User Installs SteamOS on Existing PC for $0 Steam Machine Alternative to Valve's $1,049 Model
Updated
Updated · CNET · Jul 5
User Installs SteamOS on Existing PC for $0 Steam Machine Alternative to Valve's $1,049 Model
2 articles · Updated · CNET · Jul 5
Summary
$1,049 for Valve's new Steam Machine pushed one user to turn an existing desktop into a no-cost SteamOS living-room gaming box using Valve's recovery image.
Valve's current support is limited: discrete AMD GPUs are supported in beta, 12th-gen Intel worked in this test, and the installer appeared to require an NVMe SSD plus an 8GB USB drive.
The biggest pitfall was storage safety — the installer lacked an easy drive-selection tool, so the user physically removed other drives to avoid wiping Windows and personal files.
SteamOS eventually installed after a failed first run, then booted into a Big Picture-style interface with language, Wi-Fi, display and audio setup before Steam login.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider rose to 219 fps from 208 fps in one CPU-bound test, though Proton compatibility, beta bugs and unsupported Nvidia hardware could limit gains elsewhere.