AI Anatomy · cyberdeck
A computer you build yourself, drawn as the machine itself, part by part.
A cyberdeck is a portable computer you put together yourself: a small board, a screen, a way to type, and power, in a case you choose or make. Nothing in it is hidden, and every part has several versions to choose from.
Below is one, built around a Raspberry Pi 5. Tap any part to lift it out. Then scroll down: each part type has its own section with every common option, what it is good for, and the mistake people make with it.1Every fact on this page links to the page it came from. The case in the drawing is one example, not a kit list.
Tap the battery first
Power is what goes wrong most often on a first build.
The seven parts
01The deck in the drawing, one part at a time. Each one links down to the other options for that part.
Makes the deck portable. It must hold a steady 5 V for the board, the screen and the keyboard together.
Watch out. A Pi 5 wants a 5 A supply (the official one is 27 W). On a weaker supply it limits all USB devices to 600 mA in total, and below about 4.63 V it logs a low-voltage warning.2Raspberry Pi documentation, Power supply.
The whole computer: a credit-card-sized board running full Linux. The fan on top is the Active Cooler over the main chip.
Watch out. It slows itself down between 80 °C and 85 °C. In a closed case, keep the cooler on and leave the vents clear.3Raspberry Pi documentation, Frequency management and thermal control.
The double row of 40 pins along the board edge. Buttons, lights, sensors — and the display's power — connect here.
Watch out. The pins work at 3.3 V. Never feed 5 V into a 3.3 V part, and never wire a motor straight to a pin.4Raspberry Pi documentation, GPIO and the 40-pin header.
The deck's drive. By default the Pi looks for its operating system on this card.
Watch out. Prepare it at home with Raspberry Pi Imager on your laptop, so you arrive at the workshop with a card that already boots.5Raspberry Pi documentation, Install an operating system.
The 7-inch touchscreen in the lid. Pictures and touches travel on the flat ribbon cable; power comes from the Pi's GPIO pins on a separate small cable.
Watch out. Wire the power cable wrong and you can damage the display: red (5 V) goes to pin 2, black to pin 6. Unplug the Pi before you start.6Raspberry Pi documentation, Touch Display 2.
How you type. A small USB or Bluetooth keyboard works like it would on any computer.
Watch out. A USB keyboard can draw 100 mA to 1,000 mA, out of that shared 600 mA (or 1.6 A on a 5 A supply). Check its rating.7Raspberry Pi documentation, Power supply — typical current draw.
The shell that holds it all — here a hard case with the screen in the lid. This is where your deck gets its look.
Watch out. Mount the board so air can move past the cooler, and keep the microSD slot and the power port reachable without taking it apart.8Raspberry Pi documentation, Frequency management and thermal control.
Every kind of part
02The options people actually build decks with, grouped by job. Prices are UK listings on the date shown and move often; Raspberry Pi raised its prices twice in 2026.
Compute boards11
The compute board is the actual computer inside a cyberdeck. Everything else (screen, keyboard, battery, case) is built around it. Most decks use a Raspberry Pi running Linux. Some use a Pi pulled out of a keyboard computer, a Compute Module on a carrier board, a faster non-Pi board, or a small microcontroller that doesn't run Linux at all. UK prices were seen on 13 Oct 2026, are as listed by the shop, and are higher than in earlier years.
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Raspberry Pi 5 (1/2/4/8/16GB)
Raspberry Pi's current credit-card-sized computer. It has a quad-core 2.4 GHz Cortex-A76 chip, runs full Linux, and has a power button and a fast PCIe connector for an SSD.
Pick it if You want the standard workshop board. It is 2–3× faster than a Pi 4, drives two 4K60 screens, can connect two DSI screens or cameras, and can boot from an NVMe SSD through an M.2 HAT.
Watch out. Power. It needs a 5 V / 5 A (25 W) USB-C supply. On a 3 A supply, USB peripherals are limited to 600 mA, which matters if your deck runs from a battery pack.
RAM 1/2/4/8/16 GB LPDDR4X-4267. Recommended supply 5.0 A (27 W official PSU). About 800 mA bare-board active draw. USB peripherals get 1.6 A on a 5 A supply. Display: 2× micro-HDMI (dual 4Kp60), 2× 4-lane combined CSI/DSI (22-pin, 0.5 mm pitch). PCIe 2.0 x1 FFC connector. · The Pi Hut, 13 Oct 2026: 1GB £43.20 (out of stock), 2GB £74.40, 4GB £105.60, 8GB £168.00, 16GB £292.80
raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com · thepihut.com
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Raspberry Pi 4 Model B
The previous-generation Pi. It has a quad-core Cortex-A72, Gigabit Ethernet and USB 3.0, and runs the same Linux and most of the same software as the Pi 5.
Pick it if You already own one, or you want lower power draw than a Pi 5. A 3 A (15 W) supply is enough, so a battery is easier to size.
Watch out. It is slower than the Pi 5 and has only one 2-lane DSI port, which uses a different, larger 15-pin connector. Screens and cables made for the Pi 5's 22-pin port won't plug straight in.
RAM 1/2/3/4/8 GB LPDDR4-3200. Recommended supply 3.0 A (5 V / 3 A, 15 W). About 600 mA bare-board active draw, about 1.25 A max under stress. Display: 2× micro-HDMI (2× 4K30 or 1× 4K60), 1× 2-lane DSI (15-pin, 1 mm pitch), composite video via the AV jack. · The Pi Hut, 13 Oct 2026: 1GB £33.60 (out of stock), 2GB £64.80 (out of stock), 3GB £80.40, 4GB £96.00, 8GB £158.40
raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com · thepihut.com
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Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
A tiny 65 × 30 mm Linux board with a quad-core 1 GHz Cortex-A53 and 512 MB RAM, plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Pick it if You're building a pocket-sized or very low-power deck, such as a terminal, radio or LoRa companion, or text-only machine, where size and battery life matter more than speed.
Watch out. 512 MB RAM makes a modern desktop and browser painful. It has no DSI display port (only a camera CSI port), so the screen must use mini-HDMI, SPI or the GPIO pins. There is only one micro-USB OTG port.
RAM 512 MB LPDDR2. Recommended supply 2 A (micro-USB). About 350 mA bare-board active draw. Display: 1× mini-HDMI (1080p60). 1× 2-lane CSI camera port (22-pin, 0.5 mm). · The Pi Hut, 13 Oct 2026: £14.40 (£17.30 with header), both out of stock. Pimoroni: £12.00 (£14.15 with headers), out of stock.
raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com · thepihut.com · shop.pimoroni.com
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Raspberry Pi 500 (keyboard computer)
A Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB) built into a compact keyboard with an integrated aluminium heatsink. Deck builders strip the case or build around it to get board and keyboard in one.
Pick it if You want Pi 5 speed and a ready-made keyboard without wiring a separate one. It's the quickest way to a laptop-style deck.
Watch out. It is big (286 × 122 × 23 mm), which fixes your deck's width. The official spec table lists only micro-HDMI for video. It needs the same 5 A supply as a Pi 5.
RAM 8 GB. Cortex-A76 at 2.4 GHz. Power input 5 V 5 A (25 W) USB-C, with a 600 mA peripheral limit on smaller supplies. About 800 mA bare-board active draw. Display: 2× micro-HDMI (4Kp60 + HDR). 2× USB 3.0, 1× USB 2.0, 40-pin horizontal GPIO. microSD storage. · The Pi Hut, 13 Oct 2026: £172.80 (UK layout)
raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com · thepihut.com
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Raspberry Pi 500+ (keyboard computer)
A Raspberry Pi 5 (16 GB) inside a mechanical, RGB-backlit keyboard, with a replaceable 256 GB M.2 SSD built in.
Pick it if You want the most powerful all-in-one Pi with fast SSD storage and a proper mechanical keyboard to build a deck around.
Watch out. It is the most expensive Pi option and bulkier (312 × 123 × 35 mm). Opening it means unscrewing five screws and prying the case apart with a spudger. The top and bottom are joined by a flexible cable, so fold it open rather than lifting the top off.
RAM 16 GB. 256 GB M.2 SSD (M-key, 2230–2280). Power 5 V 5 A (25 W) USB-C. About 800 mA active draw with LEDs off and SSD idle. Display: 2× micro-HDMI (4Kp60 + HDR). · The Pi Hut, 13 Oct 2026: £393.60 (UK layout)
raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com · thepihut.com
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Raspberry Pi 400 (keyboard computer)
An older keyboard computer containing a Pi 4 (4 GB, 1.8 GHz Cortex-A72). It is a cheap source of a Pi-plus-keyboard to cut down for a deck.
Pick it if You're on a budget and want a keyboard-and-Pi combination that runs from a smaller 3 A supply.
Watch out. It has Pi 4-era speed and only 4 GB RAM. Two 4K screens run at only 30 Hz. There is no power button (it uses Fn+F10).
RAM 4 GB. Recommended supply 3.0 A (5 V 3 A, 15 W USB-C). About 800 mA bare-board active draw. Display: 2× micro-HDMI (1× 4K60 or 2× 4K30). Size 286 × 122 × 23 mm. · The Pi Hut, 13 Oct 2026: £57.60 (UK layout)
raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com · thepihut.com
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Compute Module 5 + CM5 IO (carrier) board
The Pi 5's chip on a small module with no ports. It plugs into a carrier board through two 100-pin connectors, and the carrier supplies the HDMI, USB and other ports.
Pick it if You want built-in eMMC storage, a slimmer custom layout, or a third-party deck carrier board. The official IO board adds an M.2 slot, two full-size HDMI ports and two DSI/CSI ports.
Watch out. It doesn't work alone: you must also buy a carrier board. The CM5Lite version has no eMMC and boots from the carrier's microSD slot, while other versions ignore that slot. Stock is patchy: only one of the 32 variants was in stock.
RAM 2/4/8/16 GB. eMMC 0 (Lite)/16/32/64 GB. Optional Wi-Fi. Same BCM2712 chip as the Pi 5. IO board power: USB-C 5 V 5 A (25 W), or 5 V 3 A with a 600 mA peripheral limit. IO board display: 2× HDMI, 2× MIPI DSI/CSI-2 (22-pin, 0.5 mm). M.2 M-key PCIe (2230–2280). IO board is 160 × 90 mm. · The Pi Hut, 13 Oct 2026: CM5 £64.80–£360.00 depending on variant (only 16GB RAM/16GB eMMC/Wireless £350.40 in stock). CM5 IO Board REV2 £19.20.
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Radxa ROCK 5B (non-Pi Arm board)
A Pi-style board using an 8-core Rockchip chip (4× A76 + 4× A55) with a 6 TOPS AI unit, 8K video and 2.5 Gb Ethernet.
Pick it if You need more CPU, more displays or on-board AI than a Pi 5 offers, and you're happy to leave the Pi ecosystem.
Watch out. It isn't Raspberry Pi OS, so Pi HATs, guides and display drivers may not just work. Expect more troubleshooting as a beginner. No UK listing was found at The Pi Hut.
CPU 4× Cortex-A76 + 4× Cortex-A55 (8 nm). Mali-G610 MC4 GPU. NPU up to 6 TOPS. Display: HDMI, DisplayPort via USB-C, MIPI DSI (marketed as quad display). 2.5 GbE with PoE (HAT needed).
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Orange Pi 5 (non-Pi Arm board)
A low-cost 8-core RK3588S board with up to 16 GB RAM, an M.2 NVMe slot and 8K video, often used as a cheaper powerful alternative to a Pi.
Pick it if You want maximum performance per pound and need USB-C DisplayPort or dual MIPI display outputs for a multi-screen deck.
Watch out. Software support comes from Orange Pi's own OS images (Orange Pi OS, Android 12, Debian 11), so community help and Pi accessory support are thinner. It has a 26-pin header, not the Pi's 40-pin. No UK listing was found at The Pi Hut.
RAM 4/8/16 GB LPDDR4/4X. RK3588S up to 2.4 GHz. NPU 6 TOPS. Display: HDMI 2.1 (8K), USB-C DP1.4, dual MIPI D-PHY outputs. M.2 PCIe 2.0 NVMe. Powered over USB-C.
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LattePanda IOTA (x86 board)
A palm-sized Intel N150 PC board (88 × 70 mm) that runs Windows or Ubuntu, with an RP2040 microcontroller on board for GPIO.
Pick it if You need x86 software such as Windows apps or x86-only Linux tools. It also has an eDP connector for driving laptop-style panels directly.
Watch out. It takes power over USB-C PD at 15 V (or 10–15 V DC), not 5 V, so the battery and power design differ from a Pi deck. There is no Pi HAT ecosystem. No current UK listing was found.
RAM 8/16 GB LPDDR5. eMMC 64/128 GB. Intel N150, 4 cores up to 3.6 GHz. Display: 1× HDMI 2.1 (4K60), 1× eDP 1.4b (1080p60). Power: USB-C PD 15 V or 10–15 V DC. Vendor claims 2–3× the CPU of a Pi 5.
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Microcontroller 'deck': Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W / LILYGO T-Deck (ESP32-S3)
Tiny boards that run one program flashed onto them (MicroPython or C), not Linux. The T-Deck is a ready-made ESP32-S3 handheld with a keyboard, a 2.8" screen and optional LoRa.
Pick it if You want a cheap, instant-on, long-battery gadget such as a LoRa messenger, macro pad or sensor tool, or a first soldering project before your Pi deck.
Watch out. No Linux, desktop or browser. The Pico 2 has only 520 kB RAM, and the T-Deck has 8 MB of PSRAM. You program them rather than install apps. The T-Deck ships from China (10–30 day delivery).
Pico 2 W: RP2350, 520 kB SRAM, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth. T-Deck: ESP32-S3 dual-core, 16 MB flash, 8 MB PSRAM, 2.8" 320×240 SPI IPS LCD, optional SX1262 LoRa (433/868/915 MHz). · Pico 2 W, 13 Oct 2026: The Pi Hut £6.70 (£7.70 with headers). Pimoroni £5.50 (£6.33 with headers). T-Deck: US$46.52 at lilygo.cc.
raw.githubusercontent.com · thepihut.com · shop.pimoroni.com · lilygo.cc
Displays12
The screen is usually the biggest part of a cyberdeck and often the most expensive. On a Raspberry Pi 5, a screen can connect in four ways. Micro-HDMI is the easiest: there are two ports and any HDMI screen works. DSI uses a ribbon cable into one of the two small 22-pin CAM/DISP sockets, which leaves USB and HDMI free. SPI runs through the GPIO pins and is cheap but slow. USB-C usually only powers the screen; the picture still comes over HDMI. UK prices are from The Pi Hut, checked on 13 Oct 2026.
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Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2 (7")
The official Raspberry Pi touchscreen. It connects with a DSI ribbon cable and takes power from the Pi's GPIO pins, so it needs no extra power supply. The Pi screws onto the back.
Pick it if You want a touchscreen that works out of the box. Raspberry Pi OS already includes the touch driver and an on-screen keyboard.
Watch out. Plug the GPIO power cable in the right way round: red 5 V to pin 2 (top-right) and black ground to pin 6. Plugging it in wrongly can damage the display. The cable also uses up GPIO pins. On a Pi 5, use the 22-way-to-15-way cable and put its smaller end into the Pi. Cases made for the original 7" display won't fit.
720x1280, portrait by default (you can switch to landscape in software); 5-finger touch; 120 x 189.5 mm; 15 mm deep; active area 88 x 155 mm; stays in production until at least Jan 2030 · £57.60 at The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026)
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Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2 (5")
The smaller version of the official screen. It has the same 720x1280 resolution and the same two cables: a DSI ribbon for the picture and touch, and a GPIO lead for power.
Pick it if You're building a handheld or small deck and want the official, driver-free option at a lower price.
Watch out. The power lead takes GPIO pins, so use a HAT with stacking headers if you need those pins. The Pi Hut also sells a USB power adapter that keeps the pins free. The Pi Zero and Pi 400/500 can't use it.
720x1280; 5-finger touch; 91.5 x 143.5 mm; 16 mm deep; 500 cd/m² brightness; works from -20 to 70 °C · £38.40 at The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026)
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Small HDMI touch panel, 5" (e.g. Waveshare 5" HDMI LCD (B))
A small monitor. The picture comes over HDMI and touch goes over a separate USB cable. It works like a normal screen and needs no special drivers.
Pick it if You want to keep the GPIO pins free and want a screen you can also plug into a laptop or other device.
Watch out. It needs two cables (HDMI and USB), which take up space in a case. The kit includes a micro-HDMI adapter. This model has resistive (press-to-click) touch and only registers one finger at a time.
800x480; resistive single touch; HDMI for the picture, USB for touch; comes with an acrylic case · £46.10 with case at The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026)
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Ultra-wide 'bar' display, HDMI (e.g. Waveshare 7.9" 400x1280)
A long, thin dashboard-style screen, often used on decks that sit above a keyboard. The picture comes over HDMI and touch goes over USB.
Pick it if Your deck is shaped like a long, low keyboard and you want a strip screen across the top.
Watch out. The Pi Hut page lists Pi 4/3/2 as compatible and doesn't mention the Pi 5. It also says the Pi needs some configuration (explained on the wiki), and the screen is portrait by default.
400x1280; 5-point touch; 207.78 x 69.80 mm; 170° viewing angle; 3.5 mm audio output · £75.90 at The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026)
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Ultra-wide 'bar' display, DSI (e.g. Waveshare 8.8-DSI-TOUCH-A)
An 8.8" strip screen that connects by DSI ribbon cable. It needs no HDMI or USB cables, and the picture is on the screen's glass with no air gap.
Pick it if You want a bar screen with a cleaner build. Waveshare shows how to connect it to a Pi 5.
Watch out. It's portrait by default; switch to landscape in software. On a Pi 5, connect the FFC ribbon cable and power the screen from the GPIO 5V pin.
480x1920; 10-point touch; 178° viewing angle; toughened glass · US$59.99 on waveshare.com (13 Oct 2026); no UK price found
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11.9" HDMI side monitor (bar style)
A larger bar screen in a metal case. The picture comes over HDMI, power over USB-C, and it has built-in speakers. It works with Raspberry Pi OS without extra drivers.
Pick it if You're building a bigger, desk-style deck and want a wide strip screen with sound.
Watch out. It's large (290 mm wide) and needs both an HDMI cable and a USB-C power cable. It comes with a micro-HDMI adapter.
320x1480; 5-point touch; 300 cd/m² brightness; 60 Hz; 290.5 x 73 x 21.5 mm · £96.00 at The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026)
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SPI TFT GPIO screen, 3.5" (e.g. Waveshare 3.5inch RPi LCD (A))
A small, cheap screen that plugs straight onto the GPIO header and receives the picture over the slow SPI bus.
Pick it if Your budget is very tight, or you only need a tiny status screen.
Watch out. Waveshare itself lists the downsides: low refresh rate and resolution, it needs the 40-pin GPIO, and it has 'poor compatibility with Raspberry Pi system'. The Pi 5 setup involves copying a driver file and editing config.txt and X11 settings. One shop's case version is sold as for the Pi 4.
480x320; resistive touch; 26-pin connector; about 5 V at 0.16 A (case version) · US$19.99 on waveshare.com; £29.90 as a Pi 4 metal case with a 3.5" SPI screen at The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026)
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E-paper / e-ink HAT (e.g. Waveshare 3.52" e-Paper HAT)
A paper-like screen with no backlight. It keeps showing the last image even with the power off, and the Pi sends it images over SPI.
Pick it if You want a low-power status panel (weather, battery level, notes) that's easy to read in daylight.
Watch out. It can't be your main desktop screen: a full refresh takes about 1.5 s and the screen flickers while it happens. You need daylight or a lamp to see it. Waveshare recommends refreshing no more often than every 180 s and putting the screen to sleep between updates.
360x240; black and white; 1.5 s refresh; under 25 mW while refreshing; almost no power while sleeping · £18.30 at The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026)
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USB-C powered HDMI monitor (e.g. Raspberry Pi Monitor 15.6")
A full-size screen that can take its power from one of the Pi's USB ports through a USB-C cable. The picture still goes over micro-HDMI.
Pick it if You're building a laptop-style or suitcase deck and want a big, sharp 1080p screen.
Watch out. When the Pi powers it, brightness is capped at 60% and volume at 50%. For full brightness it needs its own 5 V 1.5 A supply. The micro-HDMI cable isn't included.
1920x1080; 15.6"; 250 nits; 5 V at 1.5 A; built-in speakers · £96.00 at The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026)
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Trap: USB 'PC case' monitors (e.g. 5" USB IPS Monitor)
Small screens that get both power and picture over one USB-C cable. They depend on companion software running on the computer.
Pick it if Don't pick these for a Pi deck. They're made for Windows PCs.
Watch out. The listing says it only supports Windows 10/11 PCs and tablets and does not support macOS. The Pi isn't listed, so expect it not to work.
800x480; one USB-C cable · £34.60 at The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026)
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Connector: Pi 5 micro-HDMI (and cable)
The Pi 5 has two small micro-HDMI ports, HDMI0 and HDMI1. Standard HDMI screens need a micro-HDMI-to-HDMI cable or adapter.
Pick it if You're using any HDMI screen. This is the simplest way to connect a display.
Watch out. Use one cable or adapter per screen. Full-size HDMI cables for older Pis won't fit. Many screen kits include a small adapter, so check before buying.
Two 4K displays at 60 Hz at the same time on the Pi 5 · £4.80 for the official Micro-HDMI cable at The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026)
raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com · thepihut.com
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Connector: Pi 5 DSI 22-pin 'mini' FFC (display adapter cable)
The Pi 5 has two small 22-pin sockets (CAM/DISP 0 and 1) instead of the older 15-pin ones. Each can take a camera or a display, so DSI screens need a 22-to-15 adapter ribbon.
Pick it if You're using the official Touch Display 2 or any DSI screen and need a longer ribbon so the Pi can sit away from the screen.
Watch out. Display and camera ribbons look almost the same but are not interchangeable. Look for 'DISPLAY' printed on the cable. Don't pinch the ribbon when you close the clip.
22-way 0.5 mm pitch to 15-way 1 mm pitch; 200, 300 or 500 mm long; 4 data lanes per port · £1.00 (200 mm) at The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026)
Input devices: keyboards and pointing11
A cyberdeck needs a way to type and a way to point, and some parts do both. These parts connect in four ways. Wired USB works with no setup. A 2.4 GHz dongle is a tiny USB radio that pairs at the factory, so it also works with no setup. Bluetooth uses the Pi 5's own Bluetooth 5.0/BLE radio and needs pairing. I2C/GPIO parts wire straight onto the Pi's header pins and need a driver or library. Power matters too. A Pi 5 gives USB devices 1.6 A in total only on a 5 A (25 W) supply. On any other supply it limits them to 600 mA. Raspberry Pi lists a USB keyboard or mouse at 100 mA to 1,000 mA, so a keyboard plus a few extras can hit that limit on a 3 A battery pack. All UK prices were checked on 13 Oct 2026.
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Mini wireless keyboard with touchpad (Rii i8+ style)
A handheld QWERTY keyboard with a central touchpad. It talks to the Pi through one small 2.4 GHz USB dongle and runs on a built-in rechargeable battery.
Pick it if You want the easiest first build. It handles typing and mouse through one USB port, needs no soldering or pairing, and you can take it out of the case.
Watch out. The Pi Hut's Rii i8+ is a US layout, and its lithium battery means The Pi Hut can only ship it within the UK. The dongle still counts towards the Pi 5's USB power limit.
Rii i8+ (RT-MWK08+): 92 keys; 2.4 GHz (2.403–2.480 GHz); range 10 m; 3.3 V; uses 55 mA when on and 1 mA asleep; backlit; touchpad flips 360°. The Pi Hut's 'Miniature Wireless USB Keyboard with Touchpad' (2.4 GHz, not Bluetooth) is 152 x 59 x 12.5 mm, weighs 100 g with its dongle, and lasts 500–700 h on standby. · Rii i8+ £18.00 (in stock); Miniature Wireless USB Keyboard with Touchpad £48.00. Both at The Pi Hut, 13 Oct 2026.
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Official Raspberry Pi Keyboard and Hub
Raspberry Pi's own wired USB keyboard. It has a built-in three-port USB 2.0 hub, so you can plug a mouse or USB drive into the keyboard.
Pick it if You want something guaranteed to work with the Pi, with automatic language detection, and you'd like extra USB ports for a mouse or dongle.
Watch out. It's a normal-sized keyboard, so it's too big for most cyberdeck cases. Devices plugged into its hub also draw from the Pi 5's 600 mA USB budget when you're not on a 5 A supply.
79 keys (78 on the US model); 3 x USB 2.0 Type-A hub ports; connects with a USB-A to micro-USB cable; 11 layouts including UK. · £24.00 at The Pi Hut, 13 Oct 2026. That's the keyboard + mouse combo (UK layout). A keyboard-only option is listed, but its price wasn't captured.
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Cheap compact USB/2.4 GHz/Bluetooth mini keyboards
Generic small keyboards with no touchpad. Some are wired USB, some use a 2.4 GHz dongle and some use Bluetooth.
Pick it if You're on a tight budget, or you'll add a separate pointing device such as a trackball or touchscreen.
Watch out. Bluetooth models need pairing in Raspberry Pi OS (the Pi 5 has Bluetooth 5.0/BLE built in), and many of these listings were out of stock.
The Pi 5 has Bluetooth 5.0/BLE, 2 x USB 3.0 and 2 x USB 2.0 ports. · The Pi Hut, 13 Oct 2026: Super Compact 2.4GHz Wireless Keyboard (keyboard only) £7.00, in stock. Mini Bluetooth Keyboard £12.50, out of stock. Mini Chiclet Keyboard USB Wired £9.60, out of stock.
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Small mechanical keyboard: 40% ortholinear (Planck)
A compact mechanical keyboard with keys in a straight 12x4 grid. Layers, switched with held keys, stand in for the missing rows. It runs QMK firmware.
Pick it if You want proper mechanical keys in a small, flat shape that fits in a case lid, and you're happy to learn layers.
Watch out. It has no number row, F-keys or dedicated arrow keys, so expect a learning curve. OLKB's Planck collection showed 0 products on 13 Oct 2026, so it may be hard to buy right now.
4 x 12 grid. 47 keys (MIT layout, 2-unit spacebar) or 48 keys (grid layout). Supported PCBs: rev1 to rev7, Planck Light, Planck EZ. · No UK price found. The OLKB Planck collection was empty on 13 Oct 2026.
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Custom QMK build (wired)
A keyboard you design or assemble yourself. It runs open-source QMK firmware, and you set the keymap with a graphical configurator or by editing code.
Pick it if You want a keyboard shaped exactly to your deck. QMK can also drive a built-in pointing device: Pimoroni trackball, Cirque or Azoteq trackpads, PMW33xx optical sensors or an analog joystick.
Watch out. You'll be soldering and flashing firmware. QMK's easy path is the graphical configurator, and the advanced path is much harder.
QMK pointing drivers include pimoroni_trackball, cirque_pinnacle_i2c/spi, azoteq_iqs5xx, pmw3360/3389, adns5050/9800, paw3204/3222 and analog_joystick. Azoteq's default I2C address is 0xE8.
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Custom ZMK build (wireless/Bluetooth)
Open-source (MIT) keyboard firmware built on the Zephyr RTOS. It's designed for low power and connects over Bluetooth Low Energy or USB.
Pick it if You want a custom keyboard with no cable, a wireless split keyboard, or a keyboard that also runs a trackpad or trackball and uses little power.
Watch out. Turning on pointing support changes how it appears over BLE, so you have to remove and re-pair it with the Pi. Wired split keyboards and multitouch touchpads are still under development.
Supports BLE with several stored devices, USB output, battery level reporting, encoders and pointing devices (turned on with CONFIG_ZMK_POINTING=y). Doesn't support AVR/8-bit chips.
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BlackBerry-style keyboard: Solder Party BBQ20KBD
A BlackBerry Q20 thumb keyboard with an optical trackpad on a board in a clear plastic case. An RP2040 chip reads it, and it connects over USB-C or I2C.
Pick it if You want a pocket-sized keyboard and pointer in one. Over USB-C it shows up as a standard keyboard and mouse with no driver, and I2C lets you wire it inside the case.
Watch out. It isn't 5 V tolerant, so keep I2C at 3.3 V. It was out of stock on 13 Oct 2026, and thumb-typing is slow for long text.
Q20 layout, with 4 more buttons than the BBQ10. Optical trackpad works as a USB mouse. USB-C / I2C / PMOD / Qwiic connections. Backlight adjustable over I2C. Works with the BBQ10 Arduino and CircuitPython libraries. · US$31.31 on Lectronz ('No tax for UK'), out of stock, 13 Oct 2026. No GBP price was shown.
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BlackBerry-style keyboard + screen: Solder Party Keyboard FeatherWing (Rev 2)
A board with a handheld QWERTY thumb keyboard and a 2.6-inch colour touch LCD. It has no processor of its own, so it needs a separate Feather microcontroller board to run it.
Pick it if You want a tiny all-in-one handheld built around a microcontroller, or a separate side-console next to the Pi.
Watch out. It doesn't plug straight into a Pi 5. It needs a Feather board, such as the Bluetooth nRF52840 Feather, to run it.
2.6-inch 320x240 16-bit colour LCD with resistive touch; QWERTY keyboard; 5-way button; 4 soft buttons; microSD; Stemma QT/Qwiic connector; on/off switch.
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Trackball: Pimoroni Trackball Breakout (PIM447)
A tiny clickable trackball taken from the BlackBerry design, with an RGBW LED under the ball. It connects to the Pi's GPIO pins over I2C.
Pick it if You want a small pointer that fits anywhere in the case without using a USB port. It sits on GPIO pins 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9, and Pimoroni's Python library includes a 'use as mouse' example.
Watch out. It only works reliably at I2C speeds up to 250 kHz, because of how the Pi handles I2C clock stretching. It needs software to act as a mouse.
25 x 22 x 11 mm; x/y tracking + click; RGBW LED; Qw/ST (Qwiic) version; supported in QMK as pimoroni_trackball. · £10.17 (was £12.75) at Pimoroni, 13 Oct 2026
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TrackPoint (pointing stick) via QMK
The small red ThinkPad-style pointing stick. You usually take one out of a ThinkPad keyboard and wire it into a QMK keyboard as a PS/2 mouse.
Pick it if You want to point without taking your hands off the keys, and you're happy with advanced soldering and firmware work.
Watch out. There's no ready-made module. You have to work out the pins yourself and add pull-up resistors. QMK's 'busywait' driver gives jerky movement, so use the interrupt or USART driver.
4.7 kΩ pull-up resistors from the DATA and CLK lines to 5 V. Driver modes: USART (best), interrupt (better), busywait (not recommended).
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Touchscreen only (Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2)
An official capacitive multi-touch screen that is your display and your pointer in one. It connects by ribbon cable to the Pi's display (DSI) port and takes power from GPIO.
Pick it if You want a tablet-style deck with the fewest parts. You can pair it with an on-screen or small keyboard for typing.
Watch out. The 10-inch model only works with the Pi 5 and Compute Modules, and you'll still want a keyboard for terminal work. Touch Display 2 is a portrait panel.
5-inch and 7-inch: 720x1280, 5-finger touch. 10-inch: 1200x1920, 10-finger touch. In production until at least January 2030. · No UK price found. List prices are US$40 (5-inch), US$60 (7-inch) and US$80 (10-inch).
Power: batteries and power electronics12
The Pi 5 wants 5 V at 5 A. Most USB-C power banks and chargers only give 5 V at 3 A, because USB PD reaches higher power by raising the voltage, not the current at 5 V. A Pi 5 will run on 3 A, but its USB ports are then limited to 600 mA. You have three ways round this: use a UPS HAT made for the Pi 5, use a high-voltage source (a PD bank or a 12 V battery) with a converter that steps it down to 5 V 5 A, or accept the 3 A limits.
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Plain USB-C power bank (5V/3A)
An ordinary phone power bank plugged straight into the Pi 5's USB-C port. It is the simplest option, but it nearly always offers 5 V at 3 A, not 5 A.
Pick it if You want something that works today, with no soldering, and your peripherals draw little power (keyboard, small screen powered separately).
Watch out. No standard USB PD profile gives 5V/5A (25W). A cheap adapter labelled '5V/5A' measured only 4.8 V × 2.5 A on a Pi 5. A Pi forum regular said in Dec 2023 they had never seen an off-the-shelf power bank deliver the full 5 A. Don't trust a '5V5A' label unless you have measured it.
Typical 30 W bank: 5V 3A (15 W), 9V 2A, 15V 2A. A Pi 5 runs on 3 A, but USB peripherals are then limited to 600 mA. One 2026 writer says power banks that can do 5V/5A over PPS are 'rare but exist' (no model named).
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USB-PD to 5V 5A converter board (Pichondria / RegalDream)
A small board that asks a PD power bank or charger for 9–20 V, then steps it down to a steady 5 V 5 A USB-C output for the Pi 5.
Pick it if You already own a 27 W+ PD power bank and want the Pi 5's full 5 A with USB peripherals unlocked, without building your own trigger-plus-buck stack.
Watch out. It has no Li-ion charger or protection circuit. Connect only one source at a time, and it needs at least 6 V at the input to switch on.
Input 9/12/15/20 V over PD 2.0/3.0, or a DC/battery soldered on. Output 5V 5A. Needs a 27 W or bigger source. Comes with a 20 cm C-to-C cable, kept short because longer cables lose voltage.
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Geekworm/SupTronics X1200 UPS (2× 18650)
A board that mounts under the Pi 5 and holds two 18650 cells. It powers the Pi through pogo pins (spring-loaded contacts) and keeps it running when the charger is unplugged.
Pick it if You want a neat, Pi-5-specific battery that delivers the full 5 A, has a fuel gauge and shuts down safely, with no wiring.
Watch out. Cells are not included. Don't mix old and new cells or different brands. Put the cells in before switching on or plugging in the charger. Keep your fingers off the solder pads when inserting cells, because that can short them. To charge it you still need a 5 V ≥5 A USB-C supply (e.g. the official 27 W).
Output 5.1V 5A. Charges cells at up to 3000 mA. Runs for 'up to 6 hours' depending on cells and load. Protects against reverse-inserted cells, overcurrent and overvoltage. Fuel gauge readable over I2C. · £35.90 inc VAT at The Pi Hut (checked 13 Oct 2026; 14 left)
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Geekworm X1202 UPS (4× 18650)
The four-cell version of the X1200, for longer runtime. It can also charge from a 6–18 V DC barrel jack, not just USB-C.
Pick it if You want more battery capacity, or want to charge from a 12 V source instead of a 5V 5A USB-C brick.
Watch out. It is bigger and heavier with four cells. It carries the same Geekworm warnings: matched cells only, and charge on a fire-safe surface, never unattended on wood or carpet.
Output 5.1V 5A. Input: USB-C 5V ≥5A, or 6–18V ≥3A through the DC5521 jack or an XH2.54 connector. Four 18650 cell holders.
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Waveshare UPS HAT (E) (4× 21700)
A UPS board for four 21700 cells with pogo-pin contacts. It charges fast over USB-C PD, gives 5 V 6 A, and reports battery state over I2C.
Pick it if You want the most headroom (6 A) and runtime, and the ability to charge from any PD charger up to 40 W.
Watch out. Cells are not included, and the four are wired in series. Waveshare says not to plug in the charger while the warning LED is lit, or the protection circuit can be damaged. At 56×88 mm it is larger than the Pi.
Output 5V 6A. USB-C input at 5/9/12/15/20 V, up to 40 W charging. Protects against overcharge, over-discharge, overcurrent and short circuit. USB-A 5 V output. 56 × 88 mm. · £31.70 inc VAT at The Pi Hut (checked 13 Oct 2026; 3 left)
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PiSugar 3 Plus (5000 mAh)
A battery pack with its own cell that attaches to the back of the Pi. It adds a real-time clock, a button, a watchdog and a web app.
Pick it if You want a slim, all-in-one pack with the battery included, and a light load is fine.
Watch out. Output is only 5V 3A max, so on a Pi 5 the USB ports stay limited and heavy loads may brown out. The product page also says 'Designed for 3B/3B+/4B' while listing the Pi 5 as supported.
Input 5V 3A max. Output 5V 3A max. 5000 mAh cell included. I2C at 0x57/0x68. Hardware charge protection. · $49.99 USD at pisugar.com (checked 13 Oct 2026; no UK price found)
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LiPo pouch + Adafruit PowerBoost 1000C
A board that boosts a single 3.7 V LiPo/Li-ion cell to 5.2 V and charges it, and can keep powering your project while it charges.
Pick it if You are powering a small microcontroller, sensor or screen inside the deck, not the Pi 5 itself.
Watch out. It is rated for about 1 A, far below the Pi 5's 5 A. Use it for side gadgets only, and make sure your cell can supply that current.
Output 5.2V at 1000 mA+. Charges at 1 A. Red low-battery LED below 3.2 V. 90%+ efficiency. Draws 20 µA when disabled. · £19.20 inc VAT at The Pi Hut (checked 13 Oct 2026; sold out). $19.95 at Adafruit.
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Pimoroni LiPo Amigo / Amigo Pro (charger only)
A stamp-sized USB-C charger for one LiPo/Li-ion cell with a JST-PH plug. The Pro adds an on/off button, cell protection and a second connector for your device.
Pick it if You need to charge a small LiPo that runs a microcontroller, badge or sensor in the build.
Watch out. It charges slowly (200 mA) and has no 5 V boost. The Pro's output is raw cell voltage (up to 4.2 V), so it cannot run a Pi.
MCP73831 charger at 200 mA. XB6096I2S protection chip on the Pro only. Output tolerant up to 4.2 V on the Pro. · £6 inc VAT (standard LiPo Amigo) at The Pi Hut (checked 13 Oct 2026)
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Buck converter from 12 V / tool battery (Pololu D36V50F5)
A step-down regulator (buck converter) that turns 5.5–50 V from a 12 V pack, 3S/4S battery or tool battery into a steady 5 V at up to 5.5 A.
Pick it if You want to run the deck from a big 12 V or tool battery you already own, or are building a PD trigger plus buck stack.
Watch out. The 5.5 A rating is a typical figure at 36 V in. Real continuous current depends on the input voltage and on heat, so leave headroom. A raw tool battery or 3S pack also needs its own protection and a fuse.
Output 5 V, typically 5.5 A max. Input 5.5–50 V. Board is 1″ × 1″. Sister versions: 3.3 V at 6.5 A, 12 V at 4.5 A. · US$39.95 from Pololu (checked 13 Oct 2026; no UK price found)
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USB-C PD trigger board (Adafruit HUSB238)
A small board that asks a PD charger or power bank for a fixed voltage (9–20 V) and passes it to your circuit, usually into a buck converter.
Pick it if You want 12 V or 20 V out of a PD power bank to feed a buck converter, a screen or other 12 V parts.
Watch out. Out of the box it gives only 5V 1A, so you must cut and solder jumpers to pick the voltage. Never connect its output straight to the Pi, because it is not 5 V once configured.
Selectable 5/9/12/15/18/20 V. Current can be set from 2 A to 3 A. Configured by jumpers or over I2C. · US$5.95 from Adafruit (checked 13 Oct 2026; no UK price found)
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Battery safety: protected cells, damaged LiPos, charging
Lithium cells are energy-dense and can catch fire. Protection circuits guard against over-charge, over-discharge and drawing too much current. Some raw cells have no protection.
Pick it if Always. This applies to every option above.
Watch out. If a cell smells, gets hot, discolours or deforms (including puffing up), remove it and stop using it right away. Check that a cell is protected: look for the taped circuit board on pouch cells. Charge on a fire-safe surface, never unattended on wood or carpet.
Typical limits: charge no higher than about 4.2 V, discharge no lower than about 3.0 V, draw about 1–2C, charge about 1C, keep temperature around 0–50 °C. Replace cells after their cycle life or 2 years, whichever comes first (Geekworm/Waveshare). (C is current relative to capacity: 1C on a 2000 mAh cell is 2 A.)
learn.adafruit.com · learn.adafruit.com · wiki.geekworm.com · waveshare.com
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Flying with the deck (UK CAA rules from 27 Mar 2026)
UK and ICAO rules for spare lithium batteries and power banks on planes.
Pick it if You plan to fly to or from the workshop with the deck or spare cells.
Watch out. Power banks go in carry-on only, must each be protected against short circuits (tape the terminals or bag them separately), must not be recharged on board, and you can carry two at most. Check your airline too, as it can be stricter.
Up to 100 Wh per battery is allowed without airline approval. 100–160 Wh needs airline approval. Spare power banks: maximum two per person.
Storage, cooling & expansion modules15
These are the parts that go around a Raspberry Pi 5 in a cyberdeck. Storage is where the operating system and your files live. Cooling stops the Pi slowing itself down: the Arm cores are throttled back progressively between 80 °C and 85 °C, and at 85 °C the GPU is throttled too. Expansion boards (HATs, USB dongles) add radios, GPS, mobile data, sound and AI. Every fact here comes from a page fetched on 13 Oct 2026. Prices are The Pi Hut listing prices on that date.
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Raspberry Pi SD Card (official microSD)
The official microSD card. It slots under the Pi and holds the operating system. Most beginners start here. You can buy it with Raspberry Pi OS already installed.
Pick it if You want the simplest storage that just works on day one of the workshop.
Watch out. Card quality matters. Raspberry Pi says slow cards without command queueing slow down even the most powerful Pi. If you buy another brand, look for the A2 rating.
Sizes: 32, 64 or 128 GB. Ratings: C10, U3, V30, A2. Random 4 kB speed on a Pi 5 (SDR104 bus): 5,000 IOPS read, 2,000 IOPS write. · No Pi Hut listing found on 13 Oct 2026, so no price given.
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NVMe SSD on Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+ (PCIe)
An adapter board that sits on top of the Pi 5. It links the Pi's PCIe ribbon connector to an M.2 slot, so you can add a fast NVMe SSD such as the official Raspberry Pi SSD.
Pick it if You want the fastest storage and fast booting. It also suits running bigger apps or AI demos.
Watch out. The standard HAT+ fits over the Active Cooler. The Compact version fits inside the official case but cannot go over the Active Cooler. Booting from NVMe needs a bootloader change (BOOT_ORDER). Gen 3 speed is not certified and may be unstable.
Single-lane PCIe 2.0, about 500 MB/s peak. Supplies up to 3 A to the drive. HAT+ takes 2230 or 2242 drives; Compact takes 2230 only. Official SSD: 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB, M.2 2230, 40k–90k IOPS read. · M.2 HAT+ £11.50; M.2 HAT+ Compact £14.40; Raspberry Pi SSD £57.60 (256 GB), £86.40 (512 GB), £97.20 (1 TB). The SSD was out of stock on 13 Oct 2026.
raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com · thepihut.com · thepihut.com · thepihut.com
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USB 3 SSD (SATA SSD + USB 3.0 cable)
A normal 2.5-inch SATA SSD connected to one of the Pi's blue USB 3.0 ports with an adapter cable. Good for booting from USB or for extra space.
Pick it if You want lots of cheap storage and need your PCIe slot free, for example for an AI HAT+.
Watch out. It draws power from the Pi's USB budget. Use the official PSU (The Pi Hut says the Pi 5 needs the 26W/27W supply). A Pi 5 on a 3 A supply only allows 600 mA for all USB devices.
The Pi Hut cable uses an ASMedia ASM1153E/ASM225 chip with UASP. In their test the cable plus SSD drew about 0.2–0.3 A. Cable length about 18 cm. Pi 5 total USB budget: 1.6 A. · £6.00 for the cable (SSD not included), 13 Oct 2026
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Raspberry Pi Flash Drive
Raspberry Pi's own small metal USB 3.0 stick. You can use it for backups or moving files, or install and run Raspberry Pi OS from it.
Pick it if You want a tough, pocketable second drive or backup without opening the deck.
Watch out. The 128 GB version writes at half the speed of the 256 GB one. It sticks out of a USB-A port, so plan room for it in the case.
128 GB: 75 MB/s sustained write, 16k/21k IOPS. 256 GB: 150 MB/s, 18k/22k IOPS. USB 3.0, UASP, SMART health reporting. Size 42 × 12.2 × 6.5 mm, works 0–70 °C. · £28.80 (128 GB), £52.80 (256 GB), 13 Oct 2026
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Raspberry Pi Active Cooler
The official clip-on metal heatsink with a blower fan for the Pi 5. It plugs into the Pi's fan socket, and the firmware speeds the fan up as the chip warms.
Pick it if Your deck will run heavy jobs for a long time (compiling, SDR, AI) or you want to overclock. Raspberry Pi recommends it for overclocking.
Watch out. Raspberry Pi advises not removing it once fitted, because the push pins and thermal pads can degrade. The fan shares the USB current limit.
Fan off below 50 °C; 30% at 50 °C, 50% at 60 °C, 70% at 67.5 °C, 100% at 75 °C (5 °C hysteresis). Throttling starts at 80 °C; 85 °C is the hard limit. · £4.80, 13 Oct 2026
raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com · thepihut.com
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Passive heatsink (low-profile)
A thin aluminium heatsink with no fan. It clips into the Pi 5 cooler holes, with thermal pads on the CPU, RAM and power chip.
Pick it if Your deck is thin or quiet and the Pi mostly does light work. It also leaves room above for HATs.
Watch out. It cools less than a fan. Raspberry Pi says a heatsink isn't needed to prevent damage, because the Pi throttles itself, but it reduces slowdowns.
3 thermal pads included. Mounting: spring-loaded clips. · £3.50, 13 Oct 2026
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Fan/heatsink case (e.g. Aluminium Armour Dual-Fan)
A two-part aluminium case that is also a heatsink. It touches the chips through thermal pads and has two small fans that run off the Pi 5 fan socket.
Pick it if You want cooling and a protective shell in one, for hot rooms or power-hungry projects.
Watch out. It adds thickness and can block HATs from sitting on top. Check your deck layout first.
Dual software-controlled fans on the JST fan socket, so all GPIO pins stay free. Cut-outs for GPIO, microSD, PCIe, CSI/DSI, PoE, UART and RTC. · £14.00, 13 Oct 2026
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LoRa / Meshtastic radio HAT
A long-range, low-power radio that sends text messages and locations kilometres away without mobile signal. The meshtasticd software turns the Pi into a Meshtastic mesh node.
Pick it if You want your deck to send messages off-grid to friends' Meshtastic devices.
Watch out. Meshtastic only supports SPI-radio HATs. UART HATs, such as the Pi Hut's Waveshare SX1262 868 MHz, don't work with it. The Waveshare SX1262 LoRaWAN HAT is not recommended either. Use 868 MHz in the UK/Europe.
Meshtastic's tested Pi HATs: MeshAdv-Pi v1.1, Adafruit RFM9x, Elecrow RFM95. USB CH341 radios supported since version 2.5.18. Waveshare SX1262 HAT is quoted at up to 5 km. · Waveshare SX1262 868 MHz HAT (UART, not for Meshtastic): £25.00, 13 Oct 2026. Prices for Meshtastic-tested HATs were not checked.
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RTL-SDR USB dongle
A USB stick that is a software-defined radio. With software on the Pi it can receive many signals: aircraft position broadcasts (ADS-B), radio scanning and signal monitoring.
Pick it if You want to explore the invisible radio world, like tracking planes overhead.
Watch out. The V4 needs the latest drivers and has dropped direct-sampling HF. It uses about 300 mA of the Pi's USB budget, which is The Pi Hut's figure for the Pro Stick.
RTL-SDR Blog V4 uses the R828D tuner with a built-in LNA. FlightAware Pro Stick: R820T2, 19 dB amp, 300 mA, 95 × 32 × 13 mm, SMA female port, ADS-B range over 500 km depending on install. · RTL-SDR Blog V4 kit £81.60 (out of stock); FlightAware Pro Stick £45.30, 13 Oct 2026
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GPS/GNSS HAT (e.g. Waveshare L76K)
A satellite-positioning board with an antenna. It tells the Pi where it is and the exact time, using GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS and QZSS.
Pick it if You want maps, location logging or accurate time when your deck is outside with no internet.
Watch out. The first fix from cold takes about 30 s without assistance. The backup cell holder needs an ML1220 rechargeable cell; never use a single-use battery.
2.0 m CEP accuracy. Cold start 30 s (5.5 s with AGNSS), hot start 2 s. UART at 9600 bps default, 1–5 Hz updates, NMEA 0183, 5 V, board 65 × 30.5 mm. · £22.10, 13 Oct 2026
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4G/LTE modem HAT (e.g. SIM7600E-H)
A mobile-data board that takes a SIM card. Your deck gets internet anywhere with phone signal, plus SMS, calls and built-in GNSS.
Pick it if You want the deck online away from Wi-Fi.
Watch out. You need a SIM and data plan. You control it with AT commands, which is harder for beginners. It is one of the priciest add-ons here.
LTE Cat-4: up to 150 Mbps down, 50 Mbps up. 1.8 V/3 V SIM. GNSS: GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS. LTE and GPS antennas included. · £95.10, 13 Oct 2026
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USB Wi-Fi adapter with external antenna (MT7612U)
A second Wi-Fi radio on USB with an antenna. It can make the Pi its own hotspot (AP mode) while the built-in Wi-Fi stays online.
Pick it if You want a hotspot, better range or a second network interface for experiments.
Watch out. Pick chipsets with built-in Linux drivers. The Pi Hut switched to the MT7612U after driver trouble with Realtek RTL8811cu adapters. Use a USB 3.0 port.
Dual-band 2.4/5 GHz, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, USB 3.0. Drivers are included in Raspberry Pi OS. The Pi Hut found its range slightly better than the Pi 5's onboard Wi-Fi. · £13.90, 13 Oct 2026
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Audio: DAC HAT or USB speaker
The Pi 5 has no headphone jack. Add sound with a DAC HAT (e.g. Raspberry Pi DAC+, with headphone amp and RCA out) or a small USB-powered speaker.
Pick it if You want alerts, music or voice: DAC+ for headphones, USB speaker for zero wiring.
Watch out. Audio HATs use GPIO 2/3 (I2C) and 18–21 (I2S), so check for pin clashes with other HATs. The Pi Hut found USB speakers may need PulseAudio installed.
DAC+: TI PCM5122, 24-bit/192 kHz, drives headphones up to 80/90 Ω. Codec Zero: 96 kHz, built-in mic, 1.2 W mono speaker output. · Raspberry Pi DAC+ £19.20; Mini External USB Stereo Speaker £10.90, 13 Oct 2026
raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com · thepihut.com · thepihut.com
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Raspberry Pi AI HAT+ / AI HAT+ 2 (successors to the AI Kit)
A board with a Hailo NPU, a chip built to run neural networks fast. The Pi runs AI models locally instead of sending data to the cloud.
Pick it if You want hands-on 'how AI works': object detection with a camera (AI HAT+), or a local chatbot/LLM on your deck (AI HAT+ 2).
Watch out. The AI Kit is out of production; buy an AI HAT instead. It uses the PCIe port, so it can't share with an M.2 SSD HAT. It needs extra software and models installed. Ambient operating range is 0–50 °C.
AI HAT+: 13 TOPS (Hailo-8L) or 26 TOPS (Hailo-8), uses the Pi's RAM, no LLM support. AI HAT+ 2: 40 TOPS INT4 (Hailo-10H) with 8 GB onboard RAM, runs LLMs/VLMs up to about 6 billion parameters. Board about 66 × 56.5 mm. · AI HAT+ £67.20 (13 TOPS) / £105.60 (26 TOPS); AI HAT+ 2 £192.00, 13 Oct 2026
raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com · thepihut.com · thepihut.com
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RTC battery for Raspberry Pi 5
A small rechargeable coin cell that plugs into the Pi 5's BAT (J5) connector. The built-in real-time clock keeps the correct time while the deck is unplugged.
Pick it if Your deck will often be offline (no internet time) and you want correct timestamps on logs and files.
Watch out. Charging is off by default. Turn it on with dtparam=rtc_bbat_vchg in config.txt. Don't use non-rechargeable lithium cells or lithium-ion cells. The Pi Hut ships it only within England/Wales.
Panasonic ML-2020 lithium-manganese, 45 mAh. Draws single-digit µA when off, so it keeps time for months. Charger: 3 mA constant current. Wake-alarm sleep draws about 3 mA. · £4.80, 13 Oct 2026
Cases, parts, tools and designs22
A cyberdeck has four parts: brains, peripherals, power and a case (Raspberry Pi's official guide). This list covers the physical side: the box, the small parts that hold the Pi and carry its ports to the outside, the tools you need, and finished designs that people copy or buy as kits. All prices were checked on 13 Oct 2026. Prices in USD come from US stores and have not been converted.
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Pelican / Peli 1200 Protector Case (the original hard case)
A small rugged hard case. It is IP67 waterproof and dustproof, with an O-ring lid, two front latches, a carry handle and an automatic pressure purge valve.
Pick it if You want the classic briefcase-style deck that can survive knocks and rain, and you can pay brand prices.
Watch out. Any hole you cut breaks the waterproof seal. One builder used brackets to screw panels down without drilling the shell. Typing on a deck inside a hinged box can also be uncomfortable.
Inside 241 × 185 × 105 mm; outside 270 × 246 × 124 mm. Big enough for a Pi 5 board (85 × 56 mm) plus a battery. · £87.60 inc VAT, empty, from peliproducts.co.uk (13 Oct 2026). US list price $79.95 with foam on pelican.com.
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Cheaper Pelican-style clone case (e.g. CASOMAN 11.5-inch)
A generic waterproof hard case. Raspberry Pi's own 2026 cyberdeck tutorial builds a Pi 5, a 7-inch Touch Display 2 and a Bluetooth keyboard into a CASOMAN 11.5-inch case.
Pick it if You want to follow the official Raspberry Pi build step by step for less than the price of a real Pelican.
Watch out. Plan the layout in cardboard before you cut anything. The parts and the cables both need room, and the tutorial's builders still had to adjust their designs during the build.
The tutorial's power budget is Pi 5 at 25 W plus the display at about 3 W, so you need at least 28 W (about 5.6 A at 5 V).
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Ammo can enclosure
A metal military-style ammunition box used as a waterproof shell. One example is the ARK-io SurvivalDeck: a Pi 3B, an SDR and GPS, a 3D-printed bezel and a keyboard in the lid.
Pick it if You want an apocalypse or field-radio look and a metal box that is very hard to damage.
Watch out. It is big and heavy. The article's comments call it a 'giant ammo-can computer'. Plan antennas outside the box too: that build used an external dipole antenna.
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3D-printed shell
A custom case printed around your parts. The 2023 Hackaday Cyberdeck Challenge winner, Zvychai One, used a 3D-printed case with extra ports, openings and a rail system for add-on modules.
Pick it if You have a printer (or a print service) and want the exact shape, ports and mounts you choose.
Watch out. A closed printed case traps the Pi 5's heat. Add vents or a cooler, and print in PETG or ABS rather than PLA, because PLA starts to soften at 55–60 °C.
For the Pi 5, make the pocket 85.5 × 56.5 mm. The USB and Ethernet sockets stick out 3 mm past the board edge.
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Laser-cut acrylic / plywood panels and frame
Flat panels cut from a CAD file, sometimes on a mini 10 mm aluminium-extrusion frame. The 2023 Challenge's second place, Micro-PC, is an N100 NUC bolted to laser-cut acrylic.
Pick it if You can get to a makerspace laser cutter and like a flat, 'plank' or open-frame look.
Watch out. It is not weatherproof, and flat panels only make boxy shapes. Raspberry Pi says laser-cutting services exist if you have no access to a cutter.
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Repurposed old device (vintage laptop, pocket computer)
Gutting an old machine and fitting a Pi inside. One builder put a Pi 4, a new display and a hand-wired keyboard into a dead Toshiba 3100/20, with the USB ports in the old floppy slot.
Pick it if You like a retro look and want a laptop shape that is already practical. Old machines have plenty of room inside.
Watch out. Reusing the original keyboard usually means adding a USB keyboard controller (that build used a Teensy) or hand-wiring a new one. It is real soldering work.
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M2.5 standoffs and screws (Pi mounting)
Threaded brass or nylon posts and screws that hold the Pi off the case floor through its four mounting holes.
Pick it if You need it for every Pi 5 build. A chassis-mount standoff kit is the easiest place to start.
Watch out. Use M2.5, not M3. An M3 screw won't pass through the hole, and forcing it cracks the board.
The Pi 5 has 4 holes of Ø2.7 mm, with centres on a 58 × 49 mm rectangle, 3.5 mm in from the edges. For printed posts, use a 2.9 mm through hole, 2.3 mm for self-tapping screws, or a 4 mm hole for an insert. · The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026): 16 mm M2.5 chassis-mount standoff kit £2.50, M2.5 nylon standoff packs from £0.70, brass M2.5 16 mm standoffs £1.10 per 2.
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Heat-set threaded inserts
Small brass inserts melted into 3D-printed plastic with a soldering iron. They give a printed part real metal threads that survive being screwed and unscrewed many times.
Pick it if You will open your printed case often. Self-tapping screws are fine for a case you close once.
Watch out. M2.5 inserts are unforgiving. A wrong pilot hole, too much heat or a tilted insert gives cracked bosses or inserts that spin. Check the manufacturer's hole size on a printed test boss first.
As a starting point: an M2.5 insert hole of 4 mm, with a boss of at least Ø7.2 mm. · The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026): M3 × 4 mm brass inserts £5.90 for 50. Adafruit's insert tip for soldering irons is £10.80.
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Panel-mount and right-angle USB extensions
Short cables with a plug on one end and a socket on the other that screws into the case wall. They bring the Pi's ports to the outside of the box.
Pick it if Your Pi sits deep inside the case and you want neat external USB ports. Waterproof versions exist for hard cases.
Watch out. Measure the cutout and the screw spacing before you drill. Adafruit's USB-A version has mounting ears 30 mm apart, made for M3 screws.
Adafruit #6004: USB-A plug to right-angle USB-A socket, 30 cm. · The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026): USB-A male-to-female panel-mount stub £3, Adafruit snap-in USB-A panel-mount extension £4.80, USB-C round panel-mount extension 30 cm £11.40. Adafruit #6004 is $3.95.
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DIY HDMI / USB ribbon cable parts (right-angle micro-HDMI)
A mix-and-match flat ribbon cable with separate plug ends. For example, a right-angle micro-HDMI plug on the Pi end and a full-size HDMI on the other.
Pick it if Normal round cables are too stiff or bulky for your layout, or you need a thin cable through a hinge. Penkesu uses one through its hinge.
Watch out. The Pi 5 has micro-HDMI ports, so buy the micro-HDMI plug end. Each end and the ribbon are sold separately.
The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026): ribbon from £1; each plug end (right-angle micro-HDMI, straight HDMI and others) £5.70.
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Pi 5 FPC/FFC display and camera ribbon cables
Flat flexible cables from the Pi 5's small MIPI connectors to standard Raspberry Pi displays and cameras. The official cyberdeck build uses a 500 mm display ribbon.
Pick it if You use the Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2 or a Pi camera and need to place it away from the board.
Watch out. Display cables and camera cables are different: a camera cable should not be used with a display, and vice versa. The Pi 5 uses the smaller 22-pin connector, not the older 15-pin one.
22-pin 0.5 mm pitch to 15-pin 1 mm pitch. Lengths 200, 300 and 500 mm. · Adafruit #5823 (500 mm display cable): $2.50.
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GPIO jumper wires (Dupont)
Pre-crimped 0.1-inch (2.54 mm) pitch wires that push onto the Pi's 40-pin GPIO header. You can connect buttons, LEDs, sensors and small displays without soldering.
Pick it if You are prototyping the extras (switches, LEDs, I2C sensors) before you commit to soldering.
Watch out. Make sure the ends match: female/female for pin-to-pin, male/female for breadboards. Push-on joints can work loose inside a deck that moves around, so secure them before you close the case.
Adafruit #266: female/female, 40 wires × 6 inches (150 mm). · Adafruit #266: $3.95.
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Soldering iron (e.g. Pinecil V2)
A pen-sized smart soldering iron powered over USB-C, running the open-source IronOS. It can also install heat-set inserts.
Pick it if You need a portable iron for power wiring, extension leads and keyboard builds. The official Pi tutorial says some soldering is needed.
Watch out. It needs a USB-C PD or QC supply of 12–20 V and 3 A (or a 12–24 V barrel jack). A normal 5 V phone charger won't heat it properly. Warranty is only 30 days.
Weighs 28 g with tip; 155 mm long; takes power by USB-C (12–20 V, 3 A) or a DC5525 barrel jack (12–24 V); comes with a B2 tip. · £36.50 at Vector 3D UK (13 Oct 2026). PINE64 community price $25.99.
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Digital multimeter
A meter that measures voltage, current and continuity. Use it to check battery and converter outputs and polarity before you plug in a Pi.
Pick it if You are wiring a battery or a DC-DC converter. Raspberry Pi advises monitoring cell voltages and never over-discharging a LiPo.
Watch out. Check 5 V and polarity before you connect the Pi. A cheap meter is fine for this; you don't need a pro model.
The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026): Adafruit 9205B+ £16.80 (out of stock), VICTOR VC921 pocket autoranging £17.50, iFixit multimeter £55.
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Wire strippers
A tool that removes insulation cleanly from small wires before you solder or crimp them.
Pick it if You will splice power leads. The official build solders a USB-A cable to the display's power lead and covers the joints with heat-shrink.
Watch out. Check the gauge range. Fine 26–30 AWG wire needs a stripper that goes that small.
Engineer PA-06 covers AWG16–30; Hakko CSP-30-1 covers 20–30 AWG. · The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026): mini 125 mm strippers £3, multifunction strippers £6, Adafruit automatic self-adjusting strippers £11.50, Hakko CSP-30-1 £18.90.
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Hot glue gun / double-sided foam tape / Velcro
No-drill ways to fix supports, the Pi and the battery inside a case. The official build glues its supports in with hot glue or double-sided foam tape.
Pick it if You want to keep a waterproof case's shell intact, or need parts you can remove again.
Watch out. Test the fit twice before gluing. The tutorial deliberately leaves the keyboard plate loose so the Pi and its power stay reachable.
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Drill with step bit / tapered reamer / nibbler
Tools for neat holes in plastic cases. A step drill bit (or a hand reamer) makes clean round holes; a hand nibbler cuts rectangular openings starting from a drilled hole.
Pick it if You are mounting panel-mount ports, switches or knobs through a case wall.
Watch out. Big ordinary twist bits grab and crack thin plastic, so drill a pilot hole and enlarge it gradually. Every hole in a waterproof case needs a sealed fitting.
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ClockworkPi uConsole (kit)
A pocket Linux computer kit you assemble: a 5-inch 720p IPS screen, a backlit QWERTY keyboard and dual speakers on the ClockworkPi v3.14 mainboard. It takes a Raspberry Pi CM4 or other compute cores.
Pick it if You want a ready-designed, very portable deck to assemble rather than design, and you're happy on a CM4 rather than a Pi 5.
Watch out. The estimated delivery time is about 90 business days, from Hong Kong, and UK import duties may apply. The 18650 batteries are not included.
5.0-inch 720p IPS; CM4 Lite option with 4 GB and Wi-Fi/BT 5.0; takes 18650 cells; assembled with the included 2.5 mm hex key. · $249.00 for the uConsole Kit RPI-CM4 Lite on clockworkpi.com (13 Oct 2026).
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HackberryPi CM5 (Zitao Wu / ZitaoTech)
An ultra-portable handheld that uses a Raspberry Pi CM5 (the same BCM2712 chip as a Pi 5), a 4-inch 720×720 touch screen and a real BlackBerry Q10, Q20 or 9900 keyboard. It has an aluminium body and is open source (MIT).
Pick it if You want Pi 5-class power in a phone-sized deck with a thumb keyboard and an open, printable design.
Watch out. It ships without the CM5, which you buy separately. Wi-Fi through the metal case is weak, so the designer documents an external antenna. The speakers need a Bluetooth audio module.
143.5 × 91.8 × 17.6 mm; 306 g; 5000 mAh LiPo, about 3–4 h typical use; 2× USB 3.0; full-size HDMI; 2242 NVMe slot. · $158 at Elecrow for the 9900-keyboard version (13 Oct 2026; was $168).
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Penkesu Computer (penk)
An open-source, retro-style handheld shaped like a pencil case. It has a Pi Zero 2 W, a 7.9-inch 1280×400 widescreen and a 48-key mechanical keyboard in a 3D-printed shell with Game Boy Advance SP hinges.
Pick it if You want a fully documented DIY design to learn from: STL/STEP files, a parts list, wiring and QMK keyboard firmware. MIT licence.
Watch out. No kits are sold, so you print, source and solder everything yourself (48 switches and 48 diodes). It is designed for a Pi Zero 2 W, not a Pi 5.
Waveshare 7.9-inch capacitive touch screen; 48 × Kailh Choc v1 switches; Arduino Pro Micro; 606090 LiPo with an Adafruit PowerBoost 1000C.
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Raspberry Pi 500 / 500+ as a deck base
In Hackaday's words, the Pi 500 is essentially a Raspberry Pi 5 built into a keyboard. The Pi 500+ adds mechanical RGB keys, 16 GB of RAM, a fitted M.2 slot and an enclosure that is easy to open.
Pick it if You want the keyboard and computer solved in one part and to build only the screen, power and case around it. The Pi Hut also sells GPIO adapters and an Adafruit 'Cyberdeck HAT' made for the 500/400.
Watch out. The Pi 500's case was not designed to be opened, and its M.2 slot is unpopulated (adding one means soldering). The 500+ is much more expensive.
Launch prices quoted by Hackaday: $90 (Pi 500) vs $200 (Pi 500+). · The Pi Hut (13 Oct 2026): Raspberry Pi 500 £172.80, Raspberry Pi 500+ £393.60, Adafruit CYBERDECK HAT for Pi 500/400 £8.60.
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Official Raspberry Pi Pi 5 cyberdeck tutorial build
Raspberry Pi's own reference build (Official Magazine #168). It uses a Pi 5, a 128 GB Raspberry Pi Flash Drive, a 7-inch Touch Display 2, a Rii RK302 keyboard, Pimoroni Picade Max USB audio, an RTC battery and a fused LiPo, all in a Pelican-style case.
Pick it if You want a Pi 5 build plan close to a workshop setup, using parts you can buy off the shelf.
Watch out. A power bank is simpler and safer than its LiPo setup. The RTC battery only charges if you add 'dtparam=rtc_bbat_vchg=3000000' to /boot/firmware/config.txt.
Needs at least 28 W at 5 V (Pi 5 25 W + display about 3 W). Touch Display 2 is 1280 × 720.
Before the workshop
03Three things you can do at home, so the session is spent building rather than waiting.
- Flash the microSD card. Install Raspberry Pi Imager on your laptop and write Raspberry Pi OS to the card.9Install an operating system.
- Check the power. A Pi 5 wants a 5 A USB-C supply; the official one is 27 W. A weaker battery still boots, but it caps the USB devices at 600 mA in total.10Power supply.
- Find pin 2 and pin 6. The touchscreen takes its power from these two GPIO pins; the wrong way round can damage it.11Touch Display 2.
- 1 Every fact on this page links to the page it came from. The case in the drawing is one example, not a kit list.
- 2 Raspberry Pi documentation, Power supply.
- 3 Raspberry Pi documentation, Frequency management and thermal control.
- 4 Raspberry Pi documentation, GPIO and the 40-pin header.
- 5 Raspberry Pi documentation, Install an operating system.
- 6 Raspberry Pi documentation, Touch Display 2.
- 7 Raspberry Pi documentation, Power supply — typical current draw.
- 8 Raspberry Pi documentation, Frequency management and thermal control.
- 9 Install an operating system.
- 10 Power supply.
- 11 Touch Display 2.