A $100 Steam Machine Built From Console Scrap
What happens when you combine a budget mindset with leftover console hardware and a bit of creativity A YouTuber recently answered that question by building a Steam Machine for around 100 dollars using a very unusual part an ASRock mining blade powered by a B grade PlayStation 5 system on chip.
Instead of using a regular desktop CPU and graphics card this system is built around a repurposed PS5 chip that was originally designed for sonys base model console. The twist is that this chip has some of its cores disabled which is why it ended up on a mining blade instead of inside a PlayStation.
Despite that limitation the tiny system still manages to run modern games at 1080p and around 60 frames per second. For anyone interested in budget builds weird hardware and the overlap between consoles and PC gaming this project is a fascinating example of what is possible.
How a PS5 Chip Ended Up in a PC Like System
ASRock created these mining blades during the peak of the cryptocurrency mining craze. Instead of traditional GPUs they used custom boards built around console class chips like the PS5 SoC. These boards were designed to run many instances of mining workloads in dense servers where power efficiency and cost per unit mattered more than gaming performance.
The chip used here is described as B grade. That usually means it did not fully meet the requirements for use in a retail console. Some CPU or GPU cores might be disabled or the chip might not hit the clock speeds Sony wanted. Rather than throwing these imperfect chips away manufacturers sell them for other uses such as mining or embedded systems.
Under the hood the PS5 SoC is an AMD design. It combines Zen based CPU cores with an RDNA based GPU and shares memory between them. In a normal PlayStation 5 you get enough performance for 4K gaming with dynamic resolution and advanced features like ray tracing in console optimized titles.
In this case with disabled cores and a more constrained environment the chip is obviously weaker. However it still has far more power than the kind of low end integrated graphics found in older laptops or office PCs. That is what makes this 100 dollar experiment interesting for PC gamers who care about performance per pound or dollar.
Performance Expectations at 1080p 60 FPS
The headline claim for this cut down PS5 powered rig is simple it can deliver 1080p gaming at roughly 60 FPS in many titles. That does not mean max settings or every game under the sun but it does show that console class silicon even in a weakened form can offer solid performance for the price.
In practical terms a system like this is likely to behave a bit like a mid range gaming PC from a few years ago. You would expect:
- Esports titles to run smoothly at 1080p with medium to high settings
- AAA games to run at 1080p with low to medium graphics settings and careful tuning
- Older or less demanding games to easily hit 60 FPS or more
Because the hardware started life as a console chip it is highly optimized for efficiency and unified memory access. That can be an advantage compared with some older desktop GPUs and CPUs which were never designed with such tightly integrated operation in mind.
The interesting part for PC enthusiasts is how Steam and Windows or Linux interact with this unusual hardware. Drivers firmware and compatibility can be more of a challenge with mining blades and custom boards than with standard consumer graphics cards.
Why This Matters for Budget and Experimental PC Builds
There are a few lessons and ideas PC gamers can take away from this 100 Steam Machine.
- Creative reuse of hardware As mining farms shut down and specialized hardware becomes redundant some of it can be repurposed for gaming or home servers. That is a potential goldmine for tinkerers who enjoy getting maximum value from odd components.
- Console and PC worlds are converging The same AMD technology that powers consoles is increasingly showing up in PCs from APUs to handheld gaming devices. This project highlights just how similar the underlying silicon really is.
- Performance per pound is changing For pure plug and play ease a traditional budget gaming PC with an entry level GPU is still the safer recommendation. But experiments like this show that if you are willing to do some work unusual hardware can hit surprisingly good frame rates for very little money.
- Good enough 1080p gaming is cheaper than ever If a disabled PS5 chip on a mining blade can push 1080p at 60 FPS then modern low end and mid range GPUs or APUs are even more capable for the same resolution. That is reassuring for anyone building on a tight budget.
Projects like this will not replace traditional gaming PCs any time soon and they definitely are not for everyone. Driver issues limited upgrade paths and the lack of official support mean they are best suited to hobbyists who enjoy problem solving.
However they do hint at a future where PC gaming hardware becomes more diverse with console derived chips cloud gaming streaming boxes and classic desktops all mixing together. For people who love to experiment the idea of turning scrap console silicon into a working Steam Machine is both clever and inspiring.
Original article and image: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/usd100-steam-machine-uses-a-cut-down-ps5-apu-with-bazzite-diy-console-offers-60-fps-at-1080p-with-16gb-of-gddr6
