In a nutshell: The Steam Deck isn't just the world's most popular gaming handheld – it's also become a favorite canvas for DIY modders. After Crastinator-pro's wildly popular "Steam Brick" mod went viral earlier this year, Redditor Michael Gutensohn unveiled another standout creation with a slightly different twist.
Gutensohn's Reddit post describes Bento as "a Steam Deck in a keyboard," created by squeezing the console's internal hardware into a wireless Apple Magic Keyboard. The result is a one-of-a-kind mobile gaming PC running SteamOS.
To bring his vision to life, Gutensohn extracted the Steam Deck's motherboard, battery, and other key components from their original casing and housed them in a custom 3D-printed enclosure designed to fit beneath a tenkeyless Apple Magic Keyboard. The extra space in the new frame was cleverly used to integrate a USB-C hub.
To enhance the uniqueness of the mod, Gutensohn paired it with a set of XReal AR glasses as the primary display. By opting for wearable tech instead of a traditional gaming monitor, he created a more immersive experience while keeping the entire setup highly portable.
The custom chassis fits seamlessly beneath the Apple keyboard, and the device successfully powers on and runs as expected. However, Gutensohn notes that he's not entirely satisfied with the current design and is already working on refinements to add more features.
Highlighting a key limitation of the current design, Gutensohn explained that he was forced to print the chassis in two separate parts due to the constraints of his 3D printer. Another drawback is the lack of mouse support. His upcoming revision aims to address both issues by introducing a unified chassis and integrating additional modules to support mouse input.
While Gutensohn's Bento mod showcases impressive creativity, it's far from the only Steam Deck customization to capture the tech community's attention. Earlier this year, modder Crastinator-pro went viral with the Steam Brick, a stripped-down version of the Steam Deck designed for ultra-portability.
Going back further, modder Balázs Triszka undertook one of the most technically demanding Steam Deck mods to date by upgrading the device's RAM from 16GB to 32GB of LPDDR5. Because the memory chips are soldered directly to the mainboard, Triszka had to rely on ball grid array soldering techniques – a process requiring advanced tools and expertise.