Why I built my own DIY cyberdeck straight out of 80s sci-fi - and how you can too

Everyone seems to be talking about cyberdecks. At the risk of mixing up sci-fi genres, that's a name that I've not heard in a long time. No, cyberdecks aren't a Star Wars thing.

Instead, the term was coined by William Gibson in the 1984 near-future dystopian cyberpunk novel, Neuromancer. In the novel, hackers, called "console cowboys," would use cyberdecks to hook up to cyberspace (another term that Gibson came up with, two years earlier in a short story called Burning Chrome). In the book, they're described as custom-built, rectangular, deck-like computers with red and green LEDs that are used to jack into the matrix (yes, Gibson used that term too).

Similar devices have also appeared in movies such as Blade Runner, Mad Max, and Alien. Fast forward to 2026, and it seems that people are building cyberdecks. But what are they, why are people excited about them, and how do you get your own?

Bottom line, it's a portable computer. At the risk of upsetting people in the maker and hacker communities, a cyberdeck can be pretty much anything that you want it to be. Given their origin, cyberdecks usually have a cyberpunk/retro/dystopian/post-apocalyptic look and feel, but they don't have to.

Sure, you can go for the full-on cyberpunk look, but a cyberdeck can also be a basic, utilitarian computer, or you can even build one inside an Altoids tin or Grandma's biscuit tin. Or it can be an off-the-shelf system made to look cool... although if you post about your creation on Reddit, don't be surprised if someone posts this meme in response to it.

If it's a computer, and there's a screen or an HMD (head-mounted display), and a keyboard that can be physical or virtual, it can be a cyberdeck. I'm not going to be a gatekeeper on people's fun and creativity. Well, given my "a cyberdeck can be anything you want it to be" stance, this is where things start to get somewhat vague.

But that doesn't mean I can't give you some pointers, along with a look at a simple yet powerful cyberdeck that I built a while back. You need a computer. Something small yet powerful.

Fortunately, we live in a time when there are no shortages of single-board computers (SBCs) to choose from. You could go for the somewhat traditional Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, go for the smaller Raspberry Pi Zero 2, or go for something more obscure like a BeagleBone or Banana Pi board. The Raspberry Pi 5 - A powerhouse at the heart of many cyberdecks!

If this is your first build, I strongly suggest that you use a Raspberry Pi, either the full-sized boards or a Zero. These are very popular options, so there's going to be information, parts, and accessories out there. Plenty of options here, from the standard Raspberry Pi touchscreen display to something smaller like the PiSugar Whisplay HAT.