Support NeoGAF

[In Cold Blood]

So over on places like Aliexpress you can buy generic expansion cards for the Xbox Series consoles. They also sell the empty housings for you to do it yourself.
Has anyone tried them and do they work? They are a bit cheaper.
AU $254.78 29%OFF | Xbox Expansion external storage Card Voor Serie X xbox Serie S 1TB 2TB Solid State Drive-Nvme Uitbreiding Ssd Voor xbox
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMNwaI6

 

[Hendrick's]

They may work, but it would be a gamble.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Wait until some Youtuber gets a free sample and tests them out first.

Microsoft- Get your @#!* Together and stop making people look to shady places to buy some weird work around for your 2-year-old mistake of a storage expansion.
2 years now and nothing available. Not a damn thing.
Piece of shit idea.
It's embarrassing at this point 2 years and it's a proven FAILURE of an idea.
Failure in every possible way. I can't use that card anywhere other than the ONE box that I own. What is the freeeking point? I can't move it to my PC, I can't use it in a different device.
If I sell my xbox I have to sell the expansion card along with it. What a HORRIBLE Consumer piece of SHIT.

 

[wipeout364]

The prices are not that different from Xbox ones. Would have to be significantly less for me to gamble with some company I have never heard of.

 

[Hoddi]

AFAIK you can't just plug any drive into those housing adapters. You'll apparently need very specific WD drives which are also very expensive on Ebay.

I don't know if I'd trust them but I'd personally rather buy one that comes with an SSD. There's a lot of trash on Ali but scams are kind of a separate issue.

 

[Topher]

The prices are not that different from Xbox ones. Would have to be significantly less for me to gamble with some company I have never heard of.

Exactly what I was going to say. $30-ish dollars difference. Not worth it.

Amazon.com: Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S 1TB Solid State Drive - NVMe Expansion SSD (STJR1000400) : Video Games

Shop Amazon for Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S 1TB Solid State Drive - NVMe Expansion SSD (STJR1000400) and find millions of items, delivered faster than ever.

www.amazon.com

 

[Hoddi]

Exactly what I was going to say. $30-ish dollars difference. Not worth it.

Amazon.com: Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S 1TB Solid State Drive - NVMe Expansion SSD (STJR1000400) : Video Games

Shop Amazon for Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S 1TB Solid State Drive - NVMe Expansion SSD (STJR1000400) and find millions of items, delivered faster than ever.

www.amazon.com

Depends on where you live. I bought my official drive for 40k ISK but the one linked in the OP is 24k ISK.

OP seems to be Dutch.

 

[01011001]

So over on places like Aliexpress you can buy generic expansion cards for the Xbox Series consoles. They also sell the empty housings for you to do it yourself.
Has anyone tried them and do they work? They are a bit cheaper.
AU $254.78 29%OFF | Xbox Expansion external storage Card Voor Serie X xbox Serie S 1TB 2TB Solid State Drive-Nvme Uitbreiding Ssd Voor xbox
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMNwaI6

this thing isn't viewable in some regions, a screenshot would help

 

[Topher]

this thing isn't viewable in some regions, a screenshot would help

Description:

Storage Expansion Card Voor xbox Serie X xbox Serie S 1TB 2TB Solid State Drive-Nvme Uitbreiding Ssd Voor xbox​

Technical Specifications​

- Interface: CFexpress Type B
- Dimension: 110*32*7mm
- Net weight: about 46g
Note：
1. the games need to be downloaded by yourself.
2. the hard disk is used to expand the host memory.
3. We don't offer game downloads
4. The appearance features of this product are detailed in the main drawing

* Seamless Gameplay*:
Seamlessly play Xbox X Series games from an internal SSD or expansion card without sacrificing graphics, latency, loading time or frame rate

*High Capacity*:
Overall about 953GB capacity of Xbox Series X|S - enables mass storage without sacrificing performance, and can collect thousands of games across four generations of Xbox

* for Xbox Special*:
The only available expansion card that replicates the Xbox velocity Architecture - providing faster load times, richer environments, and more immersive gaming experiences

*Fast Recovery*:
Switch multiple titles directly from an internal SSD or expansion card in seconds
Note: the actual capacity of each hard disk will vary,which is about 953GB. Please refer to the material object received.

Note: the actual capacity of each hard disk will vary,which is about 953GB. Please refer to the material object received.


The capacity of each card varies?

 

[01011001]

Description:

Storage Expansion Card Voor xbox Serie X xbox Serie S 1TB 2TB Solid State Drive-Nvme Uitbreiding Ssd Voor xbox​

Technical Specifications​

- Interface: CFexpress Type B
- Dimension: 110*32*7mm
- Net weight: about 46g
Note：
1. the games need to be downloaded by yourself.
2. the hard disk is used to expand the host memory.
3. We don't offer game downloads
4. The appearance features of this product are detailed in the main drawing

* Seamless Gameplay*:
Seamlessly play Xbox X Series games from an internal SSD or expansion card without sacrificing graphics, latency, loading time or frame rate

*High Capacity*:
Overall about 953GB capacity of Xbox Series X|S - enables mass storage without sacrificing performance, and can collect thousands of games across four generations of Xbox

* for Xbox Special*:
The only available expansion card that replicates the Xbox velocity Architecture - providing faster load times, richer environments, and more immersive gaming experiences

*Fast Recovery*:
Switch multiple titles directly from an internal SSD or expansion card in seconds
Note: the actual capacity of each hard disk will vary,which is about 953GB. Please refer to the material object received.

Note: the actual capacity of each hard disk will vary,which is about 953GB. Please refer to the material object received.


The capacity of each card varies?

thx

looks similar to those adaptor cards that needed a specific SSD and other steps to work. those didn't work well if I remember correctly, with one video I saw stating that the console only detects the card when it feels like it and sometimes it loses connection mid game.

so I'd say that's not worth it....

 

[THE DUCK]

So far not worth the savings, hopefully something gives.......

 

[Corndog]

So far not worth the savings, hopefully something gives.......

I hope in the future Xbox let’s other third parties make official storage devices.

 

[UltimaKilo]

Wait until some Youtuber gets a free sample and tests them out first.

Microsoft- Get your @#!* Together and stop making people look to shady places to buy some weird work around for your 2-year-old mistake of a storage expansion.
2 years now and nothing available. Not a damn thing.
Piece of shit idea.
It's embarrassing at this point 2 years and it's a proven FAILURE of an idea.
Failure in every possible way. I can't use that card anywhere other than the ONE box that I own. What is the freeeking point? I can't move it to my PC, I can't use it in a different device.
If I sell my xbox I have to sell the expansion card along with it. What a HORRIBLE Consumer piece of SHIT.

I have no issues with mine; works great, we'll integrated and so small and sleek. The OS could do a better job utilizing it though.

 

[THE DUCK]

I hope in the future Xbox let’s other third parties make official storage devices.

That would be nice......nobody knows how long the Seagate deal is for.

 

[Godot25]

So over on places like Aliexpress you can buy generic expansion cards for the Xbox Series consoles. They also sell the empty housings for you to do it yourself.
Has anyone tried them and do they work? They are a bit cheaper.
AU $254.78 29%OFF | Xbox Expansion external storage Card Voor Serie X xbox Serie S 1TB 2TB Solid State Drive-Nvme Uitbreiding Ssd Voor xbox
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMNwaI6

If you want to bypass official product there is probably cheaper way to do it.

Buy a NVMe to CF Express adapter and then put WD CH SN530 into it. It has to be CH SN530. PC SN530 would not work.

But that's only if you have access to cheap CH SN530. Otherwise it's not worth it.

 

[NeonGhost]

We they do a redesign of the console I’m betting they will have a nvme slot

 

[anthony2690]

I paid £375 for a 2tb official one.

 

[The_Mike]

A little unrelated, but it's so insane that a xbox series s, that lacks ssd storage, costs the same as an series x if you buy additional storage.

 

[The Shepard]

You can get a 4tb one for ps5 cheaper than the 1tb one for xbox, it's absolutely crazy and I refuse to by one till the prices drop considerably. Should be £100 tops for a 1tb.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Wait until some Youtuber gets a free sample and tests them out first.

Microsoft- Get your @#!* Together and stop making people look to shady places to buy some weird work around for your 2-year-old mistake of a storage expansion.
2 years now and nothing available. Not a damn thing.
Piece of shit idea.
It's embarrassing at this point 2 years and it's a proven FAILURE of an idea.
Failure in every possible way. I can't use that card anywhere other than the ONE box that I own. What is the freeeking point? I can't move it to my PC, I can't use it in a different device.
If I sell my xbox I have to sell the expansion card along with it. What a HORRIBLE Consumer piece of SHIT.

Mine works fine? Not a failure, imo.

 

[Lasha]

Mine works fine? Not a failure, imo.

Price is why its a failure. Especially if you want to expand a series S.

 

[Gobjuduck]

The 1tb is all you could ever need really. Plus if you are short on storage just move the games you don’t play often on a cheaper external.

Xbox is so user friendly with its storage management, intelligence level has to be very low to not find an easy solution to storage “issues”.

 

[Quasicat]

I bought a PNY 1TB card from AliExpress for my Switch, which lasted a couple of weeks. After calling PNY, they confirmed it was a fake and that they would not support it. The same thing happened on Amazon with a smaller card for my old camera a few years ago.

I now only buy memory from local retailers. Yeah, I paid $189 for the Xbox 1TB ssd last month, but it’s worth the peace of mind knowing that it’s real.

 

[Bojanglez]

I bought a PNY 1TB card from AliExpress for my Switch, which lasted a couple of weeks. After calling PNY, they confirmed it was a fake and that they would not support it. The same thing happened on Amazon with a smaller card for my old camera a few years ago.

I now only buy memory from local retailers. Yeah, I paid $189 for the Xbox 1TB ssd last month, but it’s worth the peace of mind knowing that it’s real.

Amazon Basics SD Cards FTW

 

[calistan]

Amazon Basics

 

[Bonfires Down]

Phil has done a lot of good stuff but there’s no way to defend the insane prices of Xbox storage expansions.

 

[Magic Carpet]

I have no issues with mine; works great, we'll integrated and so small and sleek. The OS could do a better job utilizing it though.

Mine works fine? Not a failure, imo.

Yes they work as Series storage just fine. My 1TB is being used as advertised.

But the nashing of teeth at having paid full launch price for it. I just want to crawl under a rock.

 

[soulbait]

Wait until some Youtuber gets a free sample and tests them out first.

Microsoft- Get your @#!* Together and stop making people look to shady places to buy some weird work around for your 2-year-old mistake of a storage expansion.
2 years now and nothing available. Not a damn thing.
Piece of shit idea.
It's embarrassing at this point 2 years and it's a proven FAILURE of an idea.
Failure in every possible way. I can't use that card anywhere other than the ONE box that I own. What is the freeeking point? I can't move it to my PC, I can't use it in a different device.
If I sell my xbox I have to sell the expansion card along with it. What a HORRIBLE Consumer piece of SHIT.

Well that is quiet the hot take. I didn't realize people were so mad about this. Sure, maybe unhappy about the cost, but this is really odd.

BTW, you can move the storage expansion from console to console with no issue if you configure the storage so it can. This is great for people who have more than one console in their house or they want to take games over to a friend's house.

Calling it a failure is a little much, don't you think?

 

[Magic Carpet]

You can get a 4tb one for ps5 cheaper than the 1tb one for xbox, it's absolutely crazy and I refuse to by one till the prices drop considerably. Should be £100 tops for a 1tb.

Calling it a failure is a little much, don't you think?

Yes I call this an absolute in all ways failure. Microsoft consumers got the raw end of the deal here.

 

[AJUMP23]

If it was $20 to $50 for a generic one, I would check it out, but at those prices, not interested.

 

[SportsFan581]

Just wait for a sale or get an official one used. I got a great deal on a 1TB card and have been extremely happy with it, works exactly like the default drive (no asterisks needed).

 

[UltimaKilo]

Yes they work as Series storage just fine. My 1TB is being used as advertised.

But the nashing of teeth at having paid full launch price for it. I just want to crawl under a rock.

They are indeed pricey. I picked one up on eBay, but it was still expensive. Still worth it, though.

 

[soulbait]

Yes I call this an absolute in all ways failure. Microsoft consumers got the raw end of the deal here.

Ha, no. Just because something is expensive, it does not mean it is a failure, especially when there are other ways of managing your storage without adding in the expanded storage card. You can just as easily attach a less expensive external HDD and use it has cold storage for games, moving games between the internal and external when needed. It is a quick process. The expanded storage card just adds additional convenience. So no, it is not a failure. Are there other approaches that other people may think are better? Sure, but that does not make something that works, easy to use, easy to install, easy to manage, and adds the convenience that people are looking for a failure just because there are other ways of doing it.

 

[Godot25]

Ha, no. Just because something is expensive, it does not mean it is a failure, especially when there are other ways of managing your storage without adding in the expanded storage card. You can just as easily attach a less expensive external HDD and use it has cold storage for games, moving games between the internal and external when needed. It is a quick process. The expanded storage card just adds additional convenience. So no, it is not a failure. Are there other approaches that other people may think are better? Sure, but that does not make something that works, easy to use, easy to install, easy to manage, and adds the convenience that people are looking for a failure just because there are other ways of doing it.

While I agree, I must add that it is still dumb to not offer external storage solutions from another manufacturers.
This product must have thicc margins, because it is selling for more than several times faster NVMe drives. So it would be nice if we could have some competition in this space after more than 2 years.

I like Microsoft's solution in terms of how dumbproof it is, especially since I own more than one Series console in household so I can transfer it between consoles easily. But I won't shell out 200+€ for 1TB of storage space. 100€ for 1TB would be fine price.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

Phil has done a lot of good stuff but there’s no way to defend the insane prices of Xbox storage expansions.

Holy crap. I just looked at Amazon to see how much the official ones are and I had not idea they were so expensive. $360 for a 2TB.....geez.

 

[Topher]

Ha, no. Just because something is expensive, it does not mean it is a failure, especially when there are other ways of managing your storage without adding in the expanded storage card. You can just as easily attach a less expensive external HDD and use it has cold storage for games, moving games between the internal and external when needed. It is a quick process. The expanded storage card just adds additional convenience. So no, it is not a failure. Are there other approaches that other people may think are better? Sure, but that does not make something that works, easy to use, easy to install, easy to manage, and adds the convenience that people are looking for a failure just because there are other ways of doing it.

I don't think providing workarounds to storage cards demonstrates how these storage cards are not a "failure". I don't think "failure" is the right word in any case. They work as advertised, but the cost is still ridiculously high.

 

[soulbait]

While I agree, I must add that it is still dumb to not offer external storage solutions from another manufacturers.
This product must have thicc margins, because it is selling for more than several times faster NVMe drives. So it would be nice if we could have some competition in this space after more than 2 years.

I like Microsoft's solution in terms of how dumbproof it is, especially since I own more than one Series console in household so I can transfer it between consoles easily. But I won't shell out 200+€ for 1TB of storage space. 100€ for 1TB would be fine price.

I agree more official options would be better. Hopefully the exclusive Seagate partnership is a limited one like many were assuming at the start of this generation, so we can get some different prices/options.

 

[soulbait]

I don't think providing workarounds to storage cards demonstrates how these storage cards are not a "failure". I don't think "failure" is the right word in any case. They work as advertised, but the cost is still ridiculously high.

I provided the workaround solution showing the XSX itself is not a failure, because it provides other options, not requiring consumers in buying the more expensive option.

A failure to me, would be either the device does not work as advertised or no one buys the device. Neither of these are true, so it is not a failure. Of course I do not know the sales numbers, but they have been purchased and not gone on clearance like how quickly the Xbox 360 faceplates did after introduction. We can assume if they were not being sold, they would slash the prices and discontinue them.

I do agree it would be better if there were more, less expensive options.

 

[calistan]

We can assume if they were not being sold, they would slash the prices and discontinue them.

Or maybe they sell in such low quantities that the suppliers have never reached the point where prices could be reduced due to economies of scale. It remains a non-standard oddity in the SSD world.

 

[El Muerto]

They apparently work but only with a WD SN530 nvme.

 

[Topher]

I provided the workaround solution showing the XSX itself is not a failure, because it provides other options, not requiring consumers in buying the more expensive option.

A failure to me, would be either the device does not work as advertised or no one buys the device. Neither of these are true, so it is not a failure. Of course I do not know the sales numbers, but they have been purchased and not gone on clearance like how quickly the Xbox 360 faceplates did after introduction. We can assume if they were not being sold, they would slash the prices and discontinue them.

I do agree it would be better if there were more, less expensive options.

I don't think XSX itself was being called a failure. Just the expansion card. Agree "failure" isn't the right word. I think the most obvious solution is take away this monopoly that Seagate has and expand the license to other companies. That, at least, will create some kind of competition and negate the need for these knock-offs that look suspect at best.

 

[Dural]

Part of the problem is that they use a 2230 SSD, if they used one that's longer like a 2260 or 2280 then the prices would be a lot lower. Looking on Amazon the cheapest 2TB 2230 SSD is $250, more than double a 2280.

 

[Topher]

Part of the problem is that they use a 2230 SSD, if they used one that's longer like a 2260 or 2280 then the prices would be a lot lower. Looking on Amazon the cheapest 2TB 2230 SSD is $250, more than double a 2280.

Anyone can create a CF-Express housing that will accommodate 2280. The issue is that Xbox will only recognize a single brand/model of SSD: Western Digital CH SN530. That model isn't available for sale to the public and is typically only found via refurb sellers on ebay.

 

[Superkewl]

Do you guys have bad internet or something? Genuinely curious about motivations.

 

[calistan]

Do you guys have bad internet or something? Genuinely curious about motivations.

Can't say I've ever needed one, but I suppose it's nice to have a local copy in case something ever happened to the online version.

 

[Dural]

Anyone can create a CF-Express housing that will accommodate 2280. The issue is that Xbox will only recognize a single brand/model of SSD: Western Digital CH SN530. That model isn't available for sale to the public and is typically only found via refurb sellers on ebay.

I know, I'm saying the reason for the outrageous prices is because 2230 SSDs are expensive to begin with. Even if third parties could make expandable storage, if they could only use 2230 SSDs they would also be expensive. It would be great if they allowed a caddy that could hold any SSD, maybe they'll open it up like they did on the 360?

 

[Superkewl]

Can't say I've ever needed one, but I suppose it's nice to have a local copy in case something ever happened to the online version.

Good point, hadn't thought about that.

I know some digital games have their licenses revoked, or online modes shut down years later, and people here love to freak out about it, but it has never affected me personally.

 

[NinjaBoiX]

Wait until some Youtuber gets a free sample and tests them out first.

Microsoft- Get your @#!* Together and stop making people look to shady places to buy some weird work around for your 2-year-old mistake of a storage expansion.
2 years now and nothing available. Not a damn thing.
Piece of shit idea.
It's embarrassing at this point 2 years and it's a proven FAILURE of an idea.
Failure in every possible way. I can't use that card anywhere other than the ONE box that I own. What is the freeeking point? I can't move it to my PC, I can't use it in a different device.
If I sell my xbox I have to sell the expansion card along with it. What a HORRIBLE Consumer piece of SHIT.

Chill bro, jeez…