Updated
Updated · digitalfoundry.net · Jun 22
Valve Reveals Steam Machine Mainboard Near 100x72mm, Packing 16GB DDR5 and 8GB VRAM
Updated
Updated · digitalfoundry.net · Jun 22

Valve Reveals Steam Machine Mainboard Near 100x72mm, Packing 16GB DDR5 and 8GB VRAM

3 articles · Updated · digitalfoundry.net · Jun 22

Summary

  • Valve shared teardown photos showing the Steam Machine uses a motherboard engineers described as “almost Pico ITX” — far smaller than the 170x170mm Mini-ITX boards common in small PCs.
  • The images expose an AMD CPU and GPU on the front side, with four 2GB VRAM modules around the graphics chip and thermal paste covering both processors.
  • The reverse side shows a combined CPU/GPU backplate and a single 16GB SK Hynix DDR5-5600 SODIMM, while a second RAM slot remains physically present but unfilled.
  • At roughly the size of a 140mm PC case fan, the device’s board underscores Valve’s push to miniaturize a full gaming system, with more third-party teardowns likely to reveal further design details.

Insights

With AI driving up costs, is Valve’s $1049 Steam Machine the new, expensive reality for PC gamers?
Is SteamOS on ARM the first step in Valve’s plan to dominate gaming beyond the PC?