The PlayStation Portal may be a divisive device, but there’s no denying its popularity. We’re clearly all now living in Bizarro World, because at launch, Sony’s streaming handheld was harder to get hold of than the Steam Deck OLED. But hey, who needs a glorified DualSense with a 1080p screen wedged in the middle when you can build an actual portable PS5.
Well, I say “you”... that’s almost certainly not true. If you’re anything like me, your level of tech expertise might just about stretch to being able to build your own gaming PC. Yet what YouTuber DIY Perks is capable of is truly next level (thanks, NotebookCheck).
This guy is unbelievably talented. So much so, he can basically build anything. From invisible PCs to DIY submarines, this dude is an actual wizard. Given that context, it’s hardly a shocker he’s only gone and made a PS5 tablet.
If there was any justice in the world, we’d all be able to buy DIY Perks “PS Go” — cool name, right? — tomorrow. Sadly, his PS5 tablet is just an unbelievably awesome passion project that will obviously never become an actual consumer product.
Still, the way DIY Perks has constructed this baby is fascinating… and also a bit head-spinning. To make his tablet, the YouTuber first took the motherboard from the recent PS5 Slim (which boasts a much smaller mobo than the original PlayStation 5), then replaced the recently rejigged console’s heatsink with a shorter and wider one. Said custom heatsink allowed DIY Perks to place it alongside the motherboard, rather than on top of it, which allows his invention to take the form of a tablet.
As you can see in the video above, there’s a whole lot more wizardry that went into this project. Custom heat pipes, additional mini heat sinks, a 3D printed shell sporting the PS5’s iconic black and white aesthetic and a 12 volt power supply that’s smaller than most laptop power bricks all pop into the PlayStation party to make this amazing tablet a reality.
Amazingly, his PS5 tablet also runs at a reasonably cool 42°C at full load, meaning this astounding gizmo gives off very little fan noise.
And to really show off, DIY Perks kitted out his device with a 4K OLED screen taken from an Alienware laptop. Suffice to say, the visual results when he’s seen playing Horizon Forbidden West beat the brakes off what the PS Portal’s LCD panel is capable of.
To place a final delicious cherry atop his ingenious device, DIY Perks has somehow managed to install a miniature subwoofer in his latest hugely ambitious project. The result is a custom built gaming gadget that sounds better than the Steam Deck. Gabe Newell should definitely get this guy on the phone.
The next time you get a free hour to yourself, make sure you check out this man’s channel. I mean c’mon, an invisible PC? DIY Perks has more talent in his pinky finger than most professional video game developers possess in their entire bodies. The only problem now is that we all have to live in a world where a 4K OLED PS5 tablet exists but none of us will ever be able to buy it.
