The SteamBoy is now fully functional! Took a while, but here we are.

As expected, the display was a bit of a challenge. But it was not nearly as impossible as some led me to believe. I'll make a post about the technical details soon, but for now, enjoy some Clair Obscur gameplay.

Original SteamBoy post: https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeckModded/comments/1vj5paa/the_steamboy_wip/

EDIT: If the video is appears too compressed, I also posted a better quality YouTube link in the comments here!

A few months ago I had the idea: "The steam deck motherboard seems pretty small. I wonder if you could make a steam deck the size of a gameboy?"

Well, it's not done yet, but the SteamBoy is coming along great! It has a fully functional LCD steam deck motherboard, battery, speakers, and all the face buttons you see here. No custom PCBs needed (so far), and all within the dimensions of a Gameboy.

The only thing left to get working is the screen, but this is a much harder task than any of the other parts. The screen I'm using is a 1200x1080, 90hz AMOLED panel, originally intended for VR. To make it work, I need to make a custom adapter PCB between the steam deck ribbon cable and the display. I also need to mod the bios the same way that DeckHD and Deck Sight do.

For cooling, I got a small 30x7mm fan and heatsink from AliExpress and 3D printed a custom mount for them. It actually works surprisingly well! After undervolting by -50mV on the cpu and gpu, it could keep temps in the 70s for Tunic, and temps in the 80s for Clair Obscur. Not bad for such a tiny fan!

I'll probably make a follow-up post as well went I have new progress to report. Let me know what you think!

EDIT: Check out my follow-up posts!

SteamBoy demo video: https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeckModded/s/wy7Ufqaxat

SteamBoy teardown: https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeckModded/s/MxIi5vXqRc

EDIT2: The screen works now! Check it out here: https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeckModded/comments/1x56dal/guess_what/

I worked on these Steam Decks today, and I was reminded why white is still my favorite shell color. 🤍

A clean white handheld feels like the perfect canvas. Every button design, color combination, and small detail gets a chance to stand out.

I love seeing how different styles transform the same white shell, from soft pastel colors to brighter designs. ✨

White just makes everything feel a little more special.

So I made a thing...

A no-screen, no-controller mod for the Steam Deck optimized for use with AR glasses.

It’s about 4 times smaller than the original deck+case, and ~25% lighter!

This is going to be a game changer for flights - unlike the deck, it fits in my backpack and doesn't require a case.

Full build write-up: https://crastinator-pro.github.io/steam-brick/

Just doing a quick little demo of the SteamBoy (main post here), since people wanted to see it in action. Teardown coming soon!

Edit: Teardown post: https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeckModded/s/OPuohgdwEd

There are some overall flaws in the design that I need to fix, but this is the first working version!

This whole project has been a game of constraint optimization.

Empty space on the right side -> bento design

Printer too small -> split body

No mouse -> modules in the works.

Real happy with how it turned out, but I’ll keep refining it. I want to produce a mock product video so I want it as complete as I can get it.

Finally, here is the much-anticipated teardown of the SteamBoy! Hopefully now it makes sense how it is possible to fit everything in. See the picture captions for details.

Let me know if you have any questions! This will also be my last SteamBoy post for now until I have more progress to show.

As soon as I got my steam deck I knew I needed to personalize it. The vanilla deck is beautiful but I wanted to add some flavor.
The Xbox 360 is the console I grew up with and I’ve always thought it had the best controllers. I saw some other people complete this mod and decided to tackle it.
Super fun, lots of trial and error if you don’t own a 3d printer but nothing you can overcome with patience and cash lol
My only issue is that the Extremerate button kits are all painted white plastic, which ticked me off a lot because their other mods for other consoles have been really high quality. So if the paint rubs off I’ll be very upset and will be casting my own buttons.
I sanded the buttons up to 1000 grit and was going to polish them but will probably do that a different day because I didn’t have the supplies to polish properly and the mod already had the Deck apart the entire day.

I just wanted to add a PlayStation logo, but somehow ended up being more work than I intended. Used the PS logo of a broken PS2 and decided the only place it belonged was on the Steam Button. One thing led to another and this is it. Now truly my own unique Steam Deck with its flaws and imperfections. ❤️

Saw a few posts here discussing similar ideas, which reminded me of this old project, so I figured I’d share it. I’m planning to pick it back up and continue working on it.

I started this project back in 2022–2023, but it ended up being put on hold in the later stages and has been sitting ever since.

The original approach was to reverse-engineer and bypass the ANX7580, break out the internal eDP signal, and use an eDP-to-MIPI bridge to drive the display. Later on, thanks to the open-source BIOS work from the DeckHD project, I found that modifying the eDP panel parameters in the BIOS could also get the screen working. That turned out to be a much cleaner solution.

The goal was to make the whole device as compact as possible. Basically, the original Steam Deck motherboard is the only major part I’m keeping. The controls, battery, and cooling system all need to be custom-made.

Compared with a standard Steam Deck, I removed the left trackpad and the right analog stick.

Specs:

• Battery: 4×18650 cells, 4×3500mAh
• Display: 5.5" AMOLED, 1280×720
• Custom cooling module with two fans — one mainly for the CPU, and the other to help circulate air and cool the internals overall.

Got the courage to do my shell swap. Those track pads suck! Spent a long time tryna figure out that buttons shout out to u/Moon_moon_teh_wolf for pointing me in the direction of the vinyl used to change the button colors and for the inspo!

A added the oled Decksight on to my steam deck. LOOKS GREAT. Along with a shell swap, clicky buttons, Cooldeck copper heat sink, copper ssd heatsink, and noctua fans with a 3d printed part. I’m tempted to do the 32gb mod but I don’t think there is much benefit.

Ultra thin velcro, 3 stripes, mirrored to the battery. MUCH easier to take off and replace than the semi-permanent adhesive they used 🫠 Had to throw away a perfectly fine battery but trying out the upgraded LCD battery so hopefully it would be worth it.

Currently doing an all around mod to my steam deck, will keep y'all posted! 🙏🏼

The Steam Deck OLED is great out of the box, but I wanted to squeeze every bit of performance and precision out of it. Here’s the final list of mods for my current build:

• Storage: Swapped in a 2TB SSD to keep the full library local.(a little bit overkill for me maybe😁)

• Controls: Elecgear TMR sticks with a pop of orange (eXtremeRate). They feel incredibly smooth and will never drift (i upgraded hall effect ones from HandheldDiy before)

• Thermals: Replaced the stock paste with a PTM7950 phase-change pad. The fan stays much quieter during heavy sessions.

• Display: Added a JSAUX anti-reflective protector. It cuts glare perfectly without washing out the OLED colors and staying glossy.

No deadzones:
Hardware is only half the battle. I went through and created per-game Steam Input configs to counter specific anti-deadzones. Combining this with the TMR sticks makes the aiming and movement feel "raw" and extremely snappy.

It’s not the flashiest Deck on Reddit, but it’s exactly how I want it to feel. Happy to answer any questions 🙂

Reshelled my oled.

Just finished up this custom Steam Deck build and I’m loving how the colors pop through the transparent shell!

​The Build Specs:

​Shell: Crystal Clear Transparent Front & Back

​Accents: Metallic Crimson Red D-Pad, Joystick base, and Trackpad (Left)

​Accents: Anodized Gold Buttons, Joystick base, and Trackpad (Right)

​Rear: Matching Red back paddles to round out the look.

​The shell swap was a bit of a process (those ribbon cables never get easier on the nerves!), but seeing the internal layout against the gold and red makes it all worth it. It’s giving off major Stark Tech vibes.

​What do you guys think? Should I keep the mismatched trackpads or go all one color next time?

Shell & Aesthetics: - eXtremeRate Translucent Clear Orange Front Shell: The main structural and aesthetic component for the front. - HandheldDIY Cooling Modcase (Translucent Black): The back plate replacement featuring the built-in kickstand and improved heat dissipation. - eXtremeRate Replacement Thumbsticks (Orange): Physical stick caps to ensure a unified color theme. - Skull & Co. Thumbstick Covers/Grips: The final protective and ergonomic layer for the joysticks.

Internal Hardware Upgrades: - GuliKit Hall Effect Joysticks (Type A/B): Electromagnetic modules to permanently eliminate stick drift. - eXtremeRate Face Clicky Kit: Internal board and button modification for a tactile, mouse-click feel. - SiWiQU 42Wh High Capacity Internal Battery: A higher capacity 42Wh unit to replace the standard 40Wh factory battery.

Cooling System: - Fleshy Leaf (Quiet BN5010) CPU Cooling Fan: A lower-decibel internal fan to replace the original unit. - Arctic MX-6 Thermal Paste: High-performance paste for the APU, including MX cleaner pads for the teardown. - Arctic TP-3 Thermal Pads: Replacement pads for the VRMs and memory to maximize heat transfer to the Modcase.

Tools & Assembly Supplies: - LJPXHHU 80W Digital LCD Soldering Iron Kit: The primary tool for desoldering the touch-sense wire from the old joysticks. - JOREST 59Pcs Precision Screwdriver & Repair Kit: Your source for the specific bits, prying picks, and suction cups needed for the shell swap. - Duck Removable Poster Putty: Essential for securing the small joystick PCBs while you solder. - 99% Isopropyl Alcohol: For safely removing the old thermal paste and cleaning solder joints. - Powder-Free Heavy Duty Nitrile Gloves: To prevent static discharge and keep skin oils off the motherboard. - Shark hair blow-dryer: To heat up the adhesive around the display for removal.

Later on I'll be doing a screen swap and storage upgrade. If RAM prices ever drop I'll also attempt the RAM replacement for the 32gb! Getting started on the project this weekend! WISH ME LUCK 😩😩

I'll share before and after photos on my dedicated Steam Deck Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/thetravelingdeck

I did an emerald green translucent shell from Extremerate, swapped the buttons for clicky buttons, replaced the thermal paste, changed the joysticks to Hall effect and soldered white caps onto them!
Star headphone jack charm made by me to match the thumb grips

Did a complete shell swap and every upgrade imaginable to this LCD version. Super happy with the result and it turned out great. It was rough doing the trackpads, had to take it back apart a few times, but in the end everything is working great.

Timelapse here if interested: https://youtu.be/pm2e8fVTZc0

They feel so much better than the slippery OEM buttons. tons of grip and the fact they’re indented helps find the buttons. also they almost look like a render when the light hits it right.

totally worth it

After/Before