This Steam Deck OLED Memory Mod Doubles RAM To 32GB If You're Brave
A determined modder has finally cracked the code to upgrading the memory on Valve's Steam Deck OLED handheld. Isaac from SlickBuys Mods and Repair posted a video of the mod to YouTube, and in it, he explains that this has been a near-daily requested tutorial for the past two years, ever since he performed the same type of modification to the ASUS ROG Ally.
Before we get to the mod, let's talk about the Steam Deck OLED's base specifications. Valve offers up two SKUs, one with 512GB of solid state drive (SSD) storage priced at $549, and a 1TB model priced at $649. Both feature a 7.4-inch OLED display with a 1280x800 resolution, 90Hz refresh rate, and HDR support.
Both models also feature a custom 6nm AMD APU that is made up of a 4-core/8-thread Zen 2 processor clocked at 2.4GHz to 3.5GHz and eight RDNA 2 compute units chugging along at up to 1.6GHz, plus 16GB of LPDDR5-6400 memory that is soldered to the handheld's printed circuit board (PCB).
Isaac's mod doubles the memory capacity to 32GB, though it's not for the faint of heart. Unlike a desktop PC or some laptops, you can't just go in and add or replace removable memory modules. Instead, the mod requires busting out the soldering iron, removing and replacing the memory modules, and even removing and fussing with the BIOS chip.
According to Isaac, the reason why this mod took so long to come to fruition is because the necessary higher density memory chips were not available to purchase until now. Isaac says the chips cost around $110. What's really required, though, is a bit of elbow grease and a willingness to embark on a risky modification.
The mod begins by opening up the Steam Deck OLED and removing the motherboard. From there, the process involves heating up the PCB and the pair of memory 8GB LPDDR5 chips that are going to replaced, followed by a good cleaning of the contact points. Once they are removed, they get replaced them with 16GB LPDDR5 memory chips. However, the process has only begun.
After the memory swap, it's time to remove the BIOS chip and put it onto a USB programmer. Why is that? It needs to be dumped, erased, and reprogrammed to recognize and accept the new memory chips and capacity, and then reinstalled. This is a whole other process in and of itself, with its own risks.
If you get this far without issue, you would then reassemble the Steam Deck OLED and hope it powers on and functions. Isaac states in his tutorial that this initial reboot requires having the charging cable plugged in, and that it takes about a minute and 10 seconds for the system to retrain the new memory.
Its' a risky mod for sure, albeit a fun one if you're handy with a soldering iron and like to tinker. Alternatively, Isaac offers this service for a fee, though you'll have to reach out to him through its SlickBuys Mods and Repairs website for a quote.
