Modder Builds Custom Steam Deck From Framework Laptop Guts And 3D Printed Case

To understand this post, you're going to have to understand who Framework is. A company founded in January 2020, Framework sells highly-repairable laptops, with readily available replacement parts and standardized designs, where possible. The company will sell you an assembled, ready-to-go laptop if you like, or you can simply buy the components for the machines and build your own system.

That's exactly what maker Beth Le did over at Printables. Purchasing the mainboard and battery for a Framework 13" laptop, she then proceeded to construct her own gaming handheld around the components. The specific board that she chose has a Ryzen 7 7840U processor on it—the very same silicon that powers the ASUS ROG Ally and many other gaming handhelds. There's Core Ultra motherboards available, too, though.

3D printing her own chassis and using off-the-shelf components, she made what is honestly a pretty slick-looking device. The "Beth Deck," as she calls it, is a little thinner than a Steam Deck, but a bit bigger overall thanks to the larger 8" touchscreen. It includes the same external connectivity as a Steam Deck with a single USB Type-C port, but unlike that device, the whole thing can be disassembled in 2 minutes, according to its maker.

That's because all of the non-printed parts are off-the-shelf components that can be purchased online, and the device goes together with no soldering. Connections between components are partially provided with pogo pins, so getting the placement of everything in the chassis correct is important to its functionality, and it's apparently easy to mess this up and end up with non-working analog sticks.

This is one of a few flaws with the original design that Beth is working on fixing for the next version of the device. There's already a "1.5" version on the way that corrects "the smaller problems" with the original recipe, and Beth says that she'll have that revision out on November 8th along with a video demo. After that, she says that the 2.0 version will be thinner, with a custom PCB for the controls and better speakers, as the speakers she chose are apparently too powerful, and prone to causing "interfering waves and vibrations."

Beth's not the first person to build a gaming handheld around Framework parts; maker TommyB created a similar design back in May, and as far back as September of last year, YouTuber PitStopTech created a handheld based around one of the earlier Intel 12th-gen motherboards. We obviously applaud their efforts, but we have to say that we think Beth's is the most professional-looking product of the three. You can check out each at the links above.