{"id":584449,"date":"2026-04-14T22:10:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T22:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/584449\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T22:10:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T22:10:07","slug":"youtuber-challenges-valve-to-beat-his-950-diy-steam-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/584449\/","title":{"rendered":"YouTuber Challenges Valve To Beat His $950 DIY Steam Machine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Will Valve be able to make a Steam Machine for less than $1,000 like someone on YouTube did? Is Diablo 4 really coming to Switch 2 anytime soon? And why is Krafton no longer publishing Subnautica 2 on PC? It\u2019s your Morning Checkpoint for April 14, 2026, where we strive to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/entertainment\/911678\/werner-herzog-cave-forgotten-dreams-imax\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">exhibit the soul of poetry<\/a> in everything we do, or at least briefly distract you from the <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/factpostnews.bsky.social\/post\/3mjhlnbflpa2d\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">nihilism of climate change denial<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m currently obsessed with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Marathon\/comments\/1sg0qa8\/im_making_a_marathon_themed_keycap_set_wip\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">this Marathon-themed keyboard<\/a>. We are all patiently waiting for the group buy. In the meantime, today is the 19th anniversary of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/cooperlund.online\/post\/3mjhykvjf2c2i\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Here Comes the Pizza<\/a>.\u201d Educate yourself and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/mlb\/story\/_\/id\/33734026\/fenway-pizza-chucker\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">relive the glory<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> A DIY Steam Machine you don\u2019t have to wait for <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sljz1teGoEk\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">YouTuber Zac Builds recently<\/a> set out to beat Valve\u2019s new PC console hybrid device to market. As spotted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/hardware\/gaming-pcs\/one-youtuber-has-built-their-own-usd950-steam-machine-with-a-custom-wood-panel-because-valve-was-taking-too-long\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">by PC Gamer<\/a>, the goal was to build \u201csomething that\u2019s cheaper, faster, and overall better than what Valve has to offer.\u201d Did Zac Builds succeed?<\/p>\n<p>The DIY rig he ended up with certainly looks the part. It\u2019s a few inches beefier than Valve\u2019s promised hardware footprint but it does come with sleek wood paneling on the sides. It\u2019s powered by a Ryzen 5 5600X, Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB, and 16GB of DDR4 memory. There\u2019s also a 2TB SSD and the whole thing, including the custom 3D-printed case, came out to $950.<\/p>\n<p>That sounds pretty good for a PC that can run Cyberpunk 2077 and Spider-Man 2 at up to 60fps in 4K with FSR upscaling enabled. Zac Builds took advantage of some cheap one-off deals for his Steam Machine, though Valve will be able to compensate with cost savings from manufacturing its devices in bulks. Maybe figuring out those logistics is part of why Valve still hasn\u2019t made its pricing and shipping dates official yet.<\/p>\n<p>  RAMageddon comes for phones and laptops <\/p>\n<p>The AI-fueled shortage is leading Samsung to hike the price of its Galaxy smartphones and tablets <a href=\"https:\/\/www.phonearena.com\/news\/samsung-us-price-hikes-galaxy-z-flip-7-tab-s11-ultra-tab-s10-fe-more_id179647\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">by up to $100<\/a>. It\u2019s not alone. Microsoft is also feeling the pressure. The 15-inch Surface Laptop <a href=\"https:\/\/www.windowscentral.com\/hardware\/surface\/microsoft-reveals-major-price-increases-for-all-surface-pro-laptop-pcs-as-ram-crisis-continues\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">recently jumped<\/a> from its $1,300 starting price in 2024 to $1,600.<\/p>\n<p>The change comes after Unknown Worlds\u2019 cofounders <a href=\"https:\/\/kotaku.com\/subnautica-2-ted-gill-unknown-worlds-lawsuit-krafton-2000679131\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">won a legal battle<\/a> against Krafton that forced the Korean publisher to relinquish control of the top-wishlisted survival sim\u2019s Early Access launch plans. Neither Krafton nor the studio responded to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p> Overwatch is now 60fps on Switch 2 <\/p>\n<p>Blizzard\u2019s hero shooter got a next-gen update for Nintendo\u2019s new console alongside its latest season. \u201cBetter visuals, higher fidelity audio, and up to 60 FPS in both docked and handheld mode make this a much stronger way to experience the game on your Nintendo Switch 2,\u201d the company <a href=\"https:\/\/news.blizzard.com\/en-us\/article\/24266793\/reach-heroic-heights-in-reign-of-talon-season-2-summit\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">wrote<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a cleaner, crisper, portable version of Overwatch that still lets you play with your friends wherever you are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> Animal Crossing players have received a commemorative statue <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.videogameschronicle.com\/news\/nintendo-sends-animal-crossing-players-a-nostalgic-surprise-on-the-series-25th-anniversary\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">VGC reports<\/a> the new item was sent out to all New Horizons players in the <a href=\"https:\/\/en-americas-support.nintendo.com\/app\/answers\/detail\/a_id\/49112\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">game\u2019s latest update<\/a> to celebrate the franchise\u2019s original debut back in 2001 on Nintendo 64 when it was a Japan exclusive called D\u014dbutsu no Mori. The game wouldn\u2019t be localized into English until it was later ported to GameCube.<\/p>\n<p> Bloober Team has a lot going on <\/p>\n<p>The Silent Hill 2 remake studio is currently working on seven different projects in development and has hired new executive leadership to help, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamesindustry.biz\/bloober-team-expands-leadership-as-studio-steps-up-to-seven-horror-titles-in-active-development\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">GamesIndustry.biz reports.<\/a> \u201cWe don\u2019t want fewer than two productions, because relying on a single title creates too much risk in today\u2019s market,\u201d CEO Piotr Babieno said. \u201cBut we also don\u2019t want more, because quality, focus, and creative oversight would inevitably suffer. For us, two core productions are the right balance between ambition and responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> Is Diablo 4 finally coming to Switch 2? <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what this week\u2019s Indonesian ratings board leak <a href=\"https:\/\/www.resetera.com\/threads\/indonesia-game-rating-system-igrs-api-leak-shows-diablo-iv-lord-of-hatred-rated-for-nintendo-switch.1490839\/post-153766102\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">appears to indicate<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> ICYMI:  Watch this: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Will Valve be able to make a Steam Machine for less than $1,000 like someone on YouTube did?&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":584450,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[126152,74],"class_list":["post-584449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-morning-checkpoint","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=584449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/584450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=584449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=584449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=584449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}