Done with the shell swap! Took 5 hours 🫡

Always a fan of the atomic purple aesthetic 💜

I was not around when original consoles in this color were released, only found out about it recently and I'm obsessed! Already own two other things in atomic purple (8BitDo controller and Miyoo Mini Plus)
- There was a "glorious" 4-5 year span when all new electronics were coming in see through plastic casings.
  
  You can see it most prominently today in the original Zoolander when he had one of the old Apple Macintosh machines trying to get the files out of it.
Soooo sexy! I wanna mod mine like this soon. How do the aftermarket buttons feel compared to stock?

GBA ultimate. I love the vibes of this, so nostalgic

Speaking of GBA, I've recently picked up this little guy in the same color! It can emulate anything up to PS1 including, well, GBA.

P.S. It's called Miyoo Mini Plus but there is also a whole bunch of competitors in similar price range so picking one of them is a matter of personal choice
- Nice! I’m getting my Retroid RP3+ delivered today (not the atomic purple colorway, though), and I’ll be swapping out the joysticks for 3rd party Switch-style hall-effect joysticks. That swap should be less than 30 mins, but I really appreciate the inspiration! The sub-$150 retro gaming scene is getting crazy good!
Feels good man

I just did this same swap in the same color!

I see that you kept the original trackpad surfaces. I considered this a lot. Do they rub on the chassis at all? Is there anything else you did differently that you like?

I've basically just finished it an hour ago and only run a single game + input tests to make sure everything works, so I can't vouch for anything longterm.

I decided to keep original trackpad covers because I gave up trying to lift the covers and got scared it may break if I apply even more heat / pressure. You have to place black adhesive under transparent covers anyway so it's not a huge visual compromise. They don't seem to rub on the chassis, at least so far. Otherwise I kept to the instructions and replaced everything.

Also grats on your mod too!
- Hey that's great to know! I agree: the amount of effort to remove them is a little silly. I found that the best way to do it is to pry it from the corners. There is a PCB underneath with traces on the surface, so you want to be careful.
  
  Although, I like the surface of the originals better, and seeing that they fit nicely on yours, I might swap them back.
  
  Cheers!

Dream mod for me, so jealous. Congratulations!

Thanks! It's a tough mod, but unlike others saying they regret the struggle, I don't, it's just so pretty!
- Every time you play on the deck it'll be rewarding, since you'll see it every time you use it. Unlike some cosmetic mods.

I see that you, like me, always ends up with a few screws left over 😜

The reasoning is pretty simple, this kit comes with all the screws deck uses and more, so I was left with tons of extras :)
Same thing happens to me every time I work on a car or a Laptop. As long as nothing rattles it's just weight savings.

I always loved atomic purple casing. It looks so good on the steam deck. I want to swap out the casings for my Switch joy-cons but have yet to dive in and buy some casings.

I think you should kept original D-pad and ABXY buttons, IMO would look better

I was perplexed if I should, but now I'm definitely not going back, they require like 50% disassembly of the device to reach them haha

The steam deck color

Mmm, grape flavour

Did you replace the fan too?

Nope, didn't know about this mod actually, is it worth it?
- People find the delta fan to have an annoying whine, so if you have that fan you may want to swap it out with a Huaying fan that's less whiny.
  
  You can check which fan you have in steam deck settings or by going to https://store.steampowered.com/account/hardwareused

Looks awesome. I am doing a full button swap with joysticks. Just waiting for the replacement fan (might as well change that) before beginning and super excited to do it.

I've considered getting joystick replacements too but decided against. They are not super hard to replace as they are immediately exposed after taking the back cover off, and while less durable can still last years upon years, none of controllers I used in my entire life ever developed stick drift.

Buttons meanwhile require to take out a lot of stuff, so be prepared and leave enough space on your desk for components. Good luck with mods!
- Thanks! I will definitely need the youtube video as it looks a bit scary 🙂
  
  I built a few PCs but this would definitely require some finesse.

Good Choice!

Excellent choice!

Looking nice. I did a shell swap myself and it was a fun project (took me about 4 hours). I'm hoping someone comes out with some cool buttons to give me an excuse to keep working on it 😂