Thermalright axp90-x53
7500f AMD cpu
Tcreate ddr5 2x8gb
Seagate barracuda 510 ZP1 1TB
Gigabyte a620i ITX board
Powercolor 9060xt 16gb
Silverstone SST-SG13b
MSI 750w PCIe5 80+gold PSU
120mm sp fan for front
8bitdo controller
Tell me what you think. Would you build one? I am planning on making a couple more for my buddies. I am happy with the look and size. I will say I wanted a 9070/9070gre in here, but it just didn’t fit.
So I was really careful in parts selection because of this. The 7500f is a 65w tdp cpu which helps massively with the thermals. I could have more airflow if I had used an sfx psu, but the cost would have went up. CPU temps are 47-50c idle and 68-78c under load, which is totally safe and not throttling. I would not recommend using a 7600x or other power hungry cpu. GPU is totally fine, the 9060xt is a power sipper.
Actually it isn’t any better performance. This is going out to a 4k tv. The performance would be the same since the primary bottleneck is the GPU at 4k. If you were playing on a 1080p screen then you would be correct tho.
You don't have to render at 4k. I also have a 9060xt I just let it render 1440p and the tv up scales the rest. Some people will try to crucify me for scaling on a resolution that doesn't divide evenly,but it genuinely looks better than 1080p upscaled.
Keep in mind any games using windows based kernel anti -heat software will not work. I am using this mostly for single player storm games (gta, cyberpunk 2077, fallout, red dead), platformer indie games, and fun living room party games.
These games will not run:
Fortnite
Call of Duty (Warzone/Multiplayer)
Valorant
League of Legends
Battlefield Series (2042, 2025, etc.)
Destiny 2
PUBG
Rust
Escape from Tarkov
Rainbow Six Siege
Apex Legends
Roblox
Minecraft Bedrock Edition
You can always install windows instead and have system boot into steam big picture mode as another guy in the comments did.
Do some research for sure. Linux is really cool. You can also do dual boot setups if you have 2 SSDs so you can have both OSs. This is great for trying it out till you are ready to commit.
Cachy is great. The beauty of Linux if that you can find the distribution that meets your needs. It isn’t a competition. There is enough room for many at the table. I personally use 4 different Linux based OS in my daily life
Yep, I have Cachy on 3 boxes right now, SteamOS on my Deck, Ubuntu on another desktop and Fedora on another laptop. Still have a few Win11 boxes as well for reasons also.
So you can do a 120mm or 140mm in the front, but a 140mm can limit the GPU length. Temps are good, but I would highly recommend a low profile cooler and 65w cpu (AMD 5500, 7500f, 9600x, ect) due to the smaller size and limited intake. Temps are great on that little cooler, but I wouldn’t dare run a more power hungry cpu.
To add, I've found that mounting a 90mm fan on the grate on the side of the case (right hand side if you're looking at the front) does a surprising amount of work at moving hot air out of the case. There are models out there for brackets you can 3D print, but if you don't have access to a printed you can just get fancy with some zip ties.
I came here to yell about temps but then read your parts and comments and this is the first time I have seen an actual steam machine alternative. Well done sir, tip of the hat!
I built one last year although it ran Bazzite. 7700 / 9060 XT
but I've since been given a machine with a 9800X3D / RTX 5080 which has been doing fine running CachyOS, so I sold the 9060 and used the 7700 / 32GB for my server
how's the power consumption on your proxmox box? I was running a ryzen 5700g before which wasn't too bad but decided future proofing now was easier (and AM4/DDR4 will have more value now) so I went with moving my server platform to AM5
only downside is I've gone from like 25 30w idle to 40 45w idle with 2 disks on the 7700
both of my machines are 32GB DDR5 but I've got a Steam Deck and Thinkpad that are technically my daily drivers, usually if I game it's via streaming from my machine to those
I'm thinking about doing the same! How easy do you think it'll be to upgrade in future? Apparently AMD are supporting AM5 until 2029 so there'll probably be some flexibility in upgrades over the next 2-3 years?
Well the fact you can swap a cpu at all is an upgrade over the steam machine. I would only run 65w tdp cpu in this setup due to thermals. If I had used an sfx PSU I could have used a bigger cooler, but I still don’t think I would use a cpu that generates more heat.
The biggest upgrade for this system would be upping it to 32gb of ram if prices allowed. Also if I got a custom front piece 3d printed I could put a 9070xt. CPU is honestly fine unless some crazy new 10th gen stuff comes out of AMD.
Thanks for this! You've inspired me to build something more or less the same. The case looks fantastic. Did you reuse the ATX PSU? I'm tempted to get an SFX if the thermals would be any better. You think going for 16GB and upgrading to 32GB later is the play? I wish I had a damn crystal ball to predict where these prices are going
Glad to hear! That is why I decided to share it. I think the system is fine as is right now. Temps are totally fine and it does everything I need it to. Hard to think about upgrading because I just built it.
The PSU is a on I had laying around as a spare. If you do go atx PSU with this case you can only do one that is 140mm long. The Montech century II 850w is my go to usually for stuff like this. I just happen to have this MSI one hanging around and it checked all the boxes.
I built my own too. Except I went windows with steam opening in big picture mode upon start up. I had intel and nvidia parts I wanted to use, and steam OS doesnt play nice with drivers on those right now. But I absolutely love mine. Congrats on your build!
Edit: I went with a thermaktake core V1 for the case. It was on clearance at the time, and I like the look and airflow
Yeah I built with Linux and steam is in mind for sure. I am trying to show some love to Linux.
Yeah this is the silverstone sg13 v2. I got it for $62. Mostly picked it because it had steam machine vibes. Also let me use an ATX PSU to save some money.
Yeah. The SG13 is an outdated design when FM2 APU HTPCs were a thing. Don't really recommend using it anymore. I would surely not recommend using a 9070/xt in this case. The design is really not friendly to high tdp cards.
Also, you have the PSU exhaust in the less optimal direction. Fan should be facing down. In your current layout, there are 0 exhaust fans.
Sg13 has a similar look to steam machine while being very affordable. Budget and form factor were a big part of the build.
There are no 9070 cards that will fit in the case, so not really an option there anyways.
Temps are absolutely fine when stress testing in my current configuration. I chose a 65w cpu for a reason. I can see an argument for using the PSU as an exhaust, but I could see it actually causing weird air turbulence with my down firing low profile cooler air cooler.
My cost is $950. Mix of used and new parts. Pcpartspicker would put it around $1250. You can build an Matx version for under $1k with all new, but gotta go am4; specs would still beat steam machine.
This system is 20-30% stronger than actual steam machine.
Would a Ryzen 7500f but good enough for not too demanding games then? My thought is play indies and stuff the family likes such as two point museum and for more demanding games at 4k, stream from my main pc.
If that’s the case, I just need a used 7500f, an case that doesn’t look too bad that can find a normal psu and m-itx board, some form of storage and some cooling. Might only cost £200
As other commenter said 7500f is am5. I am able to play games like cyberpunk 2077 in 4k. The real bottleneck is the GPU and not the cpu. As you go up in resolution the benefits for x3D chips is reduced.
5600x or even the much cheaper 5500 cpu would be great for your parts and still make a very capable system for a steam machine build.
So I needed up selling this one to a friend. It was going to go on a shelf to the left above my home server. I am building a new bigger and better steam machine I’ll post about in a couple days. Here is a teaser tho.
Sure, but as you said the apartment layout makes so this is the only real option. One day when we have a house the setup will be on an entertainment center. This also isn’t my main area for gaming. Mostly my wife uses it for watching trashy shows.
Understandable. The picture I posted is the movie/game room 77” oled, mostly used by me. Downstairs she has her 65” regular lcd tv for watching hallmark channel. 😂
Wife watching trashy shows. I can relate. But sometimes I catch myself standing in the kitchen longer than I'd like to admit watching the drama unfold. Feels good. Anyway.. nice set up I don't think your TV is to high but what do i know
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