After spending some time obsessing over the cool looking cyberdecks here, I decided to start building one myself. I thought it would be a fun project to do while we're still on lockdown.
Note that this is not an inexpensive endeavour both time-wise and money-wise. It'll probably take me some time to get everything at once. But hey, that's part of the journey, right?
Objectives
While it's not going to be my go to machine for resource-heavy applications (that's what my System76 machine is for), I do want this cyberdeck to have enough power with which I can do some light programming work. It also has to look cool, obviously, and be portable.
Main Components
Many of the builds on /r/cyberDeck use a Raspberry Pi, which is excellent for its low power consumption and generally has been reliable for me in the past in other projects, but I wanted something a little more powerful.
I decided to base this build on a mini PC with an Intel Core i3 CPU instead of the Atom/Celeron/Pentium CPUs in some mini PCs because I need to run some light docker containers (and the other Intel CPUs don't seem to do well with those).
- Mini PC with Expandable RAM Intel Core i3-5005U https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WXFVFQ1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Crucial 16GB (8GBx2) DDR3/DDR3L 1600 MT/S (PC3-12800) Unbuffered SODIMM 204-Pin Memory https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007B5S52C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Anker PowerCore+ 26800mAh 45W w/ 60W PD Charger https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XRJZXKY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- USB WiFi Adapter 1200Mbps TECHKEY USB 3.0 WiFi Dongle 802.11 ac Wireless Network Adapter with Dual Band 2.42GHz/300Mbps 5.8GHz/866Mbps 5dBi High Gain Antenna for Desktop Windows XP/Vista / 7-10 Mac https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J65G9DD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Mini DP - DisplayPort Display Emulator EDID Emulator Plug (fit Headless 2560x1600@60Hz) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072F13NCY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Display Emulator Plug Headless Ghost Emulator Fake Display（Fit Headless-1920x1080-4096x2160 @60Hz) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XSZR7CG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- 7 inch display https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F3801A2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Case (possibly, I haven't decided) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SSFAPVI/ref=dp_cr_wdg_tit_nw_mr?th=1
- Touchpad https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F1MWVO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Mechanical Keyboard https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QV143BP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Head-Mounted Display (HMD)
A cyberdeck usually has an HMD as its main display, with a smaller display somewhere on the unit. So basically your desktop, but make it VR.
The cyberdecks I've seen tend to take advantage of FPV goggles (usually used for drone piloting). However, I couldn't find any that didn't cost a ridiculous amount of money, so I decided to just use what I already have (..sort of).
- HMD - Oculus Go/Quest (sold out everywhere at the time of this writing). I have a Quest, unfortunately I left it in my apartment 2000 miles from where I currently am (due to shelter-in-place orders), so I did end up having to get an Oculus Go I found online.
- Immersed VR - An Oculus Go/Quest app that provides you a virtual workspace. It has social features where you can collaborate with others in the same workspace. I'm not as interested in those, but it's good to know about.