We've had transparent backplates for the Steam Deck for a while now but what about the front? Well, they're on the way from two different companies.
Firstly, JSAUX, who make the most popular transparent backplates (I showed off one here) are working on their own fully transparent case for the Steam Deck. From speaking to JSAUX they told me this will be available in Krystal, Purple and Brown and they told me the backplate has a new design too as they've added new ventilation and improved the heat sink as well. Their first teaser posted to Reddit can be seen below:
In that same post, JSAUX also teased they're coming up with "several" new RGB-related stuff to make your Steam Deck look even more wild. So I'm very curious to see what they're cooking up, especially as I thought their OmniCase 2 Pro was fantastic.
On top of that, JSAUX just today showed off and sent me over a little teaser clip of what they will look like:
Looks really nice! Glad to see they've looked to improve the backplate at the same time.
The other is eXtremeRate, another company that makes various gaming accessories. They've begun teasing their own full shell for the Steam Deck, including transparent options but we don't know much more than what they showed in a brief GIF on Twitter:
I wouldn't mind grabbing some backplates from eXtremeRate when they're available, to compare with what JSAUX have, especially since eXtremeRate don't seem to have the heat sink on the back which can get quite hot on the JSAUX versions.
Just a reminder: if you're going to take apart your Steam Deck - make sure you take out your Micro SD card. Don't snap it like me and many others ended up doing at some point. It's really easy to forget - so try not to, or you'll be sad and out of pocket.
The main issue here is that changing the frontplate is pretty intense, as you need to take the whole thing apart. Not something that's particularly easy and even iFixit note it down as "Difficult" to do in their guide. There's a fair amount you could mess up but still, no doubt many will go for it because it looks awesome.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
StalePopcorn Jun 6, 2023
Last edited by CatKiller on 6 June 2023 at 4:42 pm UTC
Though this is cool to see, in a sense it's a pity that there's not also an official option for something like this - I think that a translucent "smoke" colourway would look really smart on the Deck!
Quoting: PenglingI maintain that clear plastic is still 90s-cool, and I'll not hear otherwise.
Though this is cool to see, in a sense it's a pity that there's not also an official option for something like this - I think that a translucent "smoke" colourway would look really smart on the Deck!
It's prison-cool, because every electronic equipment needs to be in a transparent case to prevent inmates stashing things in them.
There's no way they're going to charge me less than 100€ to replace it given the amount of work and I am not going through all the process by myself given the difficulty.
Quoting: BogomipsIt's prison-cool, because every electronic equipment needs to be in a transparent case to prevent inmates stashing things in them.Hahaha, yes, that's true!
I've watched a couple of excellent videos about that - the first is entirely about a (considerably less-fancy) handheld, too.Last edited by Pengling on 6 June 2023 at 6:29 pm UTC
Implausible Jun 6, 2023
Both the white/clear and atomic purple variants really appeal to me!
I shall risk it for the biscuit, as it were
ElectricPrism Jun 6, 2023
The only gotcha I experienced was the Purple and Green one had a very subtle sharp edge where the Black and Purple line up.
It was enough to go back to the stock back-plate on that 1 Steam Deck. I could probably sand it down manually, but the point is -- I think the company would Q/A that issue away if they haven't already.
--
That back plate does get pretty freaking hot, it's not going to burn me, but almost feels like it sometime.
--
It may seem silly, but I would also be open to a casemod where it turns the device into a literally tablet and cuts off the wings, or a Clam-Shell like Nintendo 3DS.
I hope the modding community considers doing this at some point -- I would totally even 3D print a clam case.
StoneColdSpider Jun 6, 2023
Quoting: PenglingI maintain that clear plastic is still 90s-cool, and I'll not hear otherwise.Maybe the mod is made of clear plastic from old recycled bomberman merch
Though this is cool to see, in a sense it's a pity that there's not also an official option for something like this - I think that a translucent "smoke" colourway would look really smart on the Deck!
Mountain Man Jun 7, 2023
Quoting: CatKillerIf I'm ever tempted by any of these modifications I'm definitely just going to go to my local phone repair place and point them at the ifixit guides; let them have the stress.
Seems like a high risk, low reward proposition to me. I'm content with software customization since worst case, I just have to reinstall the firmware.
hardpenguin Jun 7, 2023
Quoting: BogomipsIt's prison-cool, because every electronic equipment needs to be in a transparent case to prevent inmates stashing things in them.TIL
Quotemake sure you take out your Micro SD card. Don't snap it like me and many others ended up doing at some pointI wish I knew this in January when I killed a 256GB microSD. But yes, listen to this wise man.
The atomic purple from Jsaux looks sick, but the solid red from eXtremeRate too. I guess I'll buy one of those when they come out, but my concern is the heatspreader from Jsaux, I removed the thermal pad from my Jsaux shell because on games that used more than 15W made it a very hot surface. So the improvements are to prevent that from happening or now will draw more heat making it even hotter?
While I'd rather avoid JSAUX's heat sink addition I do find I'm not too eager to try Extremerate's either since I had a green joycon shell from them that took only a month to fall apart completely so I'm not sure I'd trust one for a whole machine.
Hopefully more options than these two start popping up eventually.
Quoting: PenglingI maintain that clear plastic is still 90s-cool, and I'll not hear otherwise.It's also practical, you can get a glimpse of the inside and see if the visible parts are intact and in correct positions or a fall from table has lead to damage or parts coming loose or/and bent.
Though this is cool to see, in a sense it's a pity that there's not also an official option for something like this - I think that a translucent "smoke" colourway would look really smart on the Deck!
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me