Game sizes have been trending upwards, especially for AAA titles like the Call of Duty franchise, where a single install could be over 100GB. That's a big problem for the Steam Deck or any of the best PC gaming handhelds, which often ship with 512GB or 1TB of storage. The good news is that more companies are making 2TB capacity M.2 2230 NVMe SSDs, and we're reviewing one today, the Crucial P310. This tiny SSD packs a surprisingly large amount of speedy SSD storage, at a competitive price.

While most SSD replacements for handhelds, like the ROG Ally, have relatively slow speeds compared to NVMe drives designed for desktop use, the Crucial P310 is an outlier. It has a maximum transfer speed of 7,100MB/s, slightly ahead of the Corsair MP600 Mini (2TB), which we gave a nearly perfect score to. That makes it possibly the best SSD for handheld consoles using the smaller 2230 form factor.

About this review: Crucial sent us the Crucial P310 (2TB) for the purposes of this review, and the company had no input into its contents.

Price, specs, and availability

The Crucial P310 2230 M.2 SSD was released on July 17, 2024. It comes in 1TB and 2TB capacities, with a MSRP of $115 and $215, respectively. It's available directly from Crucial, and from retailers like Amazon, and B&H Photo. Intended for use on handheld gaming consoles like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, its diminutive size means no space for DRAM, but that's fine for loading games.

What I like

The fastest 2230 SSD around

This drive is intended for handheld gaming consoles, and the only one I have on hand that uses a 2230 SSD is the Steam Deck. The PCIe 3.0 interface in that console doesn't show how fast this drive can be though, so I tested it in a PCIe adapter on my gaming PC, which runs a Ryzen 9 7900X. That way, I can verify how well the drive performs compared to the manufacturer's specifications.

Performance matters most on these small SSDs, and the Crucial P310 blew me away. It's the fastest 2230-style SSD we've tested, and it's almost as fast as our PCIe 4.0 SSD king, the Samsung 990 Pro, in sequential workloads and also faster in random performance. It outperformed the marketing numbers, which is awesome to see.

Scores are measured in MB/s.

We also fired up 3DMark Storage Benchmark to test the Crucial P310 with gaming workloads like installation and loading. The P310 was once again one of the fastest SSDs we've tested of this type, performing similarly to the Corsair MP600 Mini, and well ahead of the other 2230-style SSDs we've checked out.

Like any other SSD, the performance will decrease somewhat as the drive is filled. As long as you leave around 10 or 15% to spare though, you won't notice the slower transfer speeds in everyday use. And with 2TB of capacity, you'll be able to put enough of your game library onto it in the meantime.

What I don't like

Spoiler: not much

There is very little I can find to dislike about the Crucial P310. The original selling price of the 2TB was $265, which placed it on the expensive side, but with a revision to $215, it's at a much more competitive price point now. I'd also like Crucial to include an adapter to use in the Legion Go, which uses 2242-style SSDs that are slightly longer, so that would expand their addressable market. The problem for Crucial is that it launched at a time when new gaming handhelds like the ROG Ally X are using desktop-sized 2280 NVMe drives, some of which can hold up to 8TB. It's still a compelling replacement for the SSD in the ROG Ally, Steam Deck, and MSI Claw, so it does currently meet the needs of an important niche market.

Should you buy the Crucial P310?

You should buy the Crucial P310 2TB if:

• You want the best performing 2230 SSD
• You want more storage for your Steam Deck or ROG Ally
• You want a faster SSD for your handheld gaming console

You should NOT buy the Crucial P310 2TB if:

• You own an Asus ROG Ally X or Lenovo Legion Go
• You don't necessarily need the fastest drive
• You want a more cost-effective SSD

The Crucial P310 is the fastest 2230-style SSD on the market. Its quality is indisputable - but how long will the market continue to use this form factor? That said, many gaming handhelds will likely stick with smaller SSDs, as they do save precious space inside a crowded chassis. The 2TB Crucial P310 has ample storage capacity for your portable gaming library and the speed to load those games quickly, which is all you can ask from any storage drive.