DIY Steam Machine

Illustrated top covers are uploaded as a seperate file on my MakerWorld profile.

Parts needed:

Steam Deck OLED Motherboard
120mm fan
Fan to USB connector
Sabrent USB-C NVMe Hub

Youtube video for more details and assembly timelapse.

I made those Steam Deck Arcade machines a few weeks back and I've been working on a new project like a mad scientist. This time I took the motherboard that was powering my larger arcade and I made my version of a Steam Machine.

A few things before I go into detail. Firstly, I couldn't squeeze out a whole lot more performance than what we get with a Steam Deck, but I did manage to marginally improve cooling. Secondly, I've done this for fun, I'm not trying to make something that will replace the upcoming Steam Machine but just something that relatively portable that I can hook up to my arcade or other displays if I travel.

So I initially designed this around an official Steam Deck dock but I struggled to get a HDMI connection over battery power so instead opted for a Sabrent USB-C hub which also included a full size NVMe slot. This meant we could now have 3x USB slots AND extra storage for our machine. I then stacked 3D printed sheets like a lasagna to get out structure.

I also wanted to try and improve the cooling (emphasis on try) by strapping a 120mm Noctua fan to the top and we had some small improvements, but nothing that blew me away. I tested this playing some AAA games at 1080p and compared it to a Steam Deck OLED playing with same settings at the same resolution. I was getting anywhere from -3 - -6C lower temps with this fan. Frame rates were the same as well, with the exception of Spider-Man 2 which I can't get my head around.

I also wanted to emulate the swappable face plat that Valves Steam Machines have, so I design/illustrated my own that I could print and attach magnets to.

If anyones interested I've made a YT video (here) about the process which goes into more detail. Would I recommend anyone else do this? Probably not, unless you happen upon a cheap broken Steam Deck or have a spare board lying around.

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