Prime Day SSD Deals Up To 27% Off To Give Your Gaming Handheld A Storage Boost
The sea of PC gaming handhelds has seen a rapid expansion since Valve popularized the category with its Steam Deck. Even Microsoft, which is invested in its Xbox consoles, jumped into the fray with a collaborative effort with ASUS. With the soul of a PC, you can upgrade the storage on the most popular handhelds, and Amazon's Prime Big Deals Day event is an opportune time to do so.
Choose The Right Size SSD For Your Gaming Handheld
Before we get to the SSD storage deals, it's important to note exactly what kind of SSD your handheld supports. In a desktop PC, a full-size M.2 2280 form factor SSD is the most popular, and for that reason, those types of storage drives typically offer the best bang for the buck (though not always anymore). However, there other M.2 size options.
If you own a Steam Deck or original ASUS ROG Ally, you'll want to look for M.2 2230 form factor SSDs. Likewise, MSI's Claw 8 AI+ ships with an M.2 2230 SSD, but can also accept an M.2 2280 SSD. Crucially, however, it has mounting holes for M.2 2230 so that's really the type of SSD you should be focusing on for that handheld.
Overwhelmed? Just reference this handy cheat-sheet we made...
SSD Deals For Your Gaming Handheld
We found several deals on 2TB M.2 2230 SSDs, including the WD_Black SN770M you see pictured above. That drive. It's basically a physically condensed version of the SN770. It features triple-level cell (TLC) 3D NAND flash storage and is rated to deliver speeds of up to 5,150 MB/s (5.15 GB/s).
It's one of the better-priced 2TB models in the M.2 2230 form factor right now, though it's not the only option. Here's a look...
If you own a Lenovo Legion Go, you should be looking at M.2 2242 models. You can also slap one in the Legion Go 2, though that also supports full-size M.2 2280 drives. Anyway, here are a couple 2TB M.2 2242 form factor SSD deals...
- 2TB Acer Predator GM7000 (M.2 2242): $114.99 (18% off)
- 2TB KingSpec NT Series (M.2 2242): $119.99 (20% off)
The sale options are far more limited in the M.2 2242 space, and if you search on your own, be sure you're getting an NVMe model and not a SATA drive.
The field opens up quite a bit when venturing into full-size 2TB M.2 2280 form factor territory. Here are a few models worth looking at...
- 2TB Biwin Black Opal NV7400 (M.2 2280): $101.98 (15% off)
- 2TB Acer FA200 (M.2 2280): $105.99 (15% off)
- 2TB Lexar NM790 (M.2 2280): $109.88 (33% off)
- 2TB Acer Predator GM7000 (M.2 2280): $114.99 (18% off)
- 2TB Samsung 990 Pro (M.2 2280): $133.49 (33% off)
- 2TB Samsung 9100 Pro PCIe 5.0 (M.2 2280): $169.99 (15% off)
There are also a bunch of microSD cards on sale if you prefer to go that route, depending on your handheld. That's the only option for Nintendo's Switch handhelds, by the way. Also, if you bought a Switch 2 (or plan to), bear in mind that it specifically requires a microSD Express card for expandable storage.
Happy storage hunting!
