Steam Machine Alternative build

[Conza]

Budget (including currency): Low as possible with the specs

Country: Any

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 4K 60fps low settings

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): Steam games only on Windows 11.

 

Alright I'll start

 

Budget (including currency): $1000 AUD

Country: Australia

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 4K 60fps low settings

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): Steam games only on Windows 11.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 8500G 4.1 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($226.77 @ JW Computers) 
Motherboard: Asus B650M-AYW WIFI Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($129.00 @ Centre Com) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR5-5200 CL40 Memory  ($149.00 @ Scorptec) 
Storage: TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 512 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($58.00 @ BPC Technology) 
Video Card: XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Core Radeon RX 7600 8 GB Video Card  ($329.00 @ Centre Com) 
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox MB600L V2 ATX Mid Tower Case w/500 W Power Supply  ($99.00 @ Centre Com) 
Total: $990.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-11-16 15:43 AEDT+1100

 

[AndrewAsd]

Don't think 8500G is quite a close enough match for what the Steam Machine is going to have. It has 2 Zen 4 cores that can go up to 5ghz, and 4 zen4c cores that can only go up to 3.7ghz. Not to mention no L1 cache, and half the L3 of a 7600 or 7500F. Also I wouldn't trust that power supply at all, they couldn't even be bothered to throw an 80+ rating on it, I can't imagine it's much better when it comes to safety protections. Additionally, an ITX build would be a closer match to what it's going to be, although still bigger than the steam machine. 

[Blue4130]

34 minutes ago, Conza said:

Budget (including currency): Low as possible with the specs

Country: Any

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 4K 60fps low settings

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): Steam games only on Windows 11.

 

Alright I'll start

 

Budget (including currency): $1000 AUD

Country: Australia

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 4K 60fps low settings

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): Steam games only on Windows 11.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 8500G 4.1 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($226.77 @ JW Computers) 
Motherboard: Asus B650M-AYW WIFI Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($129.00 @ Centre Com) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR5-5200 CL40 Memory  ($149.00 @ Scorptec) 
Storage: TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 512 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($58.00 @ BPC Technology) 
Video Card: XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Core Radeon RX 7600 8 GB Video Card  ($329.00 @ Centre Com) 
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox MB600L V2 ATX Mid Tower Case w/500 W Power Supply  ($99.00 @ Centre Com) 
Total: $990.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-11-16 15:43 AEDT+1100

 

Now make it 3.5 liters like steam machine.

[Conza]

  

4 hours ago, AndrewAsd said:

Don't think 8500G is quite a close enough match for what the Steam Machine is going to have. It has 2 Zen 4 cores that can go up to 5ghz, and 4 zen4c cores that can only go up to 3.7ghz. Not to mention no L1 cache, and half the L3 of a 7600 or 7500F. Also I wouldn't trust that power supply at all, they couldn't even be bothered to throw an 80+ rating on it, I can't imagine it's much better when it comes to safety protections. Additionally, an ITX build would be a closer match to what it's going to be, although still bigger than the steam machine. 

Yeah totally fair, especially on the PSU, I've never built with the combo before and I thought, well it's Cooler Master so must be at least 'ok'.

Yeah I mean ITX, but we're talking value here so, the steam machine will have a leg up, for sure, if it's versus an ITX build, unless there's still AM4 boards out there I guess.

CPU, that'll be interesting, I thought this would be similar, so we'll have to see.

 

Again, idea of the thread, probably a bit unconventional, I have tried this on the forum in the past and I don't think it took off - instead of critiquing mine, build yours and share it.

[Blue4130]

17 minutes ago, Conza said:

  

Yeah totally fair, especially on the PSU, I've never built with the combo before and I thought, well it's Cooler Master so must be at least 'ok'.

Yeah I mean ITX, but we're talking value here so, the steam machine will have a leg up, for sure, if it's versus an ITX build, unless there's still AM4 boards out there I guess.

CPU, that'll be interesting, I thought this would be similar, so we'll have to see.

 

Again, idea of the thread, probably a bit unconventional, I have tried this on the forum in the past and I don't think it took off - instead of critiquing mine, build yours and share it.

The forum has a "no dream builds" rule, this doesn't really fall under that I guess, but sort of? However, Once again, You can't really build a "steam Machine". The main selling point and what I think much of the tech reviewers are missing is that this is 3.5 liters. That is the selling point, and why I think it could succeed. Too many people are calling it DOA, but I don't see any other small machines that can game as well as this *should* be able to.

[Conza]

4 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

The forum has a "no dream builds" rule, this doesn't really fall under that I guess, but sort of? However, Once again, You can't really build a "steam Machine". The main selling point and what I think much of the tech reviewers are missing is that this is 3.5 liters. That is the selling point, and why I think it could succeed. Too many people are calling it DOA, but I don't see any other small machines that can game as well as this *should* be able to.

I interpreted the 'no dream builds' rule as e.g. "I want a 5090 and an 9800X3D" blah blah, with no intention of buying it, because you're tapping resources of the community where they could otherwise be helping people wanting to get into the hobby.

 

So in the same way, this thread the idea is, if you're interested in a steam machine, try to build up a similarly "speced" gaming PC and see what it costs, etc, so when we see the price for the steam machine we'll have a gauge of reference to how good its value is.

 

Make it small if you want, make it the 2TB if you want, there's no real rules other than try to make it match the Steam Machine from what we know.

 

I think the DOA stuff, that's just a price point thing, no one 'should' buy it if it's too high, and few people 'should' buy if versus a Gaming PC if it's their main PC and they don't need it to be compact and don't need to have HDMI-CEC, etc etc, don't need the features "if", a similarly specced gaming PC is faster and/or cheaper.

[Zando_]

8 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

The main selling point and what I think much of the tech reviewers are missing is that this is 3.5 liters.

That and SteamOS. With these sort of console alternative builds, people always forget how incredibly core to the experience being able to use a controller for everything is. At no point do you need to plug in a keyboard and mouse to do anything on a PS5 or Xbox. 

[Biohazard777]

Strix Halo (AI Max+ 395) mini PCs should be similar performance, power draw, volume, and upgradeability (*unless you pick a mini with soldered RAM).
To be fair, those start arround 1500USD... but have unified memory, so you won't be running out VRAM, and you can run some local Gen AI easily.

[Blue4130]

28 minutes ago, Biohazard777 said:

Strix Halo (AI Max+ 395) mini PCs should be similar performance, power draw, volume, and upgradeability (*unless you go pick a mini with soldered RAM).
To be fair, those start arround 1500USD... but have unified memory, so you won't be running out VRAM, and you can run some local Gen AI easily.

This is one point that I really disagree with Hardware Unboxed about. They are saying that if it is over $600 it is DOA. But they don't seem to say the same thing about the strix Halo based machines. What makes those god tier to be able to be priced over $1000 more before being called DOA? 

[podkall]

1 hour ago, Blue4130 said:

The forum has a "no dream builds" rule, this doesn't really fall under that I guess, but sort of? However, Once again, You can't really build a "steam Machine". The main selling point and what I think much of the tech reviewers are missing is that this is 3.5 liters. That is the selling point, and why I think it could succeed. Too many people are calling it DOA, but I don't see any other small machines that can game as well as this *should* be able to.

The topic could be swapped to General Discussion or something else

 

5 hours ago, Conza said:

Budget (including currency): $1000 AUD

Country: Australia

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 4K 60fps low settings

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): Steam games only on Windows 11.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 8500G 4.1 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($226.77 @ JW Computers) 
Motherboard: Asus B650M-AYW WIFI Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($129.00 @ Centre Com) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR5-5200 CL40 Memory  ($149.00 @ Scorptec) 
Storage: TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 512 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($58.00 @ BPC Technology) 
Video Card: XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Core Radeon RX 7600 8 GB Video Card  ($329.00 @ Centre Com) 
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox MB600L V2 ATX Mid Tower Case w/500 W Power Supply  ($99.00 @ Centre Com) 
Total: $990.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-11-16 15:43 AEDT+1100

Good luck building 1000AUD budget AM5 machine with current DDR5 prices, that RAM in your list is slowwwww and already costs more than the motherboard.

 

So close yet so far from 1000AUD

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/fLQPjn

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($215.82 @ Vuugo) 
Motherboard: *ASRock B550M-HDV Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($105.84 @ Vuugo) 
Memory: *Silicon Power GAMING 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($89.97 @ Newegg Sellers) 
Storage: *Crucial CT1000E100SSD8 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($91.96 @ shopRBC) 
Video Card: *Asus Dual GeForce RTX 3060 V2 OC Edition GeForce RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB Video Card  ($384.99 @ Canada Computers) 
Case: Jonsbo C6 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($80.80 @ Newegg Sellers) 
Power Supply: *ASRock Steel Legend SL-750G 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($89.68 @ Vuugo) 
Total: $1059.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-11-16 06:33 EST-0500

 

Swapping to bigger case barely reaches the budget, only swapping to Arc or downgrading more of the other parts brings you below 1000AUD (or if RAM was reasonably priced)

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/Ps28np

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($215.82 @ Vuugo) 
Motherboard: *ASRock B550M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($112.98 @ Newegg Canada) 
Memory: *Silicon Power GAMING 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($89.97 @ Newegg Sellers) 
Storage: *Crucial CT1000E100SSD8 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($91.96 @ shopRBC) 
Video Card: *Zotac GAMING Twin Edge GeForce RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB Video Card  ($359.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Case: *Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($54.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
Power Supply: *ASRock Steel Legend SL-750G 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($89.68 @ Vuugo) 
Total: $1015.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-11-16 06:36 EST-0500

[Biohazard777]

23 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

This is one point that I really disagree with Hardware Unboxed about. They are saying that if it is over $600 it is DOA. But they don't seem to say the same thing about the strix Halo based machines. What makes those god tier to be able to be priced over $1000 more before being called DOA? 

I'd say unified memory and AI / the ability to run larger models (albeit not very fast).

Sure, you could get something similar (ability & price) with a beefy CPU and copious amounts of RAM, or by running multiple last-gen GPUs... but those options take up much more space, power, noise, etc. And perhaps most importantly, they require tinkering not everyone is willing to do.

With that being said, I haven't watched the full HW Unboxed podcast, but yeah, I also disagree with the "$600 = DOA."

Quote

But if this is priced anywhere what you can build and entry level gaming PC for, then it's going to be, in my opinion, dead on arrival.
Because that entry level PC you would be buying would have a significantly more powerfull CPU. It would have a significantly more powerfull GPU, both of which could be upgraded independently....
-Steve

Steve has a bit of "expert bias" going on there.
Plenty of gamers buy prebuilts or gaming laptops with no intention of upgrading anything.
Now sure, laptops are portable, have a display, a battery (or a UPS if the battery life is ass, hah).

So let’s compare it to the cheapest prebuilts, starting price for those is ~$1,000.
ibuypower:

Spoiler

cyberpower:

Spoiler

starforge:

Spoiler

I wouldn't recommend these prebuilts to anyone, but people are buying them.
And honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the Steam Machine starts at $800 and still sells well enough.


 

[Blue4130]

1 hour ago, Biohazard777 said:

With that being said, I haven't watched the full HW Unboxed podcast, but yeah, I also disagree with the "$600 = DOA."

Steve has a bit of "expert bias" going on there.

I agree so hard with you on this. It seems every time I listen to his podcast, I get angry. He seems so out of touch with the "average" gamer. I know that he knows not all gamers use 5090's and demand 4k 90fps, but to hear him talk, anything less than that is pure trash. His definition of "unplayable" is a joke.

[Doobeedoo]

Really it's performance tier that is not really worth the money imo though. I'd wait for future desktop focused APUs for example. Point of this Steam Machine is entry, an alternative to custom PC on low end and console, something in single plug-and-play from known brand Valve that is. More specialized device vs random OEM that took custom PC parts together and not have value or size.

If it takes off well they may release a better spec machine, they did mention they don't want to encroach on their partners too much. 

But hope to see SteamOS become more fully fledged desktop OS so we can install it on PCs and have proper Windows alternative.

The Strix Halo is something I'm thinking at least for solid performance. But that is AI focused custom chip, with a lot of memory, thus high price, as it's not seen high for AI folk.  Ut makes no sense for gaming in general with price/performance. I've seen some cheaper devicey with it, still pricey. We need a proper desktop APU for gaming that is priced well, we can then have small powerfull PCs. 

[podkall]

On 11/16/2025 at 1:04 PM, Biohazard777 said:

I wouldn't recommend these prebuilts to anyone, but people are buying them.
And honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the Steam Machine starts at $800 and still sells well enough.

Those prebuilts have 5200Mhz RAM, which is fine and matches the "supported" CPU memory speeds, but depending on CL latency you could lose little bit of performance.

 

And then the GPUs are just, not great.

 

If you know how to navigate used market, or have one available, and buy decent parts from it you can build something that's almost 50% faster.

[podkall]

On 11/16/2025 at 2:12 PM, Blue4130 said:

agree so hard with you on this. It seems every time I listen to his podcast, I get angry. He seems so out of touch with the "average" gamer. I know that he knows not all gamers use 5090's and demand 4k 90fps, but to hear him talk, anything less than that is pure trash. His definition of "unplayable" is a joke.

He might be targeting 2025+ games, which have quite the demanding requirements.

 

And if you're targeting 4k 90fps, the high-end bias might not be high-end bias if the target is that high of a resolution, ++ if you want native performance.

[podkall]

On 11/16/2025 at 3:59 PM, Doobeedoo said:

OEM that took custom PC parts together and not have value or size.

They quite often use "1TB SSD" no brand mentioned, and "750W Gold PSU" no brand mentioned, type of parts.

 

On top of that cases they use may or may not be cheap if they have like mass contract/buy/etc.

 

On top of that probably cheaper Windows licenses.

[Biohazard777]

29 minutes ago, podkall said:

Those prebuilts have 5200Mhz RAM, which is fine and matches the "supported" CPU memory speeds, but depending on CL latency you could lose little bit of performance.

 

And then the GPUs are just, not great.

 

If you know how to navigate used market, or have one available, and buy decent parts from it you can build something that's almost 50% faster.

Sure, you and I, and most people on these forums could build a better PC ourselves, hunt for optimal parts, or pick up good value used components.
But IMO that isn’t true for a lot of people out there.
They don’t have the knowledge, confidence, or interest to do that.
So, they either need to know someone willing to help them or invest the time to learn the process themselves, and many just won’t.

That’s exactly why those prebuilts exist. They start around $1000, and objectively are poor value compared to a DIY build, and yet people still buy them because convenience and not having to think about it outweighs the price and performance downside for those people (and that’s assuming they are even aware of the tradeoff in the first place).

[podkall]

4 minutes ago, Biohazard777 said:

Sure, you and I, and most people on these forums could build a better PC ourselves, hunt for optimal parts, or pick up good value used components.
But that simply isn’t true for a lot of people out there.
They don’t have the knowledge, confidence, or interest to do that.

That's lowkey pessimistic, though I understand.

 

Imo you could give some decent pointers to people and they could snatch a slightly better used deal than new item.

 

5 minutes ago, Biohazard777 said:

So, they either need to know someone willing to help them or invest the time to learn the process themselves, and many just won’t.

That’s exactly why those prebuilts exist. They start around $1000, and objectively are poor value compared to a DIY build, and yet people still buy them because convenience and not having to think about it outweighs the price and performance downside for those people (and that’s assuming they are even aware of the tradeoff in the first place).

Steam Machine to the rescue for those lazy potatoes I suppose. (insert: improvise, adapt, overcome meme)