A YouTube builder has turned platform hopping into the click of a button. The Ningtendo PXBOX 5 is a 3-in-1 gaming console that combines PS5, Xbox and Switch 2 hardware into a single tower and then allows you to switch between platforms in under five seconds.
The goal is simple: stop forcing players to buy multiple machines just to get different exclusives. The compromise is also clear: only one platform runs at a time, so it’s about comfort and space.
What’s special about the project is that it doesn’t look like three consoles in one box. Cooling, power and circuitry have been rebuilt around a common core, keeping the device tidy and usable rather than becoming a loud, hot mess.
One cooler replaces three
Heat is the real enemy. Each modern console is designed for its own airflow path and stacking these consoles would typically result in throttling. The PXBOX 5 instead uses a Mac Pro-like layout, a central triangular aluminum block with a different motherboard mounted on each side.
A top-mounted fan draws hot air upward through the shared heat core. In tests with demanding games such as Elden Ring, the manufacturer reported stable temperatures of around 60 degrees Celsius.
This aluminum core was also the most difficult part to manufacture. CNC machining the complex ribbed block was estimated to cost about 5,000 yuan, so the contractor used lost PLA casting, a modern twist on the 1,500-year-old lost-wax casting process used in ancient Chinese bronze work. The cooler was 3D printed in PLA, covered in high-temperature plaster, baked for 12 hours to burn out the plastic, and then filled with molten aluminum at 700 degrees Celsius. After an early failure, the rib density was adjusted to prevent the metal from solidifying too quickly.
One power supply, fast switching
Power is simpler than the three-console layout suggests. The PS5 and Xbox boards both use a 12V DC input and consume around 4W in standby, so they can be connected in parallel and powered by a single 250W PC power supply, again using the “one platform at a time” rule to do the heavy lifting.
An Arduino-based controller handles the switching. Press the triangle button at the top and the device switches to the next platform in under five seconds, while an LED strip shows what’s active, blue for PS5, green for Xbox, red for Switch 2. Fast and clear.
The Switch 2 maintains its portability with a toaster-style pop-up dock. For TV playback, it snaps into the tower and then pops out again with a single push. The mechanism uses 3D printed PETG springs created with a printed spring tool, giving the dock a consistent feel without custom metal parts.
A statement, not a product
The PXBOX 5 is not intended for retail use. It’s an effective reminder that much of the tension in the console war comes from platform boundaries, not hard technical boundaries.
There are compromises. Repairs would be far more complicated than standard hardware, and the limitation to one platform at a time is fundamental to power setup.
Nevertheless, it ends up as a blueprint. Shared cooling, unified power, and intelligent docking demonstrate how three competing platforms can be accommodated in one footprint without impacting the day-to-day use of each system.
