A YouTube video has detailed how a used Xiaomi Mi 9 was transformed into a beastly gaming phone. The video was posted by the Geekerwan channel and shows how a cheap Mi 9 was gradually transformed across several aspects into a monster of a gaming phone.
The Xiaomi Mi 9 flagship was released in 2019 and it is powered by a Snapdragon 855 chipset. It has a 3,300 mAh battery which is highly inadequate in gaming applications. The heating mechanism of the Mi 9 is also inadequate if it is used as a gaming phone. The YouTube video mentioned that the Mi 9 used was bought for the equivalent of $107. The battery capacity was tripled by connecting three 3,300mAh batteries in parallel, yielding 9,900mAh. The new capacity was then integrated into the smartphone’s internal system via the needed software tuning.
For starters, the process of transforming the Mi 9 into a gaming phone involves significant technicalities, and it is only for techies. After getting the monster battery capacity settled, the next step was to overclock and overvolt the Snapdragon 855 chip. This enabled the phone to operate at more than 50 frames per second (50 fps) as compared to the factory frame rate.
To adequately cater to the massive heat that will be generated by the device, modifications were made to the thermal management system. The camera module of the Mi 9 was removed and a heat sink with a powerful cooling fan was added. The cooling fan is powered by the phone’s battery through a DC to DC converter board. The board regulates the current to deliver 5V to the cooling fan. The cooling fan’s speed can be regulated via an added button in the device.
The modified Mi 9 is packaged in a 3D-printed case. It also has a universal bracket to mount the gaming phone onto a game controller. The device was shown to have done well in several performance and benchmark tests, as indicated in the YouTube video. It is unclear whether the promoters of this new gaming phone are ready to produce more units of their gaming powerhouse.
The cost of the transformation seems minimal, but it requires some degree of technical expertise. Generally, smartphones with a powerful processor could potentially be transformed into gaming phones. The key adjustments needed are the battery and heat management modifications.
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