The second we saw Valve's Steam Deck, we said it's essentially a Nintendo Switch built for PC nerds, and today the company drove that home with a commitment that should speak straight to the heart of any PC building enthusiast. While most mobile devices (and far too many laptops) are glued-down, screwed-tight black boxes with no hope of at-home repairs, Valve is partnering with iFixit to offer replacement parts for the Steam Deck (and more).

“Today, we're announcing that iFixit will be one of the authorized sellers of Steam Deck replacement parts—as well as replacement parts for the Valve Index VR products,” Valve said in a news post. “We are still hammering out the details, and will be sharing more info on this soon.”

To celebrate, the repair gurus over at iFixit tore down the Steam Deck in a new video, giving it an overall repair score of 7. That's not perfect, but it's good, and roughly on par with the Nintendo Switch's 8 Repairability Score.

But you might not have to buy replacement parts for the Steam Deck whatsoever if your 3D printer's rocking and rolling. Over the weekend, Valve made the CAD files for the handheld gaming PC's external shell available under a Creative Commons license. You love to see it. DIY printer geeks can find those files right here.

Valve

We're still 10 days out from the release of Valve's hotly anticipated hardware, but the Steam Deck wowed in early reviews, and these new endeavors ensure you won't be left high and dry if you wind up dropping your pricey (but still surprisingly affordable) handheld on the bus. And that's not the only boon! Sure, making replacement parts and CAD files widely available might be kibble for PC enthusiasts, but making consumer electronics—and especially easily dropped consumer electronics like the Steam Deck—more easily repairable is great for the environment too.

The Steam Deck launches on February 25. Fingers crossed that the oh-so-crucial Valve Proton technology underpinning it winds up being just as impressive as the hardware and these new repairability initiatives.

Google has released Chrome OS Flex, a way to take older Windows and Mac hardware and replace the operating system, turning them into Chromebooks.

Although Google is calling Chrome OS Flex an “early access” and “unstable” project, the concept is intriguing: Instead of disposing an old PC that's nearing the end of its life, you can turn it into a Chromebook instead. Google has launched the new operating system on its dedicated Chrome OS Flex site, though you'll have to sign up with an email to receive download instructions.

Google appears to be positioning Chrome OS Flex for a dual purpose: a way for consumers to try out the benefits of Chromebooks, and a way for enterprises to evaluate how well they can be managed. For example, a Chrome OS Flex “fleet” can be managed with Chrome Enterprise Upgrade, Google says. If this all sounds familiar, you're right: Google bought CloudReady a few years ago, and used that company's work as a way to turn laptop PCs into Chromebooks. Google describes CloudReady as a “previous version of Chrome OS Flex.” “Google will automatically update CloudReady devices to Chrome OS Flex, when Chrome OS Flex is stable,” the company added.

Traditionally, DIY PC enthusiasts would either leave an older PC running, scavenge it for parts, or replace the Windows operating system with a resource-light version of Linux. Now, Google is offering them an additional option: Replace Windows with Chrome OS, and enjoy the benefits of that streamlined operating system. And that's a point to be reiterated: Chrome OS Flex doesn't offer the ability to run Chrome OS in a window or a virtualized environment, a la the new Android apps for Windows. Instead, it replaces Windows, and all of its files.

On a support page, Google says that Chrome OS Flex will be a more limited version of CloudReady, at least for now: “Chrome OS Flex will not allow some system-level access currently available on CloudReady Home Edition, including: command line access via shell and command line access via teletype (TTY),” Google says.

Don't expect things to go smoothly, either. “This operating system is still in early access on the dev channel—you may experience some instability,” Google says.

Matthew Smith / IDG

Installing Google Chrome OS Flex looks similar to installing Windows 11 via installation media on a new PC. You'll need a USB key with 8GB or more. PCs will need at least 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. The CPU restrictions are more lenient: You'll need a 64-bit CPU, period. Which is basically any processor made after the year 2000. There are GPU restrictions, though: Intel GMA 500, 600, 3600, and 3650 graphics hardware do not meet Chrome OS Flex performance standards, Google says.

The real gotcha, however, appears to be simply in the diversity of compatible PC hardware, and how it will interact with Chrome OS Flex. Google has published a list of “certified models” that are either currently certified or planned to be certified with Chrome OS Flex, and many, many of them are listed with the caveat “minor issues expected” next to them. (“Models are likely to support at least basic functionality, but are still being worked on by our team,” Google says rather circularly, in describing what “minor issues” might mean. “You might run into minor issues.”)

The certified models include both PCs and Macs.

So why wouldn't you want to install Chrome OS Flex on an older PC? Well, there is the substantial list of caveats that come with the installation. For one, forget Android apps, Google Play, or Parallels Desktop support—that's out, Google says. Google can't manage firmware updates on Chrome OS Flex devices, nor can it provide verified boot capabilities. ARM PCs? Nope.

All this makes it seem like adding Chrome OS Flex to an older PC is very much a “use at your own risk” type of project—but one that can still turn your older PC into a Chromebook, for free. It's worth checking out before you toss it out.