ASUS ROG Ally X is the latesthandheld gaming consoleto hit the market, and it is the successor to the fairly popular ROG Ally. The new handheld device brings some improvements and upgrades over the previous generation to keep up with what Valve did with theSteam Deck OLED. One of the upgrades ASUS decided to make was the implementation of a standard size M.2 2280 SSD slot rather than a smaller M.2 2230 slot, making storage upgrades much easier.
TheASUS ROG Ally Xcomes with a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD (2280) which is the only option available and, while that is quite a lot of storage on paper, once you start loading up games on the handheld, the storage starts to run out really quickly. Fortunately, the SSD upgrade process is fairly straightforward, but you will lose your data and installation of Windows, the latter of which you can reinstall with ASUS Cloud Recovery. That being said, here are the best M.2 SSDs for your ROG Ally X.
Game Rant’s Picks of the Best M.2 SSDs for ROG Ally X in 2024
Kingston KC3000 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD 2TB
The Kingston KC3000 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD is a high-performing 2280 SSD for PCs and consoles. It is capable of reaching read and write speeds of up to 7000 MB/s. It also comes with an MTBF 2,000,000 hours and a 1600TB endurance. Kingston offers a limited 5-year warranty on this drive as well.
Offering incredibly fast speeds at a mid-range price point, the Kingston KC3000 M.2 2280 2TB SSD is the best storage upgrade you can get for your ROG Ally X. Boasting up to 2TB of storage, which should be more than enough for most users, this SSD will allow you to keep your entire game library on the drive for quick and easy access, without slowing down. This PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD is capable of reaching read and write speeds of up to 7000 MB/s, making it one of the fastest M.2 2280 SSDs on the market.
The Kingston KC3000 uses 3D TLC NAND, which means the NAND cells are stacked on top of each other, which allows for higher capacity and better reliability. It also boasts up to 1,000,000/1,000,000 IOPS for random 4K read and write. In terms of endurance, this drive is rated for an incredible 1.6PBW, which ensures you get consistent and reliable performance for years to come. Along with a high TBW, it has an MTBF or Mean Time Before Failure of 2,000,000 hours and on top of that, Kingston offers a limited 5-year warranty on this drive.
Those looking for asuperfast and high-capacity M.2 driveto add to their ROG Ally X will find the Kingston KC3000 M.2 2280 to be a no-brainer. It is also often discounted, making it an even better value option.
Silicon Power 2TB UD90 M.2 2280
The Silicon Power 2TB UD90 SSD is a budget friendly M.2 2280 SSD offering that is capable of read and write speeds of 5000 MB/s and 4800 MB/s respectively. It comes with all the certifications including CE, RoHS, BSMI, FCC, UKCA, and others, and it has an MTBF of 1,500,000 hours.
Available with a capacity of up to 4TB, the Silicon Power UD90 2TB M.2 SSD is a great budget-friendly offering that not only offers ample storage space but fast transfer speeds as well. Of course, you cannot expect Kingston KC3000’s level of performance from this budget SSD, but that doesn’t mean it is slow by any means. The drive is rated for 5000 MB/s read speeds and 4800 MB/s write speeds, which is respectable.
This PCIe Gen 4x4 will fit perfectly inside the ROG Ally X and offer high speed data transfers, quicker loading times, and faster boot times, once you migrate your OS and games to it. Silicon Power has run all the checks and acquired all the necessary certifications including CE, RoHS, BSMI, FCC, UKCA, WEEE, Green dot, and KC. It has an MTBF of 1,500,000 hours which, again, is not as high as some other offerings, but still very respectable.
The Silicon Power UD90 2TB M.2 SSD also supports Host Memory Buffer (HMB), which improves performance and reduces latency. You get 3D NAND, low density parity check (LDPC) coding, E2E data protection, and support for RAID configuration. Silicon Power also has software that you can use to get a self-monitoring analysis report, extent of consumption, as well as SSD diagnostics.
TEAMGROUP T-Force A440 LITE
The TEAMGROUP T-Force A440 LITE is a PCIe 4-based M.2 SSD that comes with the S.M.A.R.T. monitoring system. It can reach read speeds of up to 7400 MBps and write speeds of up to 6400 MBps. It has solid endurance as well, and it is rated at 1200TB TBW.
Storage is one aspect of computing that has become significantly cheaper over the years and keeps moving in the direction of higher capacities and higher speeds being available for cheap. While the TEAMGROUP T-FORCE A440 LITE is not the cheapest M.2 2280 SSDs for your ROG Ally X, it is definitely not the most expensive, but it can perform at speeds you would expect from more premium offerings.
The TEAMGROUP T-FORCE A440 LITE can reach sequential read speeds of up to 7400 MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 6400 MB/s. This puts it up there with the fastest M.2 2280 SSDs on the market, even surpassing the read speeds of the more expensive Kingston KC3000. It also has an endurance of 1200 TBW or 1.2 PBW, which ensures that you can reliably use the SSD without worrying about losing your data after a few years.
The MTBF for the TEAMGROUP T-FORCE A440 LITE is 1,500,000 hours and the company offers a limited five-year warranty with this SSD. There is no D-RAM cache, but it comes with 3D NAND Flash and a S.M.A.R.T. Monitoring System or Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology system. It is also using a graphene heat sink tokeep things cool under any kind of load, be it gaming or moving large files.
MSI SPATIUM M480 PRO 2TB
The MSI SPATIUM M480 PRO M.2 SSD is a superfast 2280 drive that is compatible with PC, ROG Ally X, and other devices with a PCIe 4.0 or older slot. It is one of the fastest SSDs in this form factor on the market with its read speeds of up to 7400 MB/s and write speeds of up to 7000 MB/s.
If you’re looking for the fastest PCIe 4.0 transfer speeds for no-compromise performance, the MSI SSD SPATIUM M480 PRO is for you. It runs at blazing fast speeds that hit the upper limit of what PCIe 4.0 standard is capable of and delivers read speeds of up to 7400 MB/s. The write speeds are extremely high as well, at 7000 MB/s. As for capacity, you can go up to 4TB, but the 2TB drive stands as the sweet spot in terms of value.
The drive uses 3D NAND to stack memory cells for better reliability. It also carries 2GB DDR4 D-RAM cache and has 1,000,000/1,000,000 IOPS for random 4K read and write. MSI has built some smart features into the SSD, including S.M.A.R.T., TRIM, LDPC, E2E encryption, APST (Autonomous Power State Transition), and AES256/Pyrite (Encryption, Data Security).
In terms of endurance and reliability, the MSI SSD SPATIUM M480 PRO has a TBW of 1400TB and an MTBF of up to 1,600,000 hours, putting it up there with the best M.2 2280 SSDs on the market. You also get five years of warranty from MSI, which is always good to have. Even though the drive will be hidden away inside your ROG Ally X, never to be seen again, it does come with a pleasant looking face instead of an exposed PCB.
Corsair MP600 PRO NH 8TB
The Corsair MP600 PRO NH 8TB is a high-capacity M.2 2280 SSD that can deliver impressive transfer speeds. It is capable of up to 7000MB/s read speeds and up to 6100MB/s write speeds. The SSD comes with insanely high endurance of 6000TBW and an MTBF of 1,600,000 hours.
If budget is of no concern, and you want to get the maximum capacity supported by the ROG Ally X, an 8TB M.2 2280 SSD is what you would be looking for. This is where the Corsair MP600 PRO NH comes in with its incredibly fast transfer speeds and massive 8TB capacity. This drive is capable of reaching up to 7000 MB/s for sequential read speeds and up to 6100 MB/s for sequential write speeds.
The maximum random read and write capabilities are rated at 950K IOPS and 1.2 million IOPS respectively. The Corsair MP600 PRO NH 8TB has an MTBF of 1,600,000 hours and an incredible 6000TBW endurance, which in part is due to its significantly higher capacity. Corsair is using 3D TLC NAND technology to stack memory cells for better reliability. Some of the other features include AES 256-bit encryption, S.M.A.R.T. support, and comes with the company’s comprehensive five-year warranty.
This is not a cheap SSD, costing close to $1000, but when it comes to high-speed 8TB drives, it is among the cheaper options. Those seriously dedicated to gaming on their ROG Ally X who would be interested in investing in this much storage would have to settle with the fact that their storage costs more than the ROG Ally X itself.
Crucial T700 2TB PCIe Gen5 SSD
The Crucial T700 2TB PCIe Gen5 SSD is a blazing fast latest generation SSD that can reach read speeds of up to 12,400 MBps and write speeds of up to 11,800 MBps. It is one of the fastest SSDs on the market and has a solid endurance of 1200TB TBW. Crucial also offers a 5-year limited warranty with this SSD.
While the ASUS ROG Ally X ships with a PCIe 4.0 slot for storage, all PCIe 5.0-based SSDs are backwards compatible, which means you may use a Gen5 M.2 2280 SSD with the Ally X, but you will be limited to PCIe 4.0 speeds. That doesn’t necessarily make PCIe 5.0 something you should ignore, as it is newer technology and should be more reliable, even more so because it is not being pushed to its maximum potential.
That being said, you can get the maximum possible PCIe 4.0 speed with this drive, even though it is capable of much higher. The Crucial T700 2TB M.2 SSD can reach sequential read speeds of up to 12400 MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 11800 MB/s, which makes it one of the fastest PCIe 5.0 drives on the market. Considering that you can have this level of performance at under $200, it is quite impressive.
It uses 3D TLC NAND and comes with an endurance (TBW) of 1200TB. It has all the necessary certifications and protection built in, along with a 5-year limited warranty from the manufacturer.
With this PCIe 5.0 SSD, you will have the latest generation of storage hardware if you ever decide to remove it from your ROG Ally X and use it elsewhere in a PCIe 5.0 slot.
Factors to Consider When Looking for the Best M.2 SSD for the ROG Ally X
Keep these things in mind when choosing a new M.2 SSD for your ROG Ally X to find the best one for you:
Form Factor: The ROG Ally X, unlike the ROG Ally, supports the standard size M.2 2280 SSDs, which presents a wider range of options for customers. With the original Ally, storage options were limited to M.2 2230 drives and there aren’t as many choices in that category. ensure you invest in an M.2 2280 drive and not a 2230 drive.
Capacity: The ROG Ally X comes with 1TB of storage which, in a lot of cases, will be sufficient, but if you wish to have more storage, a 2TB drive should suffice. The 2TB drives are not only high capacity and high speed, but they are also significantly cheaper than their 4TB and 8TB counterparts. The ROG Ally X supports up to 8TB storage, so you don’t necessarily have to stop at 2TB.
Speed: PCIe 4.0 SSDs can deliver transfer speeds in the neighborhood of 7400 MB/s, which means you can look for drives that can read and write at around 7000 MB/s for the best possible performance. These speeds will reduce boot times, game loading times, and improve transfer speeds when moving content onto or off the internal SSD.
Budget: While storage has been getting cheaper and cheaper over the years, the combination of speed, capacity, and generation can raise the price significantly. The storage capacity is a major factor that affects price, so sticking with the 2TB options will be the sweet spot between capacity and cost.
FAQ
Q: What SSD fits the ROG Ally?
The ASUS ROG Ally is compatible with M.2 2230 SSDs, which are more compact than the M.2 2280 SSDs supported by the ROG Ally X.
Q: Does upgrading SSD on ROG Ally void warranty?
No, the two-year warranty will remain intact even if the user changes the internal SSD on the ROG Ally.
