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Comment on Steam Machine pricing announced (from $1049-$1428 USD), reservation lists open

For $1k you could do quite better than the Steam Machine. Just spec’d out a build on Amazon with AM4 and you’ve got options:

$55 - 700w PSU
$90 - Corsair 4000D case (I have one of these, good airflow and easy build space
$130 - Cheap 1 TB SSD (went with Timetec, apparently Fikwot is okay too, seems to be a SSD parts manufacturer that started selling direct)
$85 - B550 ATX mobo
$130 - G.Skill 16 GB DDR4 3200
$175 - Ryzen 5 5600 XT OR Ryzen 7 5700 (5600 is faster but 6c/12t, 5700 lower core speed, but 8c/16t. I have a 5600x, no complaints)
$279 or $290 - RX 7600 GPU, or RTX 5050 (up to preference. The 7600 is generally comparable or slightly better overall, but you will see much better with it on Linux. On Windows the 5050 might be the better choice)

Total cost: About $950, which leaves a bit of overhead to get a cheap cooler for the CPU (optional since it comes with one), and/or additional case fan(s).

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grue@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
$279 or $290 - RX 7600 GPU, or RTX 5050 (up to preference. The 7600 is generally comparable or slightly better overall, but you will see much better with it on Linux. On Windows the 5050 might be the better choice)

If you want it to be like a Steam Machine, you should definitely go for the AMD GPU so you can run Steam OS on it.
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- tomkatt@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  Good point. Though personally I prefer running EndeavourOS, I like having an up-to-date kernel and mesa improvements.
  
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  - AgentRocket@feddit.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    Since SteamOS is Arch based (same as endeavour) shouldn’t it also have up to date kernel and mesa?
    
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    tomkatt@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    Maybe should, but it doesn’t. Current kernel is 6.16 as of the SteamOS update 3.8 last week. Endeavour is up to 7.0.12. SteamOS is always a few versions behind.
    
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    ozymandias117@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    SteamOS takes snapshots of Arch and spends months testing and bug fixing for their hardware
    
    It doesn’t pull directly from Arch
    
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HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
hey, so i suck at picking parts and never know if they’ll fit my build. like, i was a hardware guy back in the 90s and haven’t really kept up. is there a compatibility checker somewhere?

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- tomkatt@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  Use a PSU calculator for the parts you’re selecting. Power supplies are rated to always provide consistent load of at least 80% of rated spec, so aim for a PSU with at least 20% overhead. So if the system uses 600w peak, you’ll want a 720w PSU or better.
  
  In general, an 800w PSU is generally more than enough for most systems, unless you’re buying really power hungry parts (think Nvidia 5080 or 5090 and the highest end Intel chips or AMD threadrippers).
  
  If in doubt, just buy a bigger PSU than you need, like 1000w. Always better to have more than you need, it only uses what the system requires, it’s not like it’s always actually going to draw that 1kw power.
  
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  - HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    Thank you for the detailed advice. I cheaped out on my psu on my last build and figured it wouldn’t hurt too much.
    
    Oh, past me, you sweet summer child.
    
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- CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  
  i suck at picking parts and never know if they’ll fit my build
  
  Just use pcpartpicker.com
  
  It’s very good at telling you if parts aren’t compatible.
  
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  - HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    thanks! i’ll give it a try next upgrade
    
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kahjtheundedicated@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
Yeah I was looking at mostly similar parts, but squeezing for a 9060xt. I got to a little less than $1200 on an am5 platform with all new stuff, or $1000 using used ddr4 and ssd on an am4 platform, but still with the 9060xt

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- tomkatt@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  I couldn’t squeeze in the 9060 XT (specifically the 16 GB variant) for under $1k, though if you went with the used parts I mentioned and the cheaper case it should fit the budget.
  
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- mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  Just my $0.02, but my DDR4 system with a 9070XT is doing alright. But I also don’t play competitive FPS, so ymmv
  
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absquatulate@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
Funny you should create this. I made an identical spec for my potential upgrade from a 2019 intel pc to a 2021 amd pc in order to keep the ram. Looks like i’ll have to ride these memory sticks until the wheels fall off.

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BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
Please don’t buy a Corsair case

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- tomkatt@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  Why not? The 4000D is solid.
  
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  - BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    Ok my bias, sorry shouldn’t have written that. I had very poor experiences with corsaire products, especially while assembling a PC in one of their cases.
    
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    tomkatt@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    Gotcha. The 4000D is easy to build in and very roomy. It’s also got great airflow on the mesh front variant.
    
    I had it running a server for a while, it’s currently in my closet and planned as my case whenever I eventually upgrade. I currently use a HAF XB Evo it feels like I’ve outgrown, but unless I’m actually changing parts I don’t feel like messing with it.
    
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tomalley8342@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
You can go up to a 5060Ti 8gb for $370 and get +45% more GPU performance and still stay under the budget for a steam machine

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shiv@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
Ultimately, this will likely be the road I take. I just haven’t owned a PC in like 15 years and building one feels daunting because mistakes would be too costly. I know it’s not that hard though, I’ll just watch a few YouTube tutorials.

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LiveLM@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
Is that power supply any good?

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- tomkatt@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  Thermaltake makes good stuff.
  
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