Homemade Computer Is a Cyberpunk Powerhouse

While your homemade computer will never reach the aesthetic greatness of the latest [insert your favorite computer manufacturer here]…

Jeremy Cook
6 years ago

While your homemade computer will never reach the aesthetic greatness of the latest [insert your favorite computer manufacturer here] model, as shown in this cyberdeck build, it’s very possible to construct a capable machine yourself. Instead of going for a sleek thin design, this laptop is modeled after computers described in Neuromancer and similar works of cyberpunk fiction, along with laptops from the early ’90s. The body is printed in four sections, meant to slot together to produce enough room for the computing components.

While the outside is reminiscent of something built 25 years ago, inside things are much different. It’s equipped with a tiny 4"x4” Intel NUC motherboard with an impressive 3.4 GHz dual-core CPU and 8GB of RAM, along with a 500GB SSD, and can connect to an external graphics card if needed. For portable power, it features an expandable power bank based on 18650 Lithium-ion cells that should last between eight and 16 hours under normal use.

This may seem like a lot of computing power for something that features only a 5” display atop the keyboard, but the screen can be slotted into an FPV headset as well, making it appear much larger. Using this attached to your face might earn you a few strange looks, but it also means that you can concentrate on whatever you’re hacking/working on/watching free from visible distraction on a seemingly huge — yet entirely portable — screen.

Jeremy Cook
Engineer, maker of random contraptions, love learning about tech. Write for various publications, including Hackster!
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