I love my Steam Deck. It’s an excellent example of how focussing on the right thing is what makes the concept work. I’ve tried to use the ROG Ally; having to use Windows on a handheld and only get two hours of battery life made it feel hostile, like it didn’t want to be played unless it was docked.
I’ve managed to find a wonderful setup to fit everything I need in a case as tightly as possible: the Steam Deck, mechanical keyboard, mouse, dock, and charger. The case wasn’t bought, so this isn’t a guide; more an idea on what I’m happy with.
So to start, the case was from a premium item and is expected to be thrown away. The right latch is broken, but I’d phoned the manufacturer to ask for another latch and they’re sending me an entire new case. In the meantime, I soft-of-repaired the latch with a bit of dowel. I’d cut out the foam to make space for the keyboard, dock, and handles of the Deck.
The keyboard is a 75% Keychron K3 Ultra-slim Wireless Mechanical Keyboard with brown Gateron switches. I was super lucky to find this unpriced in a Goodwill, with one keycap missing (Cmd/Windows key, bottom left). They gave it to me for $5. The previous person had tried to repair the broken key and failed. I tried to repair the broken key and also failed. Oh well, I can live without it.
The dock is nicely snuggled under the keyboard, with the cable running through the hollow handle.
The mouse ($1 from Goodwill!) and charger take up the remaining room. These are why the kit is almost perfect. The mouse is 2.4GHz wireless rather than Bluetooth, and uses a USB-A dongle. Since the Steam Deck only has USB-C ports, it needs to be plugged into the dock or use a USB-A-to-C converter to use in handheld mode. I plan on replacing this at the right price point.
The official charger is just chonky. I could probably save space with a nice GaN charger (what is a GaN charger?). Price is a factor here too.
Finally, the Steam deck is nestled into the foam directly over the keyboard. The Deck case is the JSAUX PC0104 Modcase Basic set (sometimes cheaper on Amazon). It protects the screen and thumbsticks, and sort of gently smooshes the K3 keys when closed. I got the 64GB version and upgraded the NVMe to 2TB; I’m not even close to running out of space.
It looks so unassuming and neat fully closed! There’s a bit of tape on the right to help the broken latch, otherwise there’s a gap. Since I had the case to spare, I don’t know if I’d recommend copying my setup exactly. If you must, you can buy the case for $30 here.
I’ve intentionally not chosen to stuff everything and the kitchen sink into the kit. There’s no HDMI/DP cable, ethernet cable, battery bank, headphones, or extra controller.
- I generally carry Bluetooth earbuds and a battery bank with me everywhere anyway.
- If I need an HDMI/DP then there’s a screen, and if there’s a screen then it probably already has a cable for me to use.
- Same with ethernet cable. Where am I going that there’s a wired connection but no extra wire? To be fair, if I was going somewhere I needed a wire, like a local tournament, it’d be easy to wrap one around the edge.
- An extra controller shouldn’t be the default part of any kit, unless you know there’s going to always be a Player 2. It just makes the kit bag so much bigger, and for what? A chance you might use it?
What would you improve? Is there anything I should add?
