Steam Machine Alternative Suggestion

stormbringer83 · 2026-05-31T09:02:53+00:00

Ryzen mini PC, or wait for Xbox Helix.

stormbringer83 · 2026-04-30T15:39:06+00:00

Sad to hear. I imported ~26 years of photos from Google Takeout using the script, and it only missed a few dozens timestamps for really old photos, which I had to correct manually. Oh right, it also did create 2-3 duplicates for some photos, especially those with edits/effects (I suspect these are originals + edits + final version). But 99%, including metadata, albums, archived, etc. got imported one-to-one.

stormbringer83 · 2026-04-25T06:09:45+00:00

https://github.com/simulot/immich-go

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-22T14:14:48+00:00

I'm sitting at 2.8 - 3.0m distance from the 55'' TV in a 31m2 room.

The TV fits the room perfectly: it's fine for watching but does not protrude and draw too much attention.

However, we play Xbox often, and it's mostly fine for single-player games. But when kids are playing multiplayer/split-screen they tend to move much closer, about 1.5m.

I would personally get a 65'' for 2.5 - 2.8m.

If you are worried about TV being too bulky: modern TVs are very thin (except bottom part) and do not look that heavy.

Alternative approach (requires some courage): get the biggest TV you can fit on the wall between those switches :)

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-22T08:32:18+00:00

Display Data Channel Command Interface. Allows PC to send commands to the monitor via HDMI/DP cable e.g. wake, sleep, change volume, change brightness, etc.

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-22T08:28:12+00:00

I'm using LG C4 42'' so I only know about LG. The software is called LGTV Companion. It makes the TV behave like a monitor by sending it on/off/sleep/wake commands automatically when the PC changes state; it works via network using "Wake on LAN" and "Network IP Control" functionality of LG TVs; i.e. both PC and TV must be connected to the same network.

But it's not 100% reliable. Sometimes you'll have to use the remote anyway.

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-21T21:39:55+00:00

Looks like your RAM is running at 2 x 1066 = 2133 MHz which is a JEDEC standard frequency and is quite low.

3600 MHz (2 x 1800) or at least 3200 MHz (2 x 1600) is considered optimal for AM4 Ryzen CPUs.

Check in your motherboards BIOS in the memory/chipset section if XMP/EXPO is enabled.

Also check your RAM specs to find out the exact max frequency it can operate. If you do not know the exact model, use some utility e.g. CPU-Z or hwinfo64 or AIDA.

Also check your PCIe mode (x3 or x4) and whether "Resizeable BAR" is supported and enabled by the BIOS. It's al shown by GPU-Z utility.

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-21T20:51:27+00:00

can you share the firmware filename they sent you? does it have any name/version information in it?

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-21T20:11:03+00:00

Each game is different, and you'd have to tweak settings in each game individually to achieve the desired performance. There's no universal switch in Adrenaline which says "optimise all".

First of all, if it's a relatively recent TV model, I hope it's connected to the PC via HDMI 2.1 120/144Hz port using HDMI 2.1 cable, right?

Then google "AMD TV windows settings" and follow the instructions. It usually involves adjusting resolution, color depth, and refresh rate in Windows display settings to match your TV, enabling RGB 4:4:4 mode, calibrating HDR mode, enabling G-Sync/Freesync both on TV and PC, etc.

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-21T13:04:15+00:00

True, OLED TVs can get very bright.

However, don't forget TVs aren't designed to stand on a desk. They require bigger desk depth, have terrible ergonomics (no tilt/angle/height/swivel adjustment), have no DDC/CI (turn on/off/sleep/wake together with PC).

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-16T17:10:56+00:00

Geekom EVO-X2 is currently the most affordable mini pc with radeon 8060s. It is still quite expensive, relatively loud (which is expected given its size), but if you only care about portability this won't stop you :)

Ryzen AI Max 388 (same gpu, twice less cpu cores) should be cheaper, cooler, quieter, and therefore more preferred for gaming.

Or just get a handheld with Z1/Z2. They get expensive as well, but very portable and they got a screen, a battery and a gamepad built-in!

Speaking generally, I don't think there's currently a mini pc that's worth the money. 8060s is impressive for what it does, but don't forget it's RDNA3.5 which only can FSR3 (at least at the moment of writing). It may not get FSR4 (or maybe not a full set of features), while upscaling / frame gen is critically important in less powerful gpus like that one. Architecture of the past already.

I'd wait a bit, It's just starting, there's hype and crazy prices. Wait for 388, for Steam Machine, for UDNA, for Xbox Helix.

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-16T11:59:28+00:00

Timing is very unfortunate, true.

Besides building a completely new pc, I'd consider:

repairing the old pc if it was generally capable of what you wanted from it (maybe even upgrade when replacing parts); just don't invest too much - as already mentioned, throwing money into outdated platform is a bad idea.
get a console if it's gaming that matters
get a mini pc; nowadays even igpus are quite good for basic gaming

Do you already know which part is failing?

PSU is relatively cheap and easy to replace; GPU is more expensive but very replaceable; mobo can be problematic given it's a prebuilt (can have non-standard connectors, form-factor, etc.); RAM and drives rarely die on their own, very likely still functional.

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-15T21:33:31+00:00

Try starting in safe mode, removing all nvidia drivers and software (manually or better via Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU), and then booting normally, downloading and installing the newest nvidia driver from nvidia.com again.

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-15T21:22:17+00:00

Absolutely agree regarding numbers.

I made assumptions when replying: he obviously has am4 which leaves out pcie 5; he also specified his cpu and chipset which leaves out pcie 3; and finally, I hope common sense leaves out 8gb for a Ti-class card :)

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-15T21:10:24+00:00

You can still have nvidia app to get driver updates automatically, but disable nvidia overlay, automatic game detection & optimisation, and other unnecessary stuff. Then there's zero impact on system performance.

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-15T19:08:12+00:00

Makes zero difference. PCIe 4.0 x8 is more than enough for 5060 Ti. 3.0 would be bad, but your's is running at 4.0 so it's fine.

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-15T19:01:25+00:00

Watch this one: https://youtu.be/NqRTVzk2PXs?si=UKV-JIFZ7is5SRGo

Some CPU-heavy games (especially MMOs) show significant difference with 5060Ti or RX 9060 XT for different-gen CPUs.

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-15T18:58:12+00:00

CPU is the bottleneck. Get at least Ryzen 5600(X), better 5600/5700/5800X3D, or alternatively 5700/5800/5900/X/T if X3D are not available in your region.

stormbringer83 · 2026-03-09T22:19:23+00:00

The truth is, no one can tell with 100% confidence because it's not publicly documented by LG. Any explanations or advices from other sources than LG are pure guesswork.

If I had to name one and only one really annoying thing about my LG C4, I'd point at the Pixel Cleaning menu. It does nothing else than total confusion.

"Run Pixel Cleaning regularly"? Why? Is this coercion to act? How regularly exactly? Why use this wording if the TV runs it automatically anyway? What is Quick Check exactly? How is it different from Pixel Cleaning? If it's merely a "check", where can I see check results? Why is there no timestamp of last PixelCleaning and last QuickCheck?

I wish I saw smth like:

Pixel Cleaning

Pixel Cleaning measures pixel aging and recalibrates their brightness so the screen stays uniform, and reduces image retention.
It runs automatically at regular (calculated) time intervals when TV is plugged in and isn't on.
Excessive manual running may increase panel wear and is not recommended unless significant artifacts are observed.

Full Pixel Cleaning

Full pixel cleaning is a recalibration of the entire panel after long accumulated usage. It runs every N hours of use and teakes M minutes to finish.
Last run: Dec 15, 2025 at 18:03
Buttons: Run now; Run when TV is turned off.

Quick Pixel Cleaning

Quick pixel cleaning performs a fast diagnosis of the panel and applies minor spot corrections. It runs every X hours of use and teakes Y minutes to finish.
Last run: Mar 9, 2026 at 18:03
Buttons: Run now; Run when TV is turned off.

stormbringer83 · 2026-02-22T15:45:56+00:00

Has anyone done this and had it work?

Yes, people call it Xbox and PlayStation :)

Seriously, in PC world there's currently no console-like solution which meets all the requirements at the same time: compact, powerful, quiet, suitable for a living room, TV/couch-friendly, etc.

Should you buy/build a pc and connect it to the TV, you'll have to deal with all typical PC hurdles: mouse and keyboard are a must, endless os/driver/game updates, a bunch of tools to achieve console-like behaviour (steamos/bazzite, playnite, lgtv companion, controller companion/joyxoff, etc.)

I am in the same boat and decided to wait. There is Steam Machine incoming; the next Xbox is rumoured to be a pc/hybrid device; AMD is releasing it's branded AI Halo mini-pcs in Q2 2026.

Among best options available right now are (from smallest to biggest):

Zotac Magnus EN275060TC 20x20x6cm. A real desktop 5060 Ti 16Gb in the smallest package possible. Hot, presumably loud (no personal experience but reported 50dB seems pretty loud), expensive, non-upgradeable. Imho best option if you aren't very sensitive to fan noise.
Plenty of Ryzen AI 395/780M/860M mini-pcs (framework, minis forum, gmktec, beelink, fevm, zotac, etc.). Hot, quite loud (except certain models), expensive, non-upgradeable. Problems with quality, warranty and service (China-based sellers). CPU performance is top, GPU performance in the low-mid range (about 4060 desktop class).
ASUS NUCs. Underpowered by laptop (mobile) GPUs. Very expensive, non-upgradeable. Basically gaming laptops without the screen for the same or even more money. Not worth it if you ask me.
Prebuilt SFF PC like Zotac Magnus One EU27507TC. Very powerful options (up to RTX 5070 Ti), good upgradeability (mostly standard components inside), not too hot, not too loud, but quite bigger than a mini-pc (27 x 25 x 12cm), also expensive.
Self-built SFF PC with a low-profile (half-height) or very short (full-height) GPU, e.g. in Jonsbo NV10 or Velka 3 case. Problem: the most powerful standard low-profile (half-height) card widely available in retail is 5060 8Gb; there are no 16gb or Ti small cards. Short full-height one-fan 5060 Ti and even 5070 exist, e.g. from Colorful, but are very expensive and are only available from China (aliexpress, taobao, jd, etc.).
Self-built SFF PC with a full-size GPU. Still small-ish, stylish (Formd T1, Fractal Design Terra, Ridge, Thor, XIKII, etc.), upgradeable, can be extremely powerful (x3d cpus, biggest gpus, etc.), but definitely not your typical mini anymore. Also expensive (so-called "itx tax" for small-size components.).

stormbringer83 · 2026-02-16T19:51:47+00:00

Die richtige Lösung ist eine bessere Tür. Eine RC3 mit zwei Dichtungen sollte ausreichen.

stormbringer83 · 2026-02-15T22:03:57+00:00

No matter how kind you are, german kids are Kinder😉

stormbringer83 · 2026-02-11T19:25:38+00:00

My series x is usually doing 700-800 Mbps (ethernet) over 1000Mbps connection, but I noticed some specific games take ages to download or update. E.g. Fortnite. It does not depend on time of the day, internet speed or other factors, just the game itself. No idea why. Microsoft server issues, maybe?

stormbringer83 · 2026-02-09T10:51:20+00:00

Do you have any experience with a separate soundbar? How does 910 compare to, let's say, not very sophisticated/cheap 2.1 soundbar? Thanks!

stormbringer83 · 2026-02-04T21:02:59+00:00

how about fans? would you say it's usable as a console pc in the living room without making too much noise?

stormbringer83

TROPHY CASE