Just caught this “quick walkthru” video from Tre Z, showing his Steam Deck powered mini virtual pinball setup. Am calling it “mini” because it’s smaller, but not quite “micro” small-size with a 24″ playfield.
Parts he used with links are included except for the Game Room Solutions “custom” Steam Deck cabinet kit (with flat top vs. angled). He does say it’s not included on their site and didn’t catch the pricing, but think it is going to be close to this: https://gameroomsolutions.com/shop/24-table-top-virtual-pinball-cabinet/ ($199 regular price, on sale for $159.99 as of this writing)
Then factor in the Samsung 1080p monitor (24″) he linked and used from Best Buy: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-t350-series-24-ips-led-fhd-amd-freesync-vesa-hdmi-vga-dark-blue-gray/6420870.p?skuId=6420870 ($179) – good reviews, “only” 75hz, which is a slight step up from the Atgames Micro Pinball refresh rate. After playing virtual pinball with 120hz, it really opened my eyes that having a faster refresh was vital.
The amp from Amazon (no Amazon ref codes here, stripped out, but TreZ included his in the details of his YouTube video): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076P2VS9H/ ($69.99) and speakers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NS9FVKB ($55.96) and aux to RCA adapter: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D5H8JW0 ($7.19)
$159.99 (cabinet, regular price)
$179 (24″ 1080p monitor, 75hz)
$69.99 (amp)
$55.96 (speakers)
$7.19 (aux to RCA adapter)
——–
= $472.13
+ $399 (Steam Deck 64GB model, lowest cost model from Valve)
+ $89 (Steam Deck docking station)
——–
= $960.99 + shipping + taxes
The video doesn’t show a ton of actual gameplay footage, but Tre Z does claim it “runs really well.” If you’d like to compare to Atgames Micro Pinball: https://www.atgames.us/products/legends-pinball-micro that is running $449 + $60 for VIBS board, so that’s running around $510 +($7.19) shipping and a smaller 15″ playfield screen and does not include the PC to power the VPX. Didn’t source any micro PCs, but you can probably find something comparable to the Steam Deck + dock in terms of power for around $400-500, so Tre Z’s mod is around the same price but with a bigger playfield and higher quality components.
About $1,000 for Tre Z’s Steam Deck Mini Virtual Pinball machine. Knowing my current virtual pinball playing preference, I’d want a little beefier hardware to run this than the Steam Deck and a faster refresh rate monitor, not to mention adding a plunger and physical nudge, two things I’m missing at the momemnt with my current full size 4K setup. This makes my dream mini virtual pinball setup cost closer to $2,000 USD or so, which is more expensive than I’d probably want to pay for a mini pinball setup. Then again, I do like the idea of having something smaller and semi-portable …. hmm
What do you think of this mod and would you be interested in a mini virtual pinball machine? Your thoughts are welcome in the comments below or on the High Noon with Hollywood Polo Twitch stream live at noon PST (GMT-8) today here: https://www.twitch.tv/todd_russell
I’m gonna leave a comment to Trey Z once this is published as well. Thank you for sharing!