In a remarkable feat, Chinese modders have transformed Sony’s PlayStation 5 into a portable device, reminiscent of a cumbersome gaming laptop but without a battery. This creation, showcased on Weibo and known as BBook AI, boasts a striking 17.3-inch display. Even though it tips the scales at over 9 pounds, it manages to capture quite a bit of attention with its unique design.
The BBook AI Original Edition encases the PS5’s internal components within a 3D-printed shell, offering a limited advantage with its integrated screen. This screen is impressive, featuring a 17.3-inch 4K IPS panel with full 100% DCI-P3 color coverage. However, it falls short with a 60 Hz refresh rate, which isn’t ideal for fast-paced gaming.
An HDMI 2.1 port on the side lets you hook up an external monitor, but doing so kind of defeats the portable purpose. And since there’s no built-in battery, plugging into AC power is a must. This isn’t really the modders’ fault, though; the PS5’s hefty power consumption of about 200W would only give you a mere 30 minutes of battery life if it had a 100Wh battery.
Now, a quick glance at the specs: the BBook AI sports an eight-core Zen 2-based CPU and a 36 Compute Unit GPU built on RDNA 2 architecture. It comes with 16GB of unified GDDR6 memory and 825GB of PCIe 4.0 storage. This setup is the same as a regular PS5, but the price tag is a whopping $2,750, which is about five and a half times more than the console itself. And there’s also a keyboard—though it’s unclear whether it’s mechanical or membrane from just the pictures.
Connectivity-wise, there’s a USB Type-A 10 Gbps port on the right side. The laptop’s volume might be a bit much for some, reaching a noise level similar to that of a sports car at 71.3 dB. But make no mistake, inside is a fully operational PlayStation 5 running the PlayStation OS, making it the first PC capable of playing Astro Bot. Can your gaming laptop claim that?
While the BBook AI aims for portability, it’s twice as heavy as the Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 8 with an RTX 4090 and a 99Wh battery. For those looking for a more practical setup, buying a portable monitor and a PS5 could save you some cash, costing between $700 and $1,000 total. In the end, the BBook AI stands as an impressive DIY project, despite being somewhat impractical for everyday use.
