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Ever since the Steam Deck was announced, eager soon-to-be owners of the portable PC device were curious as to what exactly was inside the machine, and if they might be able to replace some of the parts themselves. Valve has fortunately given some answers to those questions, through a new video they uploaded, giving us a look at what's inside the Steam Deck, through a teardown. It should be noted that while they have provided a tutorial on how to take the Steam Deck apart, and that owners absolutely have the right to do so, they advise that you don't actually open it up. That's because, according to Valve, much like a PC, it's easy to fry components with static electricity, and that interestingly, opening up the device will cause it to permanently be less drop resistant, adding that there is no way to prevent that from happening.

From there, the video details how to replace the thumbstick and SSD. They also warn users to be very careful about replacing the storage in the Steam Deck; not only can certain drives cause overheating issues or worse battery life, but the specific SSD inside the Steam Deck is also designed to not cause interference with the wireless and Bluetooth modules inside. The tightly-packed Steam Deck can have its m.2 drive swapped out, but it appears to be an intricate process, and Valve states to just use the micro SD card slot if you want more room for games. Either way, the video provides an interesting look at the build of the upcoming Steam Deck.

 

[gamesquest1]

Call me cynical but it seems to me the "huge pain" is the whole point of the video. "Hello everyone who plans on buying the cheapest model and then upgrading the disk: it is possible, but it's a huge pain, voids all the warranties, and your deck could explode. Buy the bigger model."

I think most people who instinctively though "im going to upgrade the SSD in it" wouldn't be put off by this teardown, as far as teardowns go this is a good one, no glued down parts or 5 layers with 85 screws of all varying sizes to go through to reach the SSD

I think they exaggerated the difficulty in the video just to dissuade kids doing it and saying "but valve told me to do it and said it was easy"

 

[Dr_Faustus]

>YOU SHOULDN'T DO ANY OF THIS

 

[sith]

WTF valve couldnt afford brass inserts for the case screws? they need that extra few pennys profit so self-tapping screws in cheap plastic it gets? They clearly know it causes major structural weakness and problems in preproduction testing but they choose to just continue to release it instead of fixing the issues they find.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Call me cynical but it seems to me the "huge pain" is the whole point of the video. "Hello everyone who plans on buying the cheapest model and then upgrading the disk: it is possible, but it's a huge pain, voids all the warranties, and your deck could explode. Buy the bigger model."

Well they didn't say it voids the warranty, only that the warranty doesn't cover stuff you break.
Anyway, they overrated how difficult it is. It's just a lot of screws, but you don't even have to unplug any ribbon cables, so there's not much you can break if you follow the steps carefully.

 

[Kioku]

Well they didn't say it voids the warranty, only that the warranty doesn't cover stuff you break.
Anyway, they overrated how difficult it is. It's just a lot of screws, but you don't even have to unplug any ribbon cables, so there's not much you can break if you follow the steps carefully.

I know people who struggle to replace the batteries in their TV remotes. It wouldn't surprise me to see so many people posting and complaining about something that's user error.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I know people who struggle to replace the batteries in their TV remotes. It wouldn't surprise me to see so many people posting and complaining about something that's user error.

I don't think those are the kind of people who would try to upgrade the SSD by themselves. Probably have never seen the inside of a computer before.

 

[SaberLilly]

but they also clearly state "This is pre-release hardware, and the final version may be different" So while we have this video it doesn't really mean anything unless its a production unit. Although i do agree with their stance on user repairability, let's just hope it stays that way.

 

[Gamer90Kirby]

They mentioned replaceable sticks. It almost sounds like a jap at Nintendo's shitty Joy Con drift.

 

[Kioku]

but they also clearly state "This is pre-release hardware, and the final version may be different" So while we have this video it doesn't really mean anything unless its a production unit. Although i do agree with their stance on user repairability, let's just hope it stays that way.

I sincerely doubt much is going to change in terms of the layout. It'd be odd for them to release this video and turn around basically saying "Ha! Gottem!" changing the layout.

 

[ExploitJunkie]

INB4 the countless amount of threads that will be created after a bunch of temptards decide to take this thing apart and complain that it doesn't work anymore. I look forward to the entertainment that ensues.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Valve: You can tinker with the internals, but don't tinker with the internals.
Consumer: HUH?!?!?

 

[Julie_Pilgrim]

Call me cynical but it seems to me the "huge pain" is the whole point of the video. "Hello everyone who plans on buying the cheapest model and then upgrading the disk: it is possible, but it's a huge pain, voids all the warranties, and your deck could explode. Buy the bigger model."

valve could piss on it's customers and everyone would go "i cant believe valve gave us their holy piss no way"

 

[Leqz]

I'm probably overanalyzing this but the video thumbnail style reminded of Louis Rossman video thumbnails. If it's intentional, ain't it a bit a condescending to the right to repair community ? Well at least it isn't as lockdown as the stuff Louis repair most of the time but still.

 

[RAHelllord]

I'm probably overanalyzing this but the video thumbnail style reminded of Louis Rossman video thumbnails. If it's intentional, ain't it a bit a condescending to the right to repair community ? Well at least it isn't as lockdown as the stuff Louis repair most of the time but still.

You have the full right to repair it and they will be offering spare parts to do so, but the point they're trying to make with the video is to only open it yourself as costumer if you're absolutely certain of what you're doing, and if not bring it to a repair shop instead and let them service it for you.

 

[Leqz]

You have the full right to repair it and they will be offering spare parts to do so, but the point they're trying to make with the video is to only open it yourself as costumer if you're absolutely certain of what you're doing, and if not bring it to a repair shop instead and let them service it for you.

Ahh, I'm misunderstood then. I'm sorry and thanks for clarifying

 

[ciaomao]

Lol starting off with some very heavy lies, static electricity is almost impossible to cause real damage

Say that my customer who had to buy an ionizer, as he has previously destroyed many touchscreens during the integration, only by removing protective films in the wrong way. The lesson came to him expensive.

 

[BeanMKW]

DONT OPEN THE STEAM DECK AT 3 AM!!!!!1!!111!!!!!!!

(GABEN CAME TO MY HOUSE) (GONE WRONG)

 

[kaz321123]

don't do dat -terminator