Add storage to anything that can handle M.2 2230 or 2242

The Team Group MP44S is not your average SSD, as it is designed specifically for portable gaming devices like the Steam Deck or the ASUS ROG Ally. The NVMe 1.4 M.2 2230 drive offers PCIe Gen 4 x4 connectivity provided by the Phison PS5021-E21 and while it lacks DRAM, it does have a 64MB Host-Memory-Buffer. TechPowerUp didn’t have a small console handy so they tested it on a full PC as it will fit without issue.

The SLC cache on the drive is a fair size, their persistent copy test ran at a nice 4GB/s, which plummeted after 231GB, but honestly how many games could fill that cache? Sequential measurements hit 5GB/s, although thermal throttling is a thing on this tiny drive and you may see that drop, though again the drive should finish loading your layer before it becomes too much disturbing.

The two versions of the Team Group MP44S, 1TB and 2TB, cost $78 and $180, just under $0.08/GB, while Steam charges you around $140/TB… not that there’s a 1TB Steam Deck for sale. With prices like these, you could save a lot of money on your gaming rig by upgrading later!