eXtremeRate Custom Full Set Shell with Buttons for Steam Deck LCD - Clear Atomic Purple

i've been debating on getting a clear steamdeck shell for the longest time now, since i have absolutely 0 experience with anything even remotely related... but i ordered it and yesterday i got brave i guess and managed to change it!

honestly i have nothing but praise when it comes to the whole thing...the case feels good, im glad they started sending plastic picks with it instead of the metal one (ive read a lot of bad stuff about those!)

i did also use my ifixit kit, since the suction cup in that one is better (ER one comes with a rly cheap ring that got bent right away)

i also gotta recommend ifixit kits btw, they live up to the hype! (i found that the suction cup in that one was better, simply cause the one provided here...the metal ring bent pretty fast)

anyway, took me like, 4ish hours i think? plus some breaks, cause oh my god, i was SWEATING when removing the screen..that was the only real scary part haha

the rest was pretty straight forward

anyway, tl;dr

great shell, pretty easy to install even if you are a noob and i would deffo recommend!

(i also may have drilled a hole on the side to hang charms on it, cause... 00s nostalgia lol)

The shell and buttons are well made and look great. It's a shame that the only instructions provided are in video form, I understand that not having paper materials is great for the environment but I think following along to a pdf would be much simpler. I ended up using ifixits full teardown of the steam deck as a guide and then reassembled by doing to the steps backward. Other than that though I'm extremely satisfied with the new look

Feels premium and the parts fit super well together. I actually love the texture. I prefer the look of the OEM buttons so I chose not to use the ones that came with the kit. They look and feel fine but can't say anything about the fit.

Case looks amazing, great build quality, easier to open than the OEM case but it feels secure. Like others have mentioned, the iFixit tools or some kind of heat applicator is worth the money to warm the adhesive and remove the screen/trackpads. The worst part of the process was removing the OEM trackpad covers, I really had to wrench on them.

Another thing I would have spent more time on is removing the old screen adhesive that was stuck to the screen, I scraped most of it off, but I think I missed an area by the bottom right and the screen is now very slightly raised in that corner. It looks okay but I know, and I will have to carry that burden with me. An iso wipe would have helped.

I thought I would start this project after work, and I ended up finishing 5-6 hours later. I also had to crack it open the next day to plug in a missed ribbon cable. If I were going to do this over again, I'd do everything on a weekend and I'd follow the step-by-step instructions more closely!

Overall a great quality print with a great feel. Took 4 hours to disassembly the deck and put it back together.

I will mention one thing I ran into and the solution. A few of the printed stand-offs for the left shoulder button component were deformed and on an angle. Although simply putting some tension on the component allowed me to secure it in place, I realized after I fully assembled the deck that the left shoulder button required awkward pressure for an actual click. In short, the bad standoffs were shifting the component out of place by a little bit giving it bad contact. After deciding to gently remove the two standoffs in question and assembling the deck again the button worked flawlessly.