I constructed my very own Steam Machine. It was manner simpler than I anticipated

What I had accessible

One of many perks of writing about and dealing with PCs and {hardware} is that I usually have a couple of bits mendacity round. On this case, I repurposed my outdated VR gaming PC, the one which steadfastly saved my HTC Vive Professional going even in 2024 however has since been boxed up and idle.

Why let that go to waste? I made a decision it will be a positive candidate for repurposing right into a Steam Machine. Its {hardware} is right for the job:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
• Motherboard: Asus ROG X670E Crosshair Hero mini-ITX
• Reminiscence: 16GB Corsair Vengeance 3000 MT/s DDR4
• Storage: 512GB Samsung 980
• Graphics: PowerColor Pink Satan RX 7900 XT 20GB
• PSU: Corsair SF850 SFX 850W

The CPU is older than the customized processor Valve makes use of in the true Steam Machine, with a decrease increase clock at 500 MHz and solely help for slower DDR4 reminiscence. Which means it lacks a few of the extra trendy advances of the Steam Machine’s customized Zen 4 chip, however not less than it packs two additional cores, help for 4 extra threads, and double the cache. With its TDP being over 4x increased, I’ll be needing a extra succesful cooling resolution than Valve’s good heatsink and fan combo.

So far as reminiscence, it has equal capability at 16GB, however it’s DDR4 so it’ll be slower (even with the XMP/EXPO profile enabled).

The actual kicker right here is the GPU. The RX 7900 XT continues to be one of many quickest graphics playing cards AMD has ever made, beating out extra trendy counterparts just like the RX 9700 (non-XT). It needs to be roughly 2.5x the efficiency of the graphics chip within the official Steam Machine, giving us a lot larger scope for reaching that 4K/60Hz threshold Valve initially focused with its little field. My system additionally has boatloads of VRAM at 20GB—much more than trendy playing cards just like the RTX 5080 and RX 9070 XT—so it received’t run into VRAM bottlenecks anytime quickly.

My plan was to construct all this right into a Corsair 2000D case that’s been gathering mud within the nook of my workplace for the previous couple of years, and I’d hold the CPU chilled with a Cougar 240mm AIO that’s seen higher days however appears to nonetheless work nicely sufficient.

All that stated, that is massively overpowered for what a DIY Steam Machine must be. Any quad-core-or-better CPU from the previous 5 years ought to suffice, and you’ll in all probability get away with 8GB of RAM if that’s all you might have. You don’t want a lot for the GPU, both. Keep in mind, Valve is working with a cell RX 7600 equal, so to get respectable 1080p efficiency with SteamOS, you will get by with nearly any GPU from the previous few generations to be aggressive. (For concepts, see my colleague’s DIY Steam Machine construct for $150 lower than MSRP.)