ASRock DeskMeet X300 Custom Build Puts Steam Machine To Shame As It Pushes Frame Rates Over 60 At 1440p For The Same Price

Once again, a custom PC build beats the Steam Machine convincingly despite the rising costs.

HUB Demonstrates How a $1050 DeskMeet X300-Based Custom PC Can Outperform Steam Machine for the Same Price

Steam Machine itself isn’t a bad product, but its high price makes it a poor value for gamers who are looking to maximize gaming performance on a budget. Since the disclosure of its official pricing, the device has been criticized and mocked, as users have come up with superior specifications for custom PC builds that can easily outperform this device.

Since then, the price of components has witnessed a drastic surge, with memory and GPUs witnessing double-digit growth. This has made building PCs unaffordable, as getting a powerful GPU for a $1000 build becomes extremely difficult. However, some barebone PCs are able to lower the overall PC build cost if you are willing to make some sacrifices.

For $1050, a Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB might not be possible now, but you can certainly save enough to throw it in a build if you opt for the ASRock DeskMeet X300 PC. This four-year-old platform brings a custom ASRock ITX motherboard with support for 4x DDR4 modules, Ryzen 2000, 3000, 4000G, and 5000 series, a 500W power supply, and a small 8-liter chassis to accommodate all the parts, including a discrete GPU.

Hardware Unboxed took on the challenge to beat the Steam Machine for the same price by opting for the DeskMeet X300 and configuring it with a Ryzen 5 5600, 1x 16 GB DDR4 RAM, a 1 TB M.2 SSD, and a Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB. This configuration costs nearly $1050, for which Valve is offering a 512 GB Steam Machine.

However, when it comes to performance, the DeskMeet X300 totally dominates the Steam Machine in gaming, putting the Zen 4 SoC to shame. In almost every triple-A title, the DeskMeet X300 PC was able to deliver over 70 FPS at 1440p with Ultra settings and FSR set to Quality. Even though the CPU and the GPU ran very hot at the stock settings, undervolting brought the temperature down drastically without affecting performance.

With the Steam OS, the machine was able to deliver similar performance except in Forza Horizon 6, but <a href="https://comicvibe.com/the-fixers-netflix-taiwanese-action-comedy-release-date-everything-we-know/” title=”'The Fixers' Netflix Taiwanese Action Comedy: Release Date & Everything We Know”>everything was way better than you could expect from a Steam Machine. This is a reminder that you need to shop smart, as buying individual components these days might not be a good idea. Sometimes purchasing a pre-built PC or a bundle can save you hundreds of dollars, and platforms such as ASRock DeskMeet X300 can be an excellent alternative. Not to mention, you also get superior I/O connectivity compared to consoles.

About the author: Sarfraz Khan is a hardware reporter with a focus on PC components and the builder community. With years of experience writing about PC hardware and laptops, his work has been featured on several reputable technology publications.

Sarfraz’s hands-on experience is demonstrated through his first-person accounts of using and comparing different hardware configurations, providing practical and relatable insights for everyday users. His technical analysis is respected by peers in the enthusiast community and has been cited by specialized hardware sites such as Germany’s Igor’s Lab.

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