Framework now offers Steam-Deck-sized SSDs, just because it can

For Steam Deck and Microsoft Surface owners looking to get more SSD storage (and for less money) than they typically offer, there’s an unexpected new source. That’s Framework, a repairable laptop company.

Seeing a reputable vendor’s need for smaller M.2 drives, the company decided to “add one more item” to its regular Western Digital drive orders. As such, the company has started offering his 2TB M.2 2230 drive for $300 in stores in the US and Canada. As of this writing, the drive is sold out, but you can sign up to be notified when it’s back in stock.

Nirav Patel, Founder and CEO of Framework, describes the move as “an interesting opportunity to enable upgrades to another popular consumer electronics product, the Steam Deck.” Patel says, “It can be difficult to find a legitimate source for large capacity drives,” like his 2TB SN740 2230 model from Western Digital, offered by Framework. Patel links iFixit’s guides to upgrading Steam Deck and Surface devices, asking Framework fans to let the company know about other ways to “help find upgrades for other products.” GPUS” is not worth mentioning.

As we mentioned in our article on the prevalence of small SSD drives, these drives aren’t cheap, but they offer significant savings over the prices of the big OEM vendors.

Upgrading the Surface Laptop Go 2 from a 128GB SSD to 256GB will cost you $50-$100 if purchased from Microsoft or other retailers, and larger drives are not available. Microsoft charges $300 to upgrade the Surface Pro 9 from a 256GB SSD to 512GB, and $600 to upgrade from 256GB to 1TB. Steam Deck’s various price points have other non-storage-related benefits, but going from the base model’s slow 64GB of eMMC storage to a 256GB SSD will cost you at least $130.

Also, buying from names like Western Digital through the framework could be a better bet than buying from eBay or other lesser-known vendors in the marketplace. These drives don’t come with a framework label, so they don’t come with the company’s one-year warranty, but they do have a 30-day return policy and more support options. The framework’s warranty language suggests that handling of actual malfunctions or failures is handled by Western Digital.