A Transparent Steam Deck Shell with Upgraded Buttons for $30!?

There's a new transparent back plate update for the Steam Deck and it's a pretty good upgrade for the asking price. In this video, we look at the transparent clear shell from Jsaux.
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[@TakiUdon]

Shout out to my little engineer for helping out with the build on this one. 👍 (FAQ) -The buttons that I used in this video do not cause any issues with the stock case. -You can use a magnetic cooler attachment on the back of this (assuming that you have an adhesive plate). I used a Blackshark cooler that I had after seeing a comment from a viewer and I redid the same 15w test that I did in this video. My temps were 70c for the GPU and 72c for the CPU. The fan was 500-800 RPM lower than just using the new back shell alone. Seems to be a decent option for heat transfer if you want to go this route.

[@bloodofdepanta]

The first and truest takito

[@gruiz1766]

That part was adorable.

[@jobearesto9746]

Yes its great you have your little one involved. Being father myself its always good in getting my son involved in my hobbies /projects.

[@achunkofbutter]

The little Taki noodle

[@TheFireRed]

Seeing your child was so unexpected and wholesome. So sweet!

[@Omegapork]

The 3rd party shell is so accurate because Valve actually released the CAD files for the steam deck!

[@chrls.1093]

4:38 I suggest, when you disassemble your Steam Deck, to put the console into it's case, so you don't put any stress on the joysticks or anything since the case is made for protecting the Steam Deck and it does a perfect mold for it. 😉

[@kewlztertc5386]

If the joysticks are so delicate that they cannot withstand the weight of the deck, then they're not durable enough for the average gammer. As I don't know anyone who uses thumbsticks delicately.

[@J355_dll]

@@kewlztertc5386 as far as I can tell, from the several videos ive watched, and reviews online, the thumbs ticks are durable. However, as someone who does tinker, and someone who does take apart several consoles and electronics, not stressing anything is good, if you can, like OP was saying, since every steam deck comes with a case, and so resting it in there minimizes the low chance of any damage to the screen buttons or joystick.

[@jedivanrooyen9614]

Came here looking for this comment lmao, just the towel stuff j the table bugged me

[@kewlztertc5386]

@@J355_dll I believe that's superfluous. Buttons and joysticks will receive considerably more stress from typical use, than the 6 ounces of weight from the device being upside down.

[@J355_dll]

@@kewlztertc5386 it's closer to 1.5-2 pounds if I remember correctly, taking the slant into account and the stresses it's still quite a bit, however, I would rather take apart a device in a jig or elevated. Are you fine to take it apart face down, on a towel? Probably. Most likely I just prefer it to be protected.

[@SlabBulkhead166]

You should note that when removing the back first make sure there's no microsd card installed, they can easily break from it.

[@darkspawn6247]

literally broke my sd card last week when opening my steam deck for an ssd upgrade. follow this advice. don't be me.

[@michaelmedlin3091]

I knew this information and broke 2 sd cards because I am stupid

[@MithosDagon]

Yep, snapped my 1 TB sd card in half reopening my steam deck after an SSD upgrade (I put a screw in the wrong place and realized it when closing the steam deck up)

[@kontonce89]

@@michaelmedlin3091 lmfao same I remembered right after I opened it and was like "F me"

[@ungratefulmango]

Woah I had no idea. Thank you very much

[@christopherspellman9163]

Having your little helper as a part of this video was adorable. Can't wait for my little guys to be able to participate in my projects too 😁!

[@RetroDaddyPH]

My little one is already a participant in the drop testing segment.

[@trbdann2]

The back piece of metal will get heat soaked rapidly. BUT they made that so you can add your cooler! They make small thermoelectric coolers for phone and steam deck!! these usually sell a metal plate to apply, but now with this it's WAY better. Surprised you didn't mention that!

[@leehawleyphotography9326]

Ah that’s a very good point.

[@lester9230]

ETA prime just made a video on that, although it didn't really make a difference, so let's hope that ETA prime gets this shell, or Taki gets a cooler.

[@trbdann2]

@@lester9230 Yes! Saw the ETA Prime video. No, indeed, ETA's (the devices')cooling of the plastic shell.. (although good video, good to know for sure!) pretty useless. Now, This new shell, with the thermal compound, seems to make direct contact with metal that contact the CPU. THAT will cool it!, effectively adding a second fan the the metal touching the CPU. Not just cooling the plastic back of the deck... lol indeed, hoping ETA or Taki gets one or the other!🔥 (or more like❄)

[@Ace.inc200]

@@trbdann2 wow i never thought of this

[@SamsMangaReviews]

This is such an awesome accessory, JSAUX has been killing it. If I didn't have a project killswitch order placed I would pull the trigger on this.

[@TakiUdon]

Killswitch is a very good case. I took it off to make this video.

[@unforsaken552]

@@TakiUdon does it fit with the killswitch m

[@alexfrantz8389]

It’s too bad that JSAUX is a bad company, morally.

[@vlesmeries]

@@alexfrantz8389 how so? Genuinely curious. I bought one of their docks with USB adapter and seemed to work fine.

[@alexfrantz8389]

@@vlesmeries JSAUX is known to be connected to multiple third-parties that they collect and sell your data to without your consent, including private personal information such as name, address, email, and more. All of this without notifying the consumer of the process. Which is illegal.

[@zbow1974]

respect to you Taki, those little hands in the video shows your not afraid to take time out for the kid even when doing a video, love it man.

[@MobileDecay]

Don't let Taki fool you. He was just the helper. He had to be walked through it by his child or he would've never been able to do this video. 😁👍

[@roflBeck]

This looks really cool. Those back buttons straight up LOOK better than the stock ones, I could tell right away they're easier to press. Not like the original ones are bad, but it's just a little weird that you have to pull them toward the motherboard instead of towards the hand grips. Also, that one part of the shell probably doesn't close because there's a thermal pad there now.

[@McLoovviinn]

amazing, the transparency is beautify, kind remember that 90's style but refreshed, also loved the heat plate and bigger buttons, tbh I don't use this back buttons at all just because is quite hard for me to press, one thing you could mention is how this bigger buttons fit on the Deck case. I hope in the future some company release a dock that has a builtin fan position on that place, or a fan that I can attach on that spot with magnetics. And you should envolve more the kid on the videos, was lovable 🥰

[@FlergerBergitydersh]

The APU tends to boost opportunistically, so I doubt it would lower the temps that much rather than let the system boost a bit more for longer. That's all that happened when Linus Tech Tips added a beefy heat sink to the back of a Steam Deck.

[@ivanjarmoluk6484]

Wish they made one without a metal plate. The last thing I want is a hot surface on the exterior of my device. The thermals are fine stock, I don't understand why all these cooling 'solutions' are coming to market.

[@mononokehime3182]

Makes me think back about my violet transparent game boy color when I was a kid. Memories, man... Makes me nostalgic!

[@Paracelus]

I'd love a version of this with the metal exposed out the back - could then attach own coolers for high wattage uses :)

[@yesterdaysjam2405]

Risk of burning your fingers probably increases with that though

[@roflBeck]

That's probably why that thermal pad is there. Just stick one to the metal plate there.

[@OmairArif]

The metal plate is exposed out the back though?

[@hittrewweuy7595]

The biggest design flaw on this product is that they used a really huge thermal pad that actually blocks the one channel needed for air flow , one has to cut the thermal pad out from where the channel is ,otherwise air flow will be interrupted and make it hotter and make the fan to work harder

[@NikoBellicisalive]

Did you test it out? How do you know?

[@BespokeSlipp]

Transparent gamer-stuff is so sick, can’t wait to cop this!

[@Coolfwip]

Liked for the guest engineer, who definitely deserves a yoohoo bonus

[@TakiUdon]

Haha!

[@roughdude6575]

Eta prime made a video about some fan you can put on the back shell. He didn't see any improvement but it was the stock shell. Maybe on this shell with the back plate, it will work better.

[@crashdude7589]

Been waiting ages for backshell replacements, those customizable buttons are such a great addition too

[@ClassicGOD]

I need this for back and front and in purple ASAP.

[@Brandon-ez6ej]

Awww having your little engineer in the video was so cute. Very heartwarming!

[@chriscastillo291]

I think bringing your little helper in the video was a big difference in a good way!!!!

[@naderz4064]

Letting your kids help makes this stuff so rewarding

[@repawn3610]

Taki ive been watchig you since the beginning the rg 350 days it's soo good to see you staying consistent and love in this handheld space cant w8 for more

[@toxicgamer4123]

Ain’t no way taki a dad that’s wholesome af

[@ascurtis7500]

If/when it comes in purple I'll have no choice but to get one. The nostalgia is just too strong for me to resist.

[@UnregisteredUsername]

facts

[@Christophthegeek]

It does come in purple.

[@OneEightZero180]

I'm curious about the potential for yellowing. Maybe it's due for a revisit after some time? :)

[@DubsBrown]

This is why I like Red, Blue, and green dyed transparent plastic. Doesn’t yellow, just goes from Kelly green to forest green.

[@andydarling8951]

You stop this I love that you let your little helper help so much. That was so cute.

[@DrunkonTacos]

That one clip at the top not clipping in happened to me reinstalling my factory back shell after doing my 1tb drive install. After screwing all the screws down, it cleared up.

[@jesusrodriguez3728]

Does it come in purple? Would love to get one that looks like that old GBC feel.

[@UNSCPILOT]

Same here, seconding this

[@John14073]

The custom named engraving is slick and I'd buy this right now if I could do that as well. Oh if only I myself had a laser engraver.

[@ulmwurttemberg1682]

Didn't know you had a little engineer. Kudos to kids...because they're kids.

[@gamingonlinux]

Sounds like a fire hazard if you could only take touching it a few seconds before feeling like it will burn you...

[@bb_lou]

Dope video, I've been interested in this backplate as soon as they announced it, and I'm glad your little engineer was there to help too, really wholesome. Looking forward to more thermal testing because honestly I'm a little skeptical of having a big hot spot on the back of my device, considering how much engineering went into keeping the heat away from the user's hands.

[@newsunalliance]

Been waiting on this to come out I can't wait to get mine ! Thanks for the review. I wasn't surprised by the heat dissipation results. At first they advertised it as a bonus but later removed that as a feature listed I noticed. Thanks again!

[@nofox777]

Fantastic review man, so clear and concise and well described . Good camera quality . Sweet kiddo

[@leehawleyphotography9326]

Hi Taki. If you look at Linus video with insane extra cooling, that heat pad won’t make any difference without a fan. It just delays the onset of peak temp a bit. My worry is actually burning your leg or hand etc. are you able to test what happens if you keep the protective film on the metal tray? To actually stop the heat transfer and therefore keeping the outside cooler.

[@deckverse]

The film would could at some point. So don't.

[@lezzard]

You could try removing the thermal pad altogether. I'm not sure that's possible but I'm gonna give it a try when I receive mine. I'm only interested in the back buttons and the looks. Also, I'm not convinced those fat thermal pads don't restrict airflow and cause issues in other areas such as louder / higher pitched fan.

[@leehawleyphotography9326]

@@lezzard let us know how you get on. 👍

[@zora_tech]

2:55 this is probably one of the most adorable things I have ever seen for a tech mod 😆

[@jeremyfrost1935]

Awesome little engineer you have there. Glad to see you let them help. Thats awesome to see

[@Vaskomyr]

You should try one of those peltier coolers since it seems it's making good contact with the inner heatsink. Seems like those would be more effective with this case mod

[@rajgill7576]

I heard somewhere its very difficult to even get the steam deck to thermal throttle, so there's not much gains to be had.

[@UnregisteredUsername]

peltier coolers require extra power and configuration, when the deck doesn't really have any issues with cooling to begin with wouldn't be worth it

[@GameTechTalk]

What a perfect timing for this, ordering, tks for the vid Taki!

[@Gingerlion777]

The pad in the shell is a absolutely excellent idea! Should have been in the deck shell to begin with!

[@alexandrep4913]

I'm actually worried about it and since it doesn't allow the air to flow around it.

[@MJosephJr]

Taki Jr. assisting makes the world so much better!

[@tretere]

Honestly, I’m much more stoked about the buttons than the shell (which is cool and all but just cosmetics in the end - the buttons though look like a serious upgrade).

[@eyb0ss]

I should be getting my shell next week, it was dispatched 2 days ago. The back buttons will be interesting to play around with to see if you can have shorter ones at the top and longer ones at the bottom

[@OVERSKULL87]

I love transparent tech and this is the exact look I would want on a steam deck. Incredible work 😍

[@dio8070]

Aw so cute the little helper :)

[@momomomomomomomomoto]

I'm really looking forward to get a steam deck and this shell looks awesome. btw what a wholesome video, keep it up man!

[@qks9806]

Ordered mine after your video! Thank you!

[@iangriffin5150]

love when the kiddos wanna help with dad's projects 😇

[@LeesChannel]

Wow, I wasn't expecting a guest appearance from Taki Ramen! My littlest one does the same thing with touching 👍🏻, but she makes a kiss noise.

[@TakiUdon]

😀

[@OkraPlutonium]

Honestly seems like a safety issue with a big hot plate on the back like that... I'm just waiting for a front and back atomic purple shell.

[@PumKnH3D]

I'm very pleased to see JSAUX isn't branded on the case as shown in the store page images

[@pistolao_vr]

I came to this video from a video from ETA Prime showing a cooler that sticks to the back of the Steam Deck and that metal metal plate on your case would be a perfect match to it! Hope you can get one and test it!

[@AnthonyMiele]

I've been wanting to get this for weeks now! It's so cool looking!

[@Will_b83]

If you haven’t upgraded to the Hall effect analogs…do it. It’s a bit of a pain in the ass…but absolutely worth it.

[@Light-Rock97]

Too cool, man. Grey and orange is a great combination.

[@minty-bird8663]

Cant wait for an Atomic Purple one.

[@jesusangelpadrongonzalez7393]

The transparent casing looks really cool. They just need to create the front🥰

[@UNSCPILOT]

Only issue is that getting the front off will be far more work, especially with needing to pry out the battery. It would be nice but a lot of work, personally a purple clear backshell is enough for me

[@lolcat]

​@@UNSCPILOTYou don't. It's all attached to a midframe. You have to remove the screen though.

[@timw6923]

Got my shopping notice Monday ! Can’t wait for mine to get here !

[@Juice8767]

This thing looks sick af and I don't mind it just being the back plate personally. I'm snagging one for sure.

[@Ben-vu4jn]

You are quickly becoming one of my favorite KZbinrs. And you seem like such a nice guy too ❤

[@eddyhg8098]

Manifesting for a better display mod 🕯🕯🕯

[@TakiUdon]

Doing my part 🕯🕯🕯

[@jss4837]

dang. i was not really interested in this backplate until I saw those replacement back buttons. They looks dope

[@x5ilco]

its good to your kid taking interest in this stuff, we'll soon have a Taki 2.0?

[@JoshieKona]

Will this effect the sniffability of the exhaust vents?!?!?

[@stevesgaming7475]

I love the idea of clear cases in mechanical devices so you can see them working, however it just seems a bit pointless to me in electronic devices.

[@K1NDR3D]

Saw a lot of backlash about the large JSEAUX logo on the back, but i dont see it here. Pretty cool of them how they listened to their customers.

[@christiand2426]

I would clean and add some thermal paste to the pad before putting it back together, that will make a huge difference. But you should also note that the metal back will probably burn you if you touch it.

[@_GarethRossUK]

Jsaux didnt update the box photo lol wow and as for the name they didnt say anything about that for me when I pre ordered last week. Can you use the origonal buttons from the steam deck for this?

[@magnawaves]

I've been waiting for this. I want to have a clear shell with it partially painted with a candy finish to it. Can't wait to snag one of these

[@mondoduke4871]

I can't wait to see what they do with a heat sink on the back with that plate there. Gonna have to get one

[@kyles3335]

This back in conjunction with a peltier cooler would show some decent results if the heat transfer is good enough to burn your finger.

[@NeoTechni]

Your little engineer is adorable.

[@sorryfornoname2157]

Steam releases 3d files for their hardware so it's really easy to create stuff for it. i made my own steam controller grips with 3d printing.

[@SimplyMavAgain]

been wondering about whether I'd want to order this alongside the JSAUX ModCase or not. Really excited for that ModCase btw.

[@TakiUdon]

If I get one, I'll make sure to do a video like this.

[@kewlztertc5386]

They should've made tiny nibs on the heatsink that extruded from the plastic back. That way they could've made attachments to cool.

[@TheAkashicTraveller]

I hope when front shells come out they also use threaded inserts. I bought and installed a gba shell the other year and it turns out putting in self tapping screws uses enough force it'll just shear off the heads of the screws if you can't get good ones or you're not careful enough. Especially with how often us tinkeres like to open the thing. Even being carefull not to rethread the screw holes I don't imagine it lasting forever.

[@TheSilverWolf1998]

Thank you for the tip on the self tap screws. I've notice a tiny gap near the usb C port on mine the same way you have. I guess it's a slight design flaw in the tolerance?

[@adams4244]

This is the first video I've seen where you are not reading something pre-written and sounding like a turn-by-turn gps robot

[@Macky4941]

Pairing that back plate with a semiconductor cooler would probably work extremely well together.

[@hornantuutti5157]

Moisture buildup I side the deck would kill it pretty fast I think.

[@mikerotch8375]

Do the new buttons cause any issues with the original carrying case?

[@arthurwilliams3479]

if they could create an ergonomic aluminum heatsink that has no sharp corners, and fit it over or through that pad it could really lower temps even further. I think this case will definitely make a difference on performance alone. im sold on it.

[@HoneyBadgerVideos]

i just sanded the shell to make the halves even. Used some tape to cover the good side and used 600 grit. Done in no time

[@offspec]

Wake me up when it comes in definitely-not-atomic purple

[@ADreamingTraveler]

That seems dangerous that that plate gets that hot. It should NOT be so hot that you have to lift your finger off of it because it feels like it's burning you. That's a huge design flaw right there. The plastic gets hot there but the plastic makes it so it won't burn you. The metal most likely holds onto more of the heat hence why its hotter and also because it's a small piece isolated piece of metal.

[@tinnakornsai4404]

I didn’t know Taki was Chinese. I am glad my favorite tech tuber is Asian too. 😊

[@TakiUdon]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I am not Chinese or Asian :[ I just live in China.

[@tinnakornsai4404]

@@TakiUdon 😅 I thought the little engineer spoke mandarin my ear failed me 😂. either way u r still my favorite utuber. Btw there is back shell sale on Aliexpress with two big vent hole for $10. If you got chance please do compare this whats more better to steam deck.

[@alexgreen7459]

So with that metal plate becoming so hot to the touch, would this shell be safe to use if it's being covered by the Killswitch case? Or any case for that matter?

[@chitan1362]

I predicted the Steam Deck would breath a crap ton of life into both the Handheld and Linux community, and I have never been so right. The future looks very bright.

[@FunFreakeyy]

As a Linux only PC gamer it was a instant buy for me because I already knew that it will work for me, but it blew me away how many people liked it. The future looks great indeed.

[@wesleycoder]

I love that you brought the expert to help!

[@DaveAdams222]

3:03 . . .damn it Taki . . .stop making me "feel" . . .it's 10AM!

[@alisdair42]

This, now I need this to be an option because my god that looks pretty

[@oOWaschBaerOo]

now they should make it be able to have an actual heatsink screwed to it, passive or with a fan, some good finstack low profile enough to not be thicker than the grips on the side

[@BrianMills198686]

Could you imagine if Taki didn't address the helper and just suddenly for half the video it looked like he had tiny hands. 🤣

[@IAMJRAD]

Might be smart to say this ahead of time. Before you remove the back shell. Remove your micro sd card. You WILL break it if you don't remove it first.

[@themadatheist1976]

Looks nice, now they need to do the front.

[@Winston-1984]

Cute, Little Taki Okonomiyaki

[@jaq515]

Great video as always. The shell looks very cool. The triggers will / should be great for manual gears

[@Deathcroak]

There is a really good cooler that may work with the shell now that there is no plastic in the way.