A SteamOS Desktop Enters the Market
MetaPCs has opened preorders for its new gaming desktop, the Steamroller, at a price of $1,299. While prebuilt gaming PCs are a well-established category, the Steamroller distinguishes itself through its software rather than its hardware: it ships with SteamOS preinstalled, placing it among the first contemporary desktop systems to offer Valve’s Linux-based gaming platform directly out of the box.
Core Hardware and Performance Profile
The configuration is anchored by an AMD Ryzen 5 9600X processor and a Radeon RX 7600 graphics card. The 6-core, Zen 5-based CPU operates with a base clock of 3.9 GHz and can boost up to 5.4 GHz, while the GPU provides 2,048 shader units paired with 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM on a 128-bit memory interface, capable of 18 Gbps for 288 GB/s of bandwidth. By comparison, Valve’s own Steam Machine hardware relies on a semi-custom 6-core Zen 4 processor reaching 4.8 GHz, alongside a semi-custom AMD RDNA 3 GPU with 28 compute units and 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM—roughly analogous to a laptop-class Radeon RX 7600M. The Steamroller therefore offers nominally higher performance on both the CPU and GPU fronts, a natural outcome given its identity as a full-fledged desktop tower rather than a compact living-room device.
Build, Components, and Positioning
Supporting the core silicon are 16 GB of DDR5-5600 RAM, a 1 TB NVMe solid-state drive, a B850M WiFi motherboard, a 240 mm all-in-one liquid cooler, and a 650-watt 80 Plus Gold-rated power supply. These components are housed in a Jonsbo D32 black chassis, making the Steamroller a standard mid-tower desktop. This design approach sets it apart from the smaller, console-style Steam Machine, which was conceived primarily as a home-theater companion used alongside a controller. The two products therefore address different segments of the gaming market, making a direct specification comparison less useful than it might initially appear.
Availability and Warranty Details
MetaPCs plans to begin shipping the Steamroller on July 3, with availability limited to customers in the United States and Canada. The company includes a lifetime support warranty that covers free labor and diagnostics. Replacement parts are not included under that standard coverage; instead, customers can purchase optional Extended Hardware Warranties lasting two or three years for $180 or $240, respectively, which provide hardware replacement coverage for the corresponding period.
Source: www.metapcs.com