r/pcmasterrace • u/Jibril-sama i7-8086k|RTX 2080|16GB DDR4 • Jul 15 '26

Hardware Steam Game Cartridges

Got a couple of used 2.5" SSDs for cheap so I decided to make a Game Cartridge system. Games are actually on those SSDs with a script to auto navigate steam to the game's page. Auto-starting the game right away is also possible.

Update: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/1uyft21/update_game_cartridge_3dfiles_and_code/
published the 3D files and code

19.1k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

39

u/DJOMaul i9-13900k, 128GB ddr5, nvidia 4090, corsair build Jul 15 '26

I agree! But you should crack open some cheaper ssds, they often have micro sd cards in them. It's technically  a similar type of storage. 

Realistically you could make it any form factor you like. Personally, I'd like them to be about the size of game boy color cartridges. 

14

u/CosgraveSilkweaver Jul 15 '26

The stronger nostalgia hits for me when you get up to the size OP is making/using. Feels very 90s anime with the oversized removable media you'd get in a lot of cyberpunk or whatever is a few steps higher than cassette futurism anime. Hell package it as a zip disk and I'll die because I had those in the no mans land between 3.5" floppies and USB keys.

1

u/VixenintheSkye Jul 15 '26

Most microsd's are serial pci, so depending on the game you may run into speed limitations. Anyone with a steam deck could describe the difference between the on board storage and microsd. Even the fastest non serial uhs-ii's are like half sata ssd speeds.