“Just build your own”: DIY Steam Machine sparks heated price debate

Since the Steam Machine launched, its price has been one of the most hotly debated aspects of Valve's living room PC – and more than a month after release, that discussion hasn't died down. In the US, the base model with 512 GB of storage costs $1,049, while the 2 TB version sells for $1,349. Adding a Steam Controller brings the total to $1,428. One Reddit user decided to test whether the often-repeated advice to "just build your own Steam Machine" actually saves money.

To find out, they put together a paper equivalent using off-the-shelf components. The configuration includes an AMD Ryzen 5 7600, a PowerColor Radeon RX 7600, an ASRock B850M motherboard, 16 GB of DDR5 memory and a 500 GB SSD. The build also features a Chieftec Cube case, an additional case fan, a separate CPU cooler and an 850 W modular 80 Plus Gold power supply.

Using prices from Swedish retailers, the Reddit user calculated a total cost of $1,402.17. Adding an affordable 8BitDo controller (Ultimate 2C Wireless, currently around $30 on Amazon) raises the total to roughly $1,430. That puts the DIY build almost exactly on par with the 2 TB Steam Machine bundled with a Steam Controller, despite offering only a 500 GB SSD while also being significantly larger and, in the author's opinion, likely noisier.

Community says it can be done for less

The Reddit community was quick to criticize the build. Many users argued that several components were unnecessarily expensive or overpowered. According to many commenters, the Ryzen 5 7600 is considerably faster than the heavily downclocked processor used in the Steam Machine, while the 850 W power supply is far more powerful than the system actually requires. Others pointed out that money could also be saved on the motherboard, CPU cooler and memory. As a result, many users concluded that a comparable gaming PC could be built for less money, even if it would end up larger, consume more power and likely produce more noise.

Many commenters felt that Gamers Nexus' comparison build offers a much more realistic benchmark. Its configuration includes a Ryzen 5 7400F, a Radeon RX 7600, a Gigabyte A620I AX motherboard, 16 GB of DDR5 RAM, a 512 GB SSD, a 400 W SFX power supply, a Cooler Master Q300L V3 case and a Thermalright CPU cooler. The total comes to $979, roughly $70 less than Valve's comparable $1,049 Steam Machine. Upgrading the DIY build to a 2 TB SSD increases the price to $1,139, compared to $1,350 for Valve's model. The custom-built PC also delivers better real-world performance, although it is significantly larger and cannot match the Steam Machine's compact form factor or low power consumption.