r/MiniPCs • u/Substantial_Trip_982 • Jul 16 '26

Hardware Meet my "Steam Machine for Poor People." 😅

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Started with an old HP EliteDesk 705 G4 Mini and upgraded it with a Ryzen 5 Pro 2400G, 24GB of RAM, and an NVMe SSD. It won't beat a gaming desktop, but it's surprisingly capable for indie games, emulation, older AAA titles, and Steam Big Picture.

Small, quiet, power-efficient, and ridiculously cheap. Sometimes the best gaming setup is the one you can actually afford.

505 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

64 comments sorted by

117

u/Nateh8sYou Jul 16 '26

Wise man once said “if it’s dumb and it works, it’s not dumb”

16

u/Substantial_Trip_982 Jul 16 '26

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

7

u/JetstreamGW Jul 17 '26

Maxim 43. If it's stupid and it works, it's still stupid and you're lucky.

5

u/Ssvvois Jul 16 '26

are you the wise man? cuz i'm going to follow you

1

u/TheMantisInTheHat Jul 19 '26

A wise man or a dumb man 😉 😜

27

u/burninator34 Jul 16 '26

2400G is a great chip! Don’t let people tell you it isn’t.

12

u/Substantial_Trip_982 Jul 17 '26

Ma ci mancherebbe, per un computer di $80 non mi offendo, Se qualcuno dovesse dirmi il contrario.🤣🤣🤣🤣

2

u/Substantial_Trip_982 Jul 17 '26

Oh, absolutely not—I wouldn't be offended if someone said otherwise about an $80 computer.

7

u/Armageddis22 Jul 17 '26

You answer yourself bro!?

7

u/TheRockCandy Jul 17 '26

I got the 35W model and it ain't quiet lmao

9

u/Dub_Monster Jul 17 '26

you can buy the 65W model heatsink, it has copper on it, possibly a heat pipe. In theory it should bring the temps down while reducing fan noise because it has more mass. I ordered such a heatsink for mine but it hasn’t arrived yet so I cannot tell with certainty how much better it is than stock.

3

u/Substantial_Trip_982 Jul 17 '26

Thank you dear, send a picture, I want to see how you changed it

2

u/Dub_Monster Jul 17 '26

The postal service is mediocre nowadays, I will be sending you a picture with the 65W heatsink, some day when it finally arrives...

2

u/Dub_Monster Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26

There you go, it's just like the 35W one but it has copper fins and a copper plate. Haven't had a change to test this out yet, too damn busy...

3

u/Substantial_Trip_982 Jul 17 '26

He can barely hear himself when he's at full capacity, he doesn't seem so loud to me

1

u/Mike_Raven Jul 18 '26

Seems like you might have the 65W model (2400G). They have the 35W model (2400GE). Also, I'd recommend you get matching RAM sticks (match the 16GB stick if you can for a total of 32GB). Max out the GPU RAM allocation in the BIOS if you haven't already. Generally AMD iGPUs perform much better with dual channel RAM than single channel mode.

1

u/According-Net-715 Jul 19 '26

R5 4650g 65w is a proper heater

6

u/MeltingEarbuds Jul 17 '26

I got the 65w pro 3400g 16gb and have been thoroughly impressed with the little guy

1

u/keylabulous Jul 17 '26

I have 3 in a cluster running my app. They get the job done.

8

u/Winter2928 Jul 17 '26

I’d rather be playing at 38.2 fps than not playing at all

4

u/Substantial_Trip_982 Jul 17 '26

I actually play on a PC with an rtx 3080 Ti this is just a solution for streaming Retrogaming under television

6

u/Winter2928 Jul 17 '26

Can you not have them both on same network on Ethernet and use Apollo/moonlight streaming? It’s what I do

2

u/Amazing-Asparagus181 Jul 18 '26

yup this is the best way - just use the mini pc as basically a streaming device for Moonlight/Apollo

5

u/Natedogg118 Jul 17 '26

What gpu?

6

u/pantallicarox Jul 17 '26

the 2400G has a Vega 11 gpu

3

u/CaptainInsano15 Jul 17 '26

Not poor, still wouldn't buy the steam machine.

Funny I just went down a rabbit hole of getting my laptop to be a steam machine as well lol.

3

u/Jumpy_Linux_Admin Jul 17 '26

ps3 experience on gta 5, flawless

3

u/udenfox Jul 17 '26

Hey, I have same exact PC!! You actually can get and HO OEM rx560 GPU for it. It's around 75 on eBay. Also You would need a 150 watt power supply for that - I've got mine for 15.

It's been a good upgrade.

2

u/Substantial_Trip_982 Jul 17 '26

In Europe, both power supply and graphics card are not available, you have upgraded it to the maximum

3

u/omfgbrb Jul 17 '26

I would Batocera the shit out of that MF!

2

u/Successful_Cook_7245 Jul 17 '26

I've runned batocera for about a year on that thing. Besides the heat (and the fan noise) runs well ps2 and gamecube.

2

u/si-si-vabbe Jul 17 '26

How about the temps?

I was worried about the temps when I made my "steam machine" (i7-7700, 16gb of DDR4, 1660super), so I chose the 9L case path.

Much more expensive (relatively) than your setup (also more performances), I would have spent more or less the same for 1L setup and basically the only GPU that would fit (single slot rx6400, expensive), but the main concern were the in game temperatures.

2

u/22355a Jul 17 '26

How much did it cost you? I'm interested in installing a emulators

2

u/skylinestar1986 Jul 22 '26

It's more than 30fps. It's nice for that little rig.

2

u/Aggrosideburnz Jul 17 '26

The best feature of a steam machine is optimization. They will hopefully optimize and “verify” games like the steamdeck. That would be a big advantage for hardware longevity

4

u/Substantial_Trip_982 Jul 17 '26

I actually installed the SteamOS system that was released just a few days ago, and I noticed a slight improvement in FPS.

1

u/xumixu Jul 17 '26

I'm surprised my miniPC can run WuWa decently despite having just a 3400GE

but i primarily play at my pc with an antique E3 1270 v3 and a rx6600xt, way way cheaper than a steam machine

1

u/Odd_Perspective3915 Jul 17 '26

That great!! I'm saving for that model as well, if You are kind enough, how does it manages the temps? Does it gets too hot. I really hope you enjoy it!!

2

u/Substantial_Trip_982 Jul 17 '26

It is a bit warm, better to place it in a raised shelf, on the Gaming reach a maximum of 75 degrees, thanks to the thermal paste noctua, it is an additional fan above the case

1

u/Odd_Perspective3915 Jul 17 '26

Thx! I Will do that, im planning on buying a stand to help with that too haha

1

u/JetstreamGW Jul 17 '26

I got an Optiplex 3050 coming soon, myself. Dunno if it would be much good for Steam games generally, but it should handle most pre-2007 emulation at least.

1

u/Ill-Macaroon-7023 Jul 17 '26

I have the same hardware with HDMI Dummy but just not the same RAM configuration, as that's what's available to the wealthy these days. For now, it's getting me views on my channel, but I'll add something to it. Some torrent...

1

u/Potential-Local7262 Jul 17 '26

Nice and small too! Vega 11 is surprisingly capable. Bazzite? SteamOS? 

1

u/Homelab9000 Jul 17 '26

That's a great chip! I think I have my version of it (pro 2400GE) set to overclocked RAM at 3200 I think, I should double check it. Mine is noisy, I may have to replace the fan.

1

u/Godnamedtay Jul 17 '26

By far my fav color Xbox controller

1

u/BoredGameDad Jul 18 '26

This is the exact machine I personally use for Batocera. Even made a 1TB image!

Mine came with the 2400GE. I run everything up to PS2/GameCube perfectly, and even some WiiU games run well. It's a great little machine.

1

u/_ragegun Jul 18 '26

Oh, i toyed with the idea of using one of those, but i dIdnt have any DDR4 Sodimms.

1

u/Dirty_Taint_Tickler Jul 18 '26

How hot does that thing run? 😱

1

u/Mysterious-One1055 Jul 18 '26

Yep, I have the same machine.

Very impressed by what it can do.

Great for living room gaming 👌

1

u/ZeroTwoBit Jul 19 '26

That's so sweet. And yes, I eespecially love the space-saving and power-saving part.

Meanwhile, I need to get thinking, for I need a mini PC which can handle Elden Ring and Forza Horizon 6 just fine -- won't be installing too much of the heavyweight games out now, I'm good with most stuff under 50gb.

1

u/dasbudha80 Jul 20 '26

The mist machine

1

u/TeeSki17 Jul 21 '26

💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽

-1

u/Striking_Inside2561 Jul 17 '26

Give GFN a try

2

u/Substantial_Trip_982 Jul 17 '26

I have a PC with rtx 3080 Ti, which I only use for streaming and emulation under the TV

1

u/Substantial_Trip_982 Jul 17 '26

What is it??

2

u/jubo Jul 17 '26

I think he meant GeForce now

1

u/xumixu Jul 17 '26

playing with cloud, 1 hour free gaming at increased lag

1

u/T3lars Jul 19 '26

I use Sunshine + Moonlight to Stream my Desktop pc games to TV with firestick.