The answer is, yes, the SSD change will indeed come at a cost, but according to comments Valve provided to PC Gamer, it won’t be a big one. Basically, file transfer speeds will be slower in rare cases, but due to various hardware bottlenecks, the Deck wasn’t really using the full bandwidth of the 4x SSD most of the time and thus gameplay should be largely unaffected. As for why the change was quietly made, Valve chalks it up to a supplier issue. The unspoken, is that Valve likely expanded their supplier pool in order to produce Steam Decks more quickly. Steam Deck Q3 reservation emails start going out today, so check that inbox if you pre-ordered. What do you think? Is Valve’s explanation adequate? Or does the SSD downgrade affect your desire for a Deck?

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