DIY

A YouTuber has built a gaming PC inspired by the upcoming Steam Machine, trying to match its specs. Though not as powerful as the Steam Machine, the custom PC delivers solid gaming performance in Elden Ring, Spider-Man 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and others.

Awekeys looks to be planning to make a set of metal keycaps for low profile mechanical keyboards, which would provide a more premium, more durable keycap option for ordinary wireless low-profile keyboards and exotic ergonomic split keyboards alike.

DIY engineer Erik Spijk has successfully built and flown what he calls “the flying little brother of the Vegas Sphere” — a drone named Zippy. Zippy is a drone with a POV (persistence of vision) display.

JoeScotto, a YouTuber and mechanical keyboard enthusiast known for some outlandish keyboard designs, has revived T9 typing with a fully 3D-printed, hand-wired mechanical keyboard. The tiny project has been published online for anyone to build the project for free, and it uses free, open-source firmware to achieve the T9 dialling features.

The Arduino Nesso N1 is a new and compact development kit. This device comes with a touchscreen, its own sensors and various options for wireless connectivity.

The Makera Z1 is an entry-level desktop CNC machine designed for cutting softer materials, like wood, plastics, composites, and softer non-ferrous metals. However, as a challenge, and to show what the Z1 is capable of, Makera released a video showing the Z1 machining a titanium part surprisingly effectively.

Sora 2 builds on OpenAI’s text-to-video foundation but adds sharper motion tracking, more coherent lighting, and stronger “world simulation.” In simpler terms: it’s much better at making objects behave as if they belong in the same physical space.

Most DIY laptops, palmtops or cyberdecks require significant engineering skills to build. However, this DIY palmtop looks to fix all that with off the shelf parts and a minimal, simple design that could be achieved by anyone with a 3D printer.

The Open Book Touch is a new e-reader with a built-in backlight. The relatively compact device has physical buttons and is supposed to convince customers with its open architecture.

A fan decided to create a first-person view mode mod for Silent Hill 2 and while the game already sports rim atmosphere in third person, adding this feature makes for a terrifying result.

The Kode Dot is a new handheld device that can be used as a kind of digital toolkit and is extremely versatile. The device also allows external sensors and actuators to be connected.

A post on Reddit has shown an Asus Astral RTX 5080 GPU being used as a skateboard. There is very little information about the state of the GPU itself, but the skateboard seems to work well.

CheckMag Grok’s Imagine app turns static photos into six-second AI videos that range from mind-blowing to mildly disturbing—and it’s free to try. Notebookcheck did just that. Update: Edits made in response to readers' comments.

A Reddit user has given the PlayStation 3 Slim a fresh lease of life with a hand-built “PS3 Slim Pro” mod. Blending creative engineering and silent performance, the build has caught the attention of the r/PS3 community.

CheckMag Wooting recently released the Lekker Tikken switches, the world's first closed-bottom Hall effect switch with a full 4 mm of travel. In this mini switch review, we compare the Lekker Tikkens to the Lekker V2 switches in the Wooting 80HE to see if the new Lekker Tikken switch is a worthwhile upgrade.

A 4K texture pack is available for free for Resident Evil 5 and offers numerous improvements. However, you will need to follow the installation steps carefully to avoid any problems.

The versatile XLaserlab E3 is designed for a wide range of materials and is supposedly beginner-friendly at the same time. The laser is relatively compact, offers modern specs and is currently available at a launch discount.

A gaming PC that doubles as a kitchen appliance? SignalRGB has built a fully functional all-in-one rig inside a microwave, and it’s giving the $2,000 RGB-packed machine away to one lucky winner.

Tech YouTuber Macho Nacho Productions has brought the legendary 2000 Xbox prototype back to life – this time as a fully functional console rather than just a glowing aluminum shell.

Reddit user bharms27 is reviving cassette nostalgia with a 3D-printed NFC player. Tapes trigger Spotify playlists via tags, while the phone is the actual player. The project features custom shells and app, open hardware roots and retro styling.

YouTuber Chris Doel has managed to build a battery pack out of lithium batteries from 500 disposable vapes, and successfully used it to power his house. He built the battery pack using 3D-printed frames, with inspiration from an EV battery pack lying in his workshop.

Fast travel is out, and the open road is in. A new Skyrim mod transforms the way players journey through Tamriel, finally allowing players to sit back and take in the views on their way to their next quest.

DIY engineer and YouTuber Mike Bell has successfully built and flown a drone powered directly by solar energy, with no batteries or any form of energy storage device. He achieved this by attaching a slat made up of 27 individual solar panels onto a carbon-fiber drone.

YouTube channel Not From Concentrate (NFC) has unveiled the Tiny PS5 Redux, a refined and compact redesign of Sony’s console that fans can now build themselves. The project focuses on better thermals, portability, and accessibility, with a step-by-step guide available through the NFC store.

Prusa, in partnership with Filament2, has just announced a revolutionary 'liquid filament' and toolhead for its Prusa XL 3D printer that allows it to print using fluid materials like silicone, epoxy and even chocolate, at a vastly lower cost than existing alternatives. The demo shows it printing flexible silicone parts with a standard filament spool and printhead setup, with the same precision as seen in typical FDM printing.

A DIY camera built from an optical mouse sensor can capture 30x30-pixel grayscale images. It has 64 color modes, multiple photo styles, FRAM memory, USB dumps, and boasts hand-packed construction using 3D-printed parts.​​

YouTuber Hoarder Sam, known for his DIY drone-building projects and drone reviews, has uploaded a video of a functional semi-autonomous drone equipped with GPS and compass. The drone cost about $220 to build, save for some 3D-printed parts a servo.

Prusa has announced a new 3D printer called the Core One L as well as a limited-edition Signature Oak edition of the Core One. The former is a larger variant of the Core One with some improvements.

A Reddit user has given their Game Boy Advance SP a massive battery upgrade by connecting it to a DeWalt power pack from a cordless drill. The handheld now looks like something you'd find on a construction site – and can theoretically run for almost 17 days straight.

A Framework user built a great-looking custom gaming console from a 13-inch mainboard, Oculink eGPU, and 3D-printed case. It's a great representation of how modular DIY design and active cooling can turn mystery parts into a powerful, portable PC.

CheckMag If you are looking to step away from subscription services, reduce reliance on big tech, or simply have fun while learning, self-hosting is a great way to make your media collections available across all of your devices while keeping data under your control. Here are the best containers for managing almost every type of media.

A Redditor has modded their Zephyrus M16 with an RTX 4090 laptop GPU to outperform an average RTX 5090 laptop. The benchmarks shared by the user show up to a 7.6 percent performance boost over an RTX 5090 laptop.

Nvidia’s flagship RTX 5090 may deliver record-breaking performance, but a new teardown paints a troubling picture of its internal design. A leading repair shop has branded the Founders Edition “a disaster,” claiming its modular structure makes it nearly impossible to repair.

DIY engineer Luis has successfully designed, built, and flown a Star Wars-inspired X-wing drone that hit speeds of 216 km/h (134 mph). He revealed the project underwent 6 iterations to produce a working prototype.

Ohio State University researchers have demonstrated the ability to read and write data to shiitake mushrooms using an Arduino UNO microcontroller board and a simple test circuit. Roadblocks to commercialization include the storage unit size and hungry moms.

A hardware developer has built the Diptyx E-reader - a unique, dual-screen, open-hardware e-reader with no DRM or cloud tie-ins. The main focus of this project is to bring book-like reading and full device ownership to digital readers.

The MutantC V5 is a new handheld device that comes with a keyboard and joystick and is a slider smartphone. The device can also be connected to an external monitor, and sensors and actuators can be used.

Bambu Lab has shared details on its upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday that will last till December 5. Shoppers will be able to get the A1, the H2D Combo, and the P1S for a discounted price.

DIY YouTuber Hoarder Sam, who is known for custom drone builds, has uploaded a video of a 22.3-millimeter (0.88-inch) drone, which he calls “the world's smallest FPV drone.” He achieved this using components from a commercial drone and 3D-printed parts as well.

YouTuber AlphaPhoenix has built a 2-billion-frames-per-second (fps) camera, an improved version of his 1-billion fps camera from last year. And for his first video with the camera, he recorded a laser bouncing back and forth between two mirrors.

The Ubo Pod is a smart, personal AI assistant, designed to be open source and support the use of AI models locally, which could cater to individualized privacy requirements.

Bambu Lab has introduced a new 3D printer. The P2S is supposed to impress with an extensive feature set and strong specs. The enclosed 3D printer should also be easy to use and therefore quite accessible even for beginners.

A homeowner tackled a major wasp infestation by 3D printing a one-way excluder that, with a PC fan, removed hundreds of wasps from their walls. The design files have been shared for others to use and adapt.

The HiMill D1 and D1S can process various materials, not just plastics, with high precision and a certain degree of automation. The price is comparatively low, which could make this CNC machine quite appealing to regular users and tinkerers.

Brilliant as it may be, Sucker Punch's new game, Ghost of Yotei, is causing PS5s to trip off in a rather bizzare manner. Here's how it happens, and what to try out if you're in a similar bind.

Bambu Lab and Presq have partnered to release a line of open-sourced, customisable footwear designs that will allow anyone to bring their concepts to reality using just a 3D printer. The lineup of 3D designs, which feature TPE and PLA based construction, will be available on Bambu's MakerWorld platform.

An iPhone 4s was modded into a retro handheld - it uses an iOS 6.1.3 downgrade and jailbreak to run RetroArch emulators. Physical PS Vita buttons & a Bluetooth keyboard PCB provide tactile controls in a laser-engraved Kirby-themed metal case.

A new expansion card is supposedly able to significantly accelerate various devices, but only for certain AI-based applications. For makers and tinkerers, the M5Stack LLM-8850 could be quite useful for projects involving the Raspberry Pi 5.

Makera has officially revealed the Z1, it's latest desktop CNC, this time appealing to what it calls the "entry-level" maker. The new CNC machine features the same auto-levelling, 0.02 mm precision, and quick tool changer as the Makera Carvera Air, but costs half as much.

It was only a matter of time! The same wizard behind the completely transparent Game Boy, has created a fully playable Lego Game Boy using real hardware and supporting real cartridges.