The PlayStation 5 has only been on the market for a little over three years, and aside from specific releases like the Slim edition and the PlayStation Portal, there really haven't been any surprising changes. However, its potential for modding is greater than ever, which brings us back to Matt from the DIY Perks channel. After several months of absence, Matt struck again and transformed a PS5 Slim into a portable console with a tablet form factor and an integrated OLED screen…
Modifying a console can be as simple as adding a fan or replacing its casing, but we've also seen projects that aim for a complete rebuild. The Nintendo GameCube, the PlayStation 2, and the Game Boy Pocket are some of the consoles that have already received that treatment, though it's not exclusive to what we call retrohardware.
Today it's the PlayStation 5's turn, and if there's one person who can modify it completely, it's Matt from the DIY Perks channel. Matt starts his video with a striking fact: Sony hasn't launched a portable console in more than ten years, and the PlayStation Portal is a streaming device. So... how difficult would it be to create a portable PlayStation 5?
PlayStation 5 'Tablet Edition': A PS5 with Built-in OLED Display
Now, when we talk about portability, this project leans more toward the territory of gaming PCs, and not something like a Nintendo Switch or a Steam Deck. The cooling system in the PS5 Slim has to dissipate almost 200 watts at moments of peak intensity, so Matt decided to throw a lot of copper at the problem (with a pinch of nickel plating to avoid a bad reaction with the liquid metal), in the form of two enormous heatsinks installed on each side of the motherboard, and a series of heatpipes. The first fans he chose were too small, and he had to replace them with more powerful models.
With the cooling solved, Matt preferred to follow the 3D printing route to design the casing and preserve the same language as the PlayStation 5. The use of aluminum adds rigidity to the whole structure and serves as support for the speakers. With a foot and a hinge on the back, the PlayStation 5 is ready to receive the final touch: An OLED screen from an Alienware gaming laptop. What about power? The PlayStation 5 only needs 12V, so a passive HDPlex 250W power supply (or another 'brick' with similar characteristics) is more than enough.
The final result is more in line with an all-in-one system than a tablet, but it's still impressive, and the space savings definitely don't go unnoticed. Is there a market for a PlayStation 5 with an integrated screen...?
