This Minimalist “Steam Brick” Omits the Screen and Controls

Console or PC? That debate has grown more and more irrelevant as the lines between the two have become blurrier over time. Few games are exclusives these days and most consoles are essentially PCs packaged in streamlined cases. Valve’s Steam Deck might have put the final nail in that coffin, as it is a gaming PC squeezed into a Nintendo Switch-esque form factor. But while that is very compact for a gaming PC, it still includes a screen and controls. In Crastinator-Pro’s case, those were redundant. So, they removed them from their Steam Deck to complete their “Steam Brick” mod.

Crastinator-Pro wanted to bring their Steam Deck along while traveling, but found that it didn’t fit well in their backpack. However, Crastinator-Pro doesn’t actually use the screen or built-in controls when gaming on the Steam Deck. For a display, they use XReal Air 2 Pro AR (Augmented Reality) glasses. For controlling gameplay, they use an 8Bitdo Pro 2 wireless gamepad. The Steam Deck’s screen and controls were redundant, taking up space for no reason. By removing them, Crastinator-Pro was able to make the console much smaller and easier to fit in their backpack.

This is a 1TB OLED model, which is currently the top of the Steam Deck lineup. It is a bit of a shame to remove the screen from an OLED model, but that’s what Crastinator-Pro had and the LCD model isn’t available with 1TB storage anyway.

Crastinator-Pro started the project by disassembling the Steam Deck and cutting off the superfluous “wings” of the metal frame. Those wings normally provide support around the controls and weren’t needed any longer. Crastinator-Pro simply disconnected the screen and control boards, and verified that the Steam Deck still boots up. It does, but it is worth noting that it isn’t possible to access the BIOS at startup, since that requires a button press at power-on.

After confirming that the console was still functional, Crastinator-Pro designed a minimalist enclosure in CAD. They 3D-printed that with Overture Polycarbonate Pro filament, then used a 3D printing pen with PLA to fill in the “STEAM BRICK” lettering and the Steam Deck logo. That worked surprisingly well and the enclosure looks nice.

Crastinator-Pro reports that the Steam Brick is four times smaller than an unmodified Steam Deck and is also 24% lighter. Battery life is about the same, even though it no longer needs to power the OLED screen. And now Crastinator-Pro can slip the Steam Brick into their backpack to play games while traveling.