Summary
Crucial has joined the NVMe M.2 2230 storage space with its Crucial P310 SSDs in 1TB and 2TB capacities. Crucial’s parent company Micron has been selling this compact form factor of SSDs for a while now, but not under the Crucial brand. The P310 is the fastest-performing high-capacity M.2 2230 SSD on the market, and they are the perfectupgrade for the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, or other handheld gaming consoles that use the 2230 form factor.
They’re not just limited to handheld gaming devices either. These SSDs can be used in practically any PC (with an adapter or otherwise) and are especially beneficial insmall form factor builds. The 2230 form factor is a smaller version of an M.2 2280 SSD, which is more popular and widely available. The Crucial P310 is still a PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD as this compact form factor is yet to see PCIe 5.0 options. That being said, the new 2230 SSD can achieve incredibly fast read and write speeds, making it the ideal upgrade for any system.
Crucial P310 1TB
The Crucial P310 1TB is an M.2 2230 SSD compatible with the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, Microsoft Surface laptops, and some Dell laptops. The high-performance SSD is capable of 7100 MB/s read speeds and 6000 MB/s write speeds. It has a 220TB endurance and Crucial offers a limited 5-year warranty with the P310.
Crucial P310: Specifications and Performance
The Crucial P310 comes in 1TB and 2TB options and while it would have been great to have a cheaper 512GB option as well, Crucial has decided to stick with the two high-capacity options for now. In a lot of cases, there are some speed differences between different capacities, but that’s not the case with the P310 SSD options. Both storage options can reach sequential read speeds of up to 7100 MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 6000 MB/s.
When it comes to endurance, Crucial has these drives rated for 220TB for the 1TB model and 440TB for the 2TB model. Endurance is calculated in terms of TBW or Terabytes Written, which means these SSDs should perform optimally for 220TB and 440TB respectively, before the memory cells begin to deteriorate and the chances of drive failure increase. Furthermore, it has random read speeds of up to 1M IOPS.
Crucial also says the P310 comes with improved power efficiency, which technically means you should be able to game longer on handheld devices, but the real-world difference will likely be insignificant. The company offers a limited 5-year warranty for the P310 SSD, which is standard for Crucial drives.
Crucial P310: Compatibility
The 2230 form factor of the Crucial P310 makes it ideal for handheld consoles like the Steam Deck LCD, Steam Deck OLED, and the original ROG Ally. The newer ROG Ally X has switched to the M.2 2280 form factor, so these smaller SSDs will not work. The Crucial P310 is also compatible with Microsoft Surface laptops and select Dell models.
The issue with installing a 2230 SSD in a slot that supports a 2280 SSD is not the connection itself but the mounting. The screw hole for keeping the SSD in place will not match the screw hole on the 2230 SSD, which means it may come loose over time, leading to performance issues. However, there are 2230 to 2280 adapters available for fairly cheap that can solve this issue. This would allow you to mount these smaller compact SSDs in larger 2280 slots and use them as they would the regular-sized SSDs.
Steam Deck
Valve’s long-awaited portable console is here, and it’s taking the handheld gaming market by storm. Valve partnered with AMD to create Steam Deck’s custom APU, optimized for handheld gaming. It is a Zen 2 + RDNA 2 powerhouse, delivering more than enough performance to run the latest AAA games in a very efficient power envelope.
Steam Deck OLED
The Steam Deck OLED is the perfect handheld gaming console for gamers who wish to take their games on the go. It brings the entire Steam library in a handheld form factor that is ergonomic, grippy, and easy to use. The OLED model is an upgrade to the standard LCD model of the Steam Deck, and it boasts a slightly larger display that is brighter, sharper and refreshes at 90 Hz.
Asus ROG Ally
The Asus ROG Ally is the ultimate handheld system for PC gamers. Relying on the new AMD Ryzen Z1 series of processors, the ROG Ally can handle any game thrown at it. The 7-inch 1080p Full HD display with FreeSync Premium on the system provides gamers with a crystal clear and smooth gaming experience. The advantage of the ROG Ally is that it can run most Windows-compatible games and is compatible with Xbox Game Pass titles. It also comes with 3 months of Game Pass Ultimate. The ROG Ally also features an ergonomic design that makes gaming for long periods enjoyable.
It should be noted that both the Steam Deck models and the original ROG Ally come with PCIe 3.0 SSD slots, which means the maximum speeds you can get are PCIe 3.0 speeds, even though the PCIe 4.0 drives will work without any issues. However, the PCIe 4.0 drives will be more efficient and sustain peak speeds for longer. The ROG Ally X has a PCIe 4.0 slot, but it only accepts 2280 M.2 SSDs.
Asus ROG Ally X
The ASUS ROG Ally X is the successor to the ROG Ally, and it comes with a host of improvements. It is powered by the same Z1 Extreme APU but comes with 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage with the M.2 SSD being a standard 2280 form factor. There is an additional exhaust vent to keep the mainboard cool.
Crucial P310: Price, Availability, and Competition
The 1TB version of the Crucial P310 is available for $115 onAmazonandNewegg, while the 2TB modelcomes in at $215at both retailers. In terms of pricing, it is somewhat expensive because of the high transfer speeds. For comparison, theCorsair MP600 CORE 2TB SSD is available for $175with the1TB model costing about $80. Granted, the Crucial P310 is much faster than the Corsair offering, which is only capable of 5000 MB/s sequential read and 3800 MB/s sequential write speeds.
Crucial P310 2TB
The Crucial P310 2TB is an M.2 2230 SSD that is compatible with the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, Microsoft Surface laptops, and some Dell laptops. The high performance SSD is capable of 7100 MB/s read speeds and 6000 MB/s write speeds. It has a 440TB endurance and Crucial offers a limited 5-year warranty with the P310.
Micron’s own 2400 M.2 2230 SSDs areavailable for $95and$164for the 1TB and 2TB options respectively. Again, these are much slower than the Crucial P310s.
The only other M.2 2230 SSD that matches the performance of the Crucial P310s is theCorsair MP600 Mini,which can deliver up to 6200 MB/s sequential write speeds and up to 7000 MB/s sequential read speeds. Additionally, only the 2TB version can match P310’s speed, as the 1TB version is much slower. In terms of pricing, the Corsair MP600 Mini 2TB is priced at $230, making the Crucial P310 a better value.
FAQ
Q: What SSD fits in a Steam Deck?
The Steam Deck is compatible with NVMe M.2 2230 SSDs, and it has a PCIe 3.0 slot. It is compatible with PCIe 4.0 SSDs as well.
Q: Can you put a 2TB SSD in a Steam Deck?
Yes, a 2TB SSD will work just fine on the Steam Deck. It will be limited to PCIe 3.0 speeds, but the capacity is not an issue.
