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Valve says you can build your own Steam Machine if you can't buy one

Valve says you can build your own Steam Machine if you can't buy one
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Valve's Steam Machine goes on sale June 29 starting at $1,049, and the company already knows not everyone will get one — so it's officially blessing the DIY route. An updated FAQ on the Steam Machine store page directly addresses what to do if you miss out or can't afford the asking price: build your own.

The official hardware packs a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 six-core CPU clocked up to 4.8 GHz, an AMD RDNA3 GPU with 28 compute units and 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM, and 16 GB of DDR5 system RAM. Two storage configs are available — 512 GB NVMe for $1,049 and 2 TB NVMe for $1,349. A Steam Controller adds $79 to either bundle. The 2 TB model also comes with exclusive red fabric and walnut faceplate options. Both models include a microSD card slot, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, DisplayPort 1.4 (up to 4K@240Hz or 8K@60Hz), and HDMI 2.0. Sales run through a reservation-based system, so availability at launch will be limited.

Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais told The Verge that a PC connected to a TV with a single drive and no dual-boot setup can run SteamOS and deliver an experience "very similar to a Steam Deck docked or a Steam Machine, with some caveats." Valve also confirmed it's "collaborating with Nvidia very closely" to improve SteamOS compatibility beyond AMD hardware. The company is also pushing back hard on the console label — its FAQ insists the Steam Machine is "an extension of PC gaming, not a console," pointing to its open ecosystem philosophy as the reason it won't sell hardware at a loss the way Sony or Microsoft do. That philosophy also explains the price: at $1,049 for the base model, it's well above a PS5 or Xbox Series X, which currently run $600 for all-digital versions.

Valve's position is that the Steam Machine is one solution, not the only one — and the DIY path is a deliberate part of that message. Whether the community embraces building their own SteamOS boxes or holds out for official units remains to be seen, but the reservation system suggests stock will be tight when the machine ships on June 29.

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