It’s getting easier to buy bigger SSDs for the Steam Deck and Surface PCs

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Enlarge / Microsoft's Surface devices have user-replaceable SSDs, but it's difficult to find them in the right (physical) size. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

Microsoft's Surface devices had a well-deserved reputation for being impossible to repair in their early years, but Microsoft has sought to change that more recently. Newer Surfaces feature detailed repair manuals and, at least in theory, easily upgradeable SSDs.

I say "in theory" because it hasn't been as simple as going out, buying a drive, and installing it. The Surface's storage slot uses the standard M.2 interface, and most devices make it easy to access, but the PCs use relatively rare 30-mm-long drives that most of the big SSD makers simply don't offer to regular consumers. This has made it harder to do that old tech-savvy money-saving trick: buying a 128GB or 256GB version of a computer and upgrading it with a 512GB or 1TB drive for a fraction of what the company would charge you to do it.

But that's slowly changing. Some of the smaller-but-still-reputable SSD makers like Sabrent and Inland have finally started offering 30 mm-long versions of some of their SSDs complete with retail packaging and standard warranties. Until recently, the best way to get upgrades for these drives was to buy a warranty-less, possibly used white-label drive from the likes of Newegg or eBay. So being able to buy SSDs in full retail packaging with actual warranties is an improvement.

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