeled. Even replacing the thumbsticks is a piece of cake.
There are some very fragile ribbon cables in there that need to be disconnected to get to the areas with the controller stuff
It's still not something most people are comfortable with. I am not a stranger to building PCs, so not talking for myself here. It would be much easier to replace controllers like on Switch or a regular game controller. Also being able to have a different buttons and layout configuration would be really cool for a PC handheld, as the system itself is very flexible.
I've got a Steam deck and a Legion Go. The detachable controls are amazing on the Legion. Adds a lot of versatility to the device!