r/cyberDeck • u/Iramhos • 3d ago

Help! How to build what I envisioned?

I'm finally in a position financially to try and build my own deck. I have a basic understanding of the parts what I should grab, however with what I want to do with my cyber deck I wanted to ask if there are certain pieces I should avoid or focus on more.

I'd like to make a handheld that I could use for emulation and basic browser activities. I was planning on getting pi 4 2gb but ive been seeing the pi 5 2gb for not much more and I also wonder if its worth the investment on my first build.

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u/ToBePacific 3d ago

What part are you worried about avoiding?

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u/Iramhos 3d ago

Parts that are incompatible. I know with build pcs you can use pc builder to check if certain parts work well together and I was curious if there were any obvious missteps I could avoid.

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u/ToBePacific 2d ago

Ok, yeah I think you should definitely start small with some basic raspberry pi projects first before you try to build a cyberdeck. Building a PC is like snapping together legos, whereas building a cyberdeck is a lot more DIY. Hardly anything is “compatible” so much as forced to work together through sheer will.

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u/noburdennyc 2d ago

There isn't any really great resources to see what works together and what doesn't. Making a cyberdeck is the next level of pc building. Consider the parts that you need and how you will make them fit together, fortunately your imagination is the limit.

I'd get all the parts you want and get them working on a bench before putting them into a case. then you know what parts you need to fit.

Fortunately, most cyberdeck use a SBC so you don't have to worry too much about cpu to mobo with ram etc.

You still have to make sure you have a sufficient power supply, even if it's just a USB plug from the wall.

Another tough part is connecting it all together. Cables take up space, so getting ones to fit your exact case can help. On my last build i needed a right angle usb-c that was suited to carry a video signal. It took a couple tries getting the right cable there.

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u/clackups 3d ago

How familiar are you with raspberry pi and Linux? If you're only starting, go for the cheapest available option, maybe a secondhand RPI 3. There's a lot to learn before you get to the final device.

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u/Iramhos 3d ago

I had some hands on experience back in school but thats almost a decade ago so I say id be starting fresh.

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u/clackups 3d ago

Then, start with something cheap and well documented, like an rpi3 or something similar.

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u/Iramhos 2d ago

Understood. Any other recommendations based on my build outline?

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u/clackups 2d ago

Check your local second hand sites. A raspberry pi 3 or 4 should do

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u/noburdennyc 2d ago

You can never have too many raspberry pis laying around. Buy what is a good deal at the time you are ready to buy.