The Steam Brick: A Compact Steam Deck Reimagined
The Steam Deck’s popularity stems from its affordability, portability, and efficient SteamOS, but what happens when you strip it down to the bare essentials? Enter the “Steam Brick”, a modder’s reimagining of the Steam Deck as a compact, headless PC.
Modder crastinator–pro removed everything but the core components—the motherboard, cooling system, and battery—and housed them in a custom 3D-printed case. This redesign results in a device that’s 7.6 x 4.9 inches and weighs just over a pound. The full build process is documented on the Steam Brick GitHub page (spotted via Hackaday).
Despite its minimalist design, the Steam Brick remains highly functional. It can be paired with a wireless controller and a portable screen or AR glasses like the Xreal Air 2 Pro for gaming on the go. Alternatively, connect it to an external monitor via USB-C and use it like a traditional Steam Deck in docked mode.
The Steam Brick showcases how the Steam Deck’s open design inspires creative mods, pushing the boundaries of portable PC gaming.