BiWin has built an SSD so small it could sit on a fingertip, and it still holds up to 2TB of storage. The BiWin CL 100 Mini SSD measures just 15mm by 17mm, making it one of the smallest high-capacity drives aimed squarely at handheld gaming hardware.
Key takeaways
- ✓BiWin's CL 100 Mini SSD measures just 15mm by 17mm, smaller than a postage stamp
- ✓Capacities reach up to 2TB despite the chip's tiny footprint
- ✓It targets handheld gaming consoles and other space-constrained portable devices
- ✓The drive uses a BGA package soldered directly to the motherboard rather than a removable module
- ✓Shrinking the storage chip could free up internal space for bigger batteries or better cooling
Handheld gaming PCs such as the Steam Deck, ROG Ally and Legion Go have made compact, high-speed storage a genuine design constraint rather than an afterthought. Every millimetre inside these devices competes with the battery, the cooling fan and the main board for space. BiWin’s answer is to shrink the drive itself down to something closer to a coin than a conventional memory stick.
Table of Contents
What the BiWin CL 100 Mini SSD actually is
Most handheld gaming devices currently rely on the M.2 2230 form factor, a small but still removable SSD module measuring roughly 30mm by 22mm. The CL 100 Mini goes much further. At 15mm by 17mm, it uses a BGA (ball grid array) package that solders directly onto the motherboard rather than slotting into a connector.
That difference matters. A soldered BGA chip takes up a fraction of the footprint of a socketed module, and it removes the connector hardware entirely. BiWin says the drive still reaches capacities up to 2TB, which is a serious amount of storage for something this physically small, and enough to hold a sizeable library of modern games that routinely run past 50GB or 100GB apiece.
| Form factor | Typical dimensions | Common use case |
|---|---|---|
| BiWin CL 100 Mini (BGA) | 15mm x 17mm | Handhelds, ultra-compact devices |
| M.2 2230 | 30mm x 22mm | Steam Deck, ROG Ally, Legion Go |
| M.2 2280 | 80mm x 22mm | Desktop PCs, most laptops |
Why size matters for portable gaming hardware
Handheld gaming devices live or die on battery life and heat management. Every bit of board space a manufacturer claws back from storage can go toward a larger battery cell, additional cooling, or simply a slimmer, lighter chassis. A BGA SSD like the CL 100 Mini effectively disappears into the motherboard layout, instead of occupying a dedicated card slot with its own clearance and connector.
There’s a trade-off, though. Because the chip is soldered rather than socketed, it isn’t user-replaceable in the way an M.2 2230 drive is. Enthusiasts who currently upgrade their handheld’s storage themselves, a popular modification for Steam Deck owners in particular, would lose that option if a manufacturer builds a device around a soldered drive like this one. Manufacturers will need to weigh that convenience against the space and efficiency gains.
Performance is the other half of the equation. BiWin hasn’t published full benchmark figures alongside the announcement, but the drive is built on the same NVMe foundation used across the company’s broader SSD range, connecting over the PCIe interface standard rather than slower legacy interfaces. That should keep load times competitive with the socketed drives already found in handhelds today.
How it stacks up against current handheld storage
Buyers shopping for a handheld gaming PC today are mostly choosing between whatever capacity ships in the box or upgrading later with a standard M.2 2230 module, similar in concept to a full-size 2TB NVMe drive like the Corsair MP600 Core XT, just built down to a smaller physical standard. The BiWin CL 100 Mini SSD doesn’t replace that market overnight, but it does show where the ceiling sits for how small high-capacity NVMe storage can get.
BiWin isn’t alone in chasing smaller, denser storage. Rivals including Lexar have been pushing their own miniaturisation efforts, evident in Lexar’s own push toward thinner portable storage for external drives. The difference here is that BiWin’s chip is meant to live inside a device permanently, not travel in a pocket as an accessory.
What it means for the next generation of handhelds
None of this guarantees the CL 100 Mini SSD will appear in a specific upcoming handheld, since BiWin primarily supplies components to device manufacturers rather than selling finished products to consumers. Its real significance is as a signal of intent: component makers are actively engineering around the physical constraints that handheld gaming hardware imposes, much like the broader trend toward compact gaming hardware projects such as the Piston V mini PC.
For gamers, the practical upshot could arrive in future handheld generations that pack more battery or better thermals into the same size chassis, simply because the storage chip stopped competing for internal real estate. Whether any major handheld brand adopts a soldered solution like this, instead of sticking with upgradeable M.2 2230 drives, will depend on how much manufacturers value that flexibility against the space savings on offer.
Frequently asked questions
What is the BiWin CL 100 Mini SSD?
It’s a compact NVMe solid-state drive from storage manufacturer BiWin, measuring just 15mm by 17mm and built using a BGA package that solders directly onto a device’s motherboard, with capacities reaching up to 2TB.
Can the BiWin CL 100 Mini SSD be upgraded later?
No. Because it’s soldered to the motherboard rather than fitted into a removable slot, it isn’t designed to be swapped out or upgraded the way a standard M.2 2230 drive can be.
Will this SSD appear in handheld gaming consoles like the Steam Deck?
BiWin hasn’t confirmed which devices will use the CL 100 Mini SSD. It supplies components to manufacturers, so its appearance in any specific handheld depends on decisions those companies haven’t announced yet.
How does it compare to the storage in current handhelds?
Most handhelds on the market today use M.2 2230 drives, which are roughly 30mm by 22mm and removable. The BiWin CL 100 Mini SSD is significantly smaller and permanently attached, trading upgradeability for a much smaller footprint.
