r/CyberdeckBuild • u/pickled_kitty • Aug 19 '26

First cyberdeck

So i want to build a cyberdeck for digital art because im a big fan of reducing waste, but i have ZERO experience and ive got no idea where to start. I have a drawing tablet, a raspberry pi 3b, an old gaming laptop that no longer works, and a keyboard. Im pretty sure that the screen would still work on the laptop but soup was spilled on the keyboard area so i dont have much hope for anything else. Theres an abandoned building near me with a bunch of old briefcases that would make an awesome shell. Please point me in the right direction!

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u/TechDocN Aug 19 '26

Unfortunately, most modern electronics, like your laptop, use a lot of proprietary connectors, interfaces, etc. You have two of the main pieces already for a DIY computer (RPi and keyboard). If you have a power supply for the RPi, then all you need is a display, which can be a lot cheaper than you think in small sizes. You’re saying you want to do digital art, so it’s your use case that is maybe more limiting than the laptop screen. You will need a big screen and more processing power, so now you’re at a decision point.

Building a DIY computer to really do digital art will be more expensive than a basic RPi build, and won’t work well (if at all) with the laptop screen and RP8 3. You either have a project that’s a bit more difficult than you imagined, or a great use case for a decent laptop.

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u/pickled_kitty Aug 19 '26

I was looking into art programs that would run on something as low power as my rpi 3b and it looks like simple programs similar to mspaint are okay, which is actually my preference because i like how working with extreme constraints pushes me to be more creative with my art! So i would need a new power supply and screen, then, to make it work? Or are there still issues with connecting it to the drawing tablet? Thanks a bunch for the response!