Valve Steam Machine vs DIY Plasma PC™ - The Zen 5 (9600X) and RDNA 4 (9060 XT 16 GB) Alternative
Valve’s new 2026 Steam Machine has created a lot of discussion online given it’s pricing. In this quick blog post I will look at specs of the Steam Machine and try create a barebones equivalent or better DIY gaming PC called Plasma PC™ (obviously based on solid, liquid, gas, and plasma).
My thoughts on PC component selection where also covered in my old blog post from 2020 Core Developer PC™ v20.09.dGPU - AMD 3700X vs Intel i7-10700 8c/16t with NVidia 2060 Super, but there I also took the long term view with high quality base components, here I’ll focus more on getting better value, but I’ll note that Core Developer PCs spec’ed in that blog post hit exactly the price point of around ~10000 DKK that I look at here too, almost 6 years ago.
Steam Machine Links
There are plenty of reviews and teardowns online. Overall, quality of the Steam Machine looks quite good with a very good big cooler with copper base and large aluminum fins. It also pitch black 👍 It does have a ton of “appendage” components, though.
- Valve Steam Machine Review: GPU & CPU Benchmarks, SteamOS Test, Thermals, Noise, and Price
- Excellent Repairability: Steam Machine Tear-Down and Accessing RAM & SSD
- A look inside the Steam Machine
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Steam Machine Specifications
| Component | Steam Machine |
|---|---|
| CPU | Semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6C/12T (roughly Ryzen 5 7540U class) |
| GPU | Semi-custom AMD RDNA 3 (roughly Radeon RX 7600M class) |
| Memory | 16 GB DDR5, 5600 MHz, single-channel, 2x SO-DIMM slots |
| Storage | 512 GB or 2 TB M.2 2230 NVMe |
| Expansion | 1x M.2 2280 slot, microSD |
| Networking | Gigabit Ethernet, Wi‑Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Ports | USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 4x USB-A |
| Display targets | 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 4K |
| OS | SteamOS |
| Size | 152 x 162.4 x 156 mm |
| Weight | 2.6 kg |
Those specs mean last generation Zen 4 CPU and last generation RDNA 3 GPU, and half memory bandwidth single only single-channel.
Steam Machine pricing
Official EU pricing for launch is in Euro, so below I include approximate Danish pricing converted at about 1 EUR = 7.46 DKK. I don’t know if those prices incl. VAT but I am gussing they don’t. In Denmark, that’s 25%.
| Model | EUR | ~DKK |
|---|---|---|
| Steam Machine 512 GB | 1039 | ~7750 |
| Steam Machine 512 GB + Steam Controller | 1108 | ~8270 |
| Steam Machine 2 TB | 1359 | ~10140 |
| Steam Machine 2 TB + Steam Controller | 1428 | ~10650 |
Those prices immediately place the Steam Machine in an awkward spot, by being materially more expensive than a mass-market console, and as many others have demonstrated building a DIY PC to match within same budget is entirely feasible.
Which is what I will do here too, but for European/Denmark prices, and based on the 2 TB model, since no one should be buying a gaming console/PC with just 512 GB SSD given just a single game can take up to 435 GB of space (cough, ARK, cough). This means the budget is 10140 DKK with no controller.
Plasma PC™ Components
As shown below you can hit the (exact) same price point with current generation components (Zen 5, RX 9000 series) compared to last gen components in Valve Steam Machine.
| Component | Selection | DKK w. VAT | ~EUR |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 9600X CPU 3.9 GHz 6c/12t AM5 | 1300 | ~174 |
| GPU | ASUS Dual Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB GDDR6 | 3000 | ~402 |
| Motherboard | Asrock B850M Pro-A WiFi Micro-ATX | 900 | ~121 |
| RAM | Kingston Fury Beast Black DDR5 6000MHz 2x8GB | 1850 | ~248 |
| SSD | SanDisk Black SN7100 SSD 2TB | 2000 | ~268 |
| Case | Zalman S3 Tempered Glass incl. 3 x 120 mm fans | 280 | ~38 |
| PSU | Corsair RM650e (2025) 650W | 550 | ~74 |
| CPU Cooler | Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE | 260 | ~35 |
| Total | 10140 | ~1359 |
Most components are of good quality, the GPU has pretty bad cooler, though, and the case is as cheap as it gets, but you get a decent PSU, SSD and CPU cooler.
Plasma PC™ Specifications
Turning this into specifications ala Steam Machine you get the below. Notably, dual channel memory so 2x higher memory bandwidth. 16 GB VRAM with full Navi 44 GPU die.
| Component | Plasma PC™ |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 9600X, Zen 5, 6C/12T, 3.9 GHz base, up to 5.4 GHz boost |
| GPU | Radeon RX 9060 XT, RDNA 4, 16 GB GDDR6 |
| Memory | 16 GB DDR5, 6000 MHz, dual-channel (2x8 GB) |
| Storage | 2 TB NVMe SSD |
| Expansion | Full desktop AM5 platform, PCIe x16 GPU, additional motherboard expansion |
| Networking | 2.5 GB Ethernet, Wi‑Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Ports | Multiple USB-A/USB-C plus DisplayPort/HDMI from the discrete GPU |
| OS | SteamOS (free) |
Conclusion
I honestly don’t know why you would buy the steam machine other than due to it’s compact form factor. Which is what everyone else is saying too 😅
Perhaps power consumption, which, of course, can be much higher in Plasma PC™, hence the name. It doesn’t have to be, though, as you can undervolt and downclock.
Most of the DIY PC components can be also re-used, even allow for upgrading to Zen 6 and possibly even Zen 7 as AM5 socket.
In comparison a PS5 Pro 2TB can be bought for around 6900 DKK (incl. VAT) with a controller.
So, perhaps that Steam Machine is named appropriately, it’s literally an old overpriced steam machine.
That’s all!