Someone has stripped down and modded one of the popular Steam Deck handhelds into a minimal form factor dubbed the Steam Brick. “No screen, no controller, and absolutely no sense,” quips Crastinator-Pro on GitHub, “just a power button and a USB port.” Yet, it still delivers all the portable functionality the GitHubber needs as the device was (and is) invariably connected to either a TV or AR glasses for Steam-based fun.
For some, like Crastinator-Pro, the Steam Deck is a bit hefty, even ungainly. They explain that the handheld was often left behind when packing a backpack, as it was just a little bit too bulky. We guess the ‘brick’ is also rather more rugged and immune to mistreatment.
Crastinator-Pro followed the iFixIt Steam Deck Repair Guides to strip down the handheld to its bare essentials without rendering it useless in the process. They first pleasingly confirmed that the Steam Deck wasn’t averse to starting up without its standard-issue control array, battery, or even the screen. Next, the system was safely disassembled to become just a mainboard and fan.
Finding that a rigid metal frame was also part of the Steam Deck structure, Crastinator-Pro cut off a couple of its protrusions to make a perfect reinforcement for the Steam Brick. A few measurements and CAD drafting minutes later, and the GitHubber had managed to 3D print a brick shell to snugly accommodate the frame, mobo, and cooling.
The result was that the newly formed Steam Brick was “about a 3rd of the size of the Deck, and about 4 times smaller than the Deck’s OEM case,” says Crastinator-Pro. “As a bonus, it’s also 24% lighter!” It can also be tossed in a bag without any case or screen protection, and the creator claims there is nothing to worry about.
Now, in use, the Steam Brick is powered on using a single button, then a dock can provide power and monitor/headset connectivity.
There are a couple of small wrinkles that affect the GitHub-shared plans, as they stand, though. Crastinator-Pro noted that they aren’t able to access the BIOS, as that function requires holding down the ‘+’ while powering up. That issue can be sidestepped using a terminal command to enter BIOS at the next boot, though.
Secondly, the Steam Brick power indicator light doesn’t differentiate between the system being on or off. This doesn’t sound like a very serious issue, as the system is also stripped of battery power, so once unplugged, it isn’t going to be left running by accident.