BiWin's CL 100 Mini is a particularly puny but potent SSD for portable gaming

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Owning a PC gaming handheld is quite handy, but sometimes involves playing uncalled-for matches of Tetris with the internal storage, especially as games get larger. Storage expansion often comes by way of microSD cards, which can be added without opening the console, but can be slower than NVMe SSDs. BiWin's CL 100 Mini NVMe SSD tackles both those problems, arriving in a 15 x 17 mm form factor with custom casing. It's effectively the size of a microSD card.

The diminutive unit was spotted earlier in the year, but hadn't been given a name or selling price until recently. The unit is currently bespoke to BiWin's OneXPlayer consoles (OneXFly Apex/Air, OneXPlayer 3, X1 Air, X2 Mini, and Super V/X) as well as the GPD Win5. These systems have hardware slots specifically for this size drive that you could insert like an SD card. For comparison, the M.2 2230 drive inside the Steam Deck and other portables is, unsurprisingly, 22 x 30 mm — much larger, and it requires opening the machine, plus one of those annoying little M.2 screws.

Bruno Ferreira is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware. He has decades of experience with PC hardware and assorted sundries, alongside a career as a developer. He's obsessed with detail and has a tendency to ramble on the topics he loves. When not doing that, he's usually playing games, or at live music shows and festivals.

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