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Cutting corners: Gaming laptops already have a bad rep for running hot and heavy in the PC community. But a new portable PlayStation 5 mod from China is so chunky that gaming laptops suddenly seem sleek in comparison. Made by a group called BBook AI, this laptop crams Sony's latest console guts into a massive 17.3-inch laptop form factor.
Weighing in at a whopping 9.5 pounds for the laptop alone – plus an additional pound for the power brick – you could practically get a workout just carrying the "BBook AI Original Edition" around. For comparison, the PS5 Slim weighs 7.1 pounds, while the regular PS5 tips the scales at 9.9 pounds.
From most angles, the machine resembles a proper gaming laptop, provided you can overlook its hefty 31.3 mm thickness. Its 3D-printed chassis lends it an industrial, almost ruggedized aesthetic, though it's doubtful the laptop would survive a drop given its substantial weight.
Under the hood, you'll find the complete internals of a PlayStation 5: an 8-core Zen 2 CPU, a 36-compute-unit RDNA 2 GPU, 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, and 825GB of blazing-fast PCIe 4.0 storage. The specs are identical to the original PS5.
But what's the point? With the same hardware, the standard PS5 is likely the more appealing option for most people. That said, the BBook AI is more of a passion project geared toward enthusiasts.
The laptop does boast one cool and unique feature: a built-in 17.3-inch 4K (3840×2160) display with 100% DCI-P3 color coverage, as well as a full-sized keyboard.
There are some trade-offs though. The display's 60Hz refresh rate is underwhelming for such a high-end screen. And because the PS5's internals consume around 200 watts of power, any practical battery would die in less than an hour.
So its designers decided to ditch the idea of a battery entirely – meaning you have to stay tethered to a power outlet to use the laptop. Plus, the device pumps out a whopping 71.3 decibels of noise, which is basically in the same league as a loud hairdryer or even a sports car.
Then there's the price. At roughly $2,750, the BBook AI seems wildly overpriced compared to simply buying a PS5 and a decent portable monitor. Even if you have that kind of money to spare, the creators don't appear to have any plans to commercialize their design.
Still, as an ambitious DIY project repurposing console hardware, you've got to respect the effort.
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