A new build based on the ASRock DeskMeet X300 system with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and RX 9060 XT GPU surpasses Valve’s Steam Machine in gaming performance, highlighting the potential of tailored configurations over pre-built consoles.
Valve’s Steam Machine is aimed at players who want a console-style PC in a compact box, but a test from Hardware Unboxed suggests that similar money can still buy far more gaming performance if it is spent on individual components. In a build based on ASRock’s DeskMeet X300 barebones system, the channel assembled a small 8-litre machine for about $1,050 and found that it consistently outpaced Valve’s own comparison machine at 1440p.
The test build paired a Ryzen 5 5600 with an AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB, 16GB of DDR4 memory and a 1TB M.2 SSD. Hardware Unboxed said the system matched the price of Valve’s 512GB Steam Machine, yet the custom PC delivered more than 70 frames per second in many AAA games at Ultra settings with FSR Quality enabled. According to the review, the custom machine was ahead in almost every game tested.
A key factor was graphics memory. Valve’s machine uses a semi-custom AMD GPU with 8GB of VRAM, while the custom system relies on a discrete 16GB card. Hardware Unboxed said that, in some titles, the performance gap reached around 70% or more. Steve Walton of Hardware Unboxed said the DeskMeet X300 was a “pretty neat product” if priced well, and added that he was “surprised by just how well this works”.
The build was not perfect out of the box. CPU temperatures rose close to 100C, and GPU hotspot temperatures were also high. Hardware Unboxed said BIOS changes and GPU undervolting brought temperatures down without reducing performance. The comparison also matters because the machine was tested with SteamOS, alongside Windows, showing that buyers can still pursue a compact SteamOS-style setup without relying on Valve’s hardware. Broader market listings from PC Gamer, Ginger6, Jawa, Dgxtech and Otto indicate that RX 9060 XT systems are appearing across a wide price range, reinforcing the card’s role as a strong value option in mid-range gaming PCs.
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