How to replace the Steam Machine SSD
Overview & Key Takeaways
Now that the Steam Machine is out in peoples’ hands – even if not at the rate Valve might have hoped – it is inevitable that some will want to break it down and start swapping out the components within. Hey, I’ve done it, and while digging all the way to the RAM slots is a pain in the neck, wrist, and fingernails, replacing the Steam Machine’s SSD is dead easy. Here’s how it’s done.
Now that the Steam Machine is out in peoples’ hands – even if not at the rate Valve might have hoped – it is inevitable that some will want to break it down and start swapping out the components within. Hey, I’ve done it, and while digging all the way to the RAM slots is a pain in the neck, wrist, and fingernails, replacing the Steam Machine’s SSD is dead easy. Here’s how it’s done.
Even with SSD prices having blasted into the heavens, and probably not coming back down anytime soon, there are good reasons to upgrade the Steam Machine’s stock drive. With some canny shopping, it’s possible to buy a 512GB Machine, plus a brand-new 2TB SSD, and still end up better off than if you’d plumped for the stock 2TB Machine – especially if you’re able to flog the now-spare 512GB drive on the secondhand market. It’s one way to take the sting out of Valve’s steep prices, anyway.
The list of requisite tools is nice and short, too. You only really need:
- A replacement SSD (either PCIe 4.0 or 3.0, in 2230 or 2280 form factors)
- A Torx T8 or T9 screwdriver
- A USB drive with the SteamOS recovery image on it - see here for how to prep one
A small pair of grippy pliers may also come in handy for installing longer 2280 SSDs specifically, but you might be able to get away without one if you possess stronger fingers than I do. Either way, the process isn’t anywhere near as fiddly as upgrading the Steam Machine’s SSD, so be not afraid if you have unpleasant memories of messing with the storage in Valve’s previous PC design.
How to replace the Steam Machine SSD
Step 1: Grab your screwdriver and loosen the two screws on the back of your Steam Machine. These are captive screws, so they don’t need to (and, in fact, can’t) come out all the way; they just need to be sufficiently loose.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun
Step 2: Lift off the back panel, revealing the Steam Machine’s cooling fan.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun
Step 3: Remove the two silver-coloured screws around the fan assembly - when you’re facing the fan with the HDMI and DisplayPorts at the bottom of the square, the screws you want are positioned at the upper-left and middle-right of the fan. These ones do remove fully, so keep them safe for now.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun
Step 4: Flip the Steam Machine upside-down and remove all four of the screws in the base, taking the rubbery feet with them. Again, put these safely to the side.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun
Step 5: Next up is extracting the internal assembly from the case. This sounds and might look a bit bonkers - yes, you are yanking out basically the Steam Machine’s entire central nervous, circulatory, and digestive systems all at once. But as long as you’ve removed all those screws, and are gripping onto a solid bit of plastic or metal (the outside of the fan is fine, the fan blades are not), it should slide out rather easily.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun
Step 6: On the underside of this main assembly, you’ll spot the stock SSD tucked away in a corner. There’s no Deck-style protective shield to worry about here, so begin the extraction process by removing the lone fastening screw. And as if it needs to be said at this point, keep it safe.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun
Step 7: Simply slide the drive out of the M.2 slot, and it’s free. At this point, if you’re replacing the little 2230 SSD with a 2280 model, you should also move the screw receptacle stud into the empty hole a few centimetres down. This was screwed into the chassis extremely tightly on my Machine, hence me breaking out the pliers, but I’ve heard whispers/read posts by some who’ve managed to unscrew the stud with their hands alone.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun
Step 8: Slot in your new SSD, then grab and replace the fastening screw - you did keep it safe, I’m assuming – to hold it in place. From there, the physical part is just a matter of reassembly. Slide the block of innards back into the Steam Machine’s case, replace the rubbery feet screws, plus the two fan assembly screws, then close the back panel back up and tighten those two captive screws.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun
And there you have it: one Steam Machine SSD installed. Obviously, it still needs an operating system on it, but here my fleeting usefulness is expended, as Valve already have a proper guide on how to create and use SteamOS installation media. You’ll need the aforementioned USB stick, and to download the Rufus utility, but there’s nothing that should really trip you up.
An easier alternative to all of this is, of course, just to slap a microSD card into the Steam Machine’s waiting slot, adding capacity without interfering with the stock drive in the slightest. This is also true of the Steam Deck, though part of microSD’s appeal on the handheld is that it saves you a slightly arduous SSD replacement procedure – one that feels almost impossible without a pry tool to crack open the Deck’s shell. Accessing the internal storage of a Steam Machine is, by comparison, much closer to the kind of childs-play SSD upgrade process you’ll already be used to if you’ve ever built or modified a conventional desktop PC. So long as you keep your screws safe, yes? Yes?
