SteamOS on custom PCs is becoming more real, but GeForce users still have to wait

Valve’s new Steam Machine is no longer just a piece of living-room hardware. After confirming that the device starts at $1,049 for the 512GB model and rises to $1,349 for the 2TB version, Valve is also making a familiar PC argument: players do not have to buy its box if they would rather build their own.

That message fits Valve’s broader pitch for the Steam Machine as part of an open PC ecosystem rather than a traditional closed console. The company has said it is not subsidizing the hardware like a console maker might, which helps explain why the price lands much closer to a compact gaming PC than a PlayStation or Xbox. The catch is SteamOS.

Valve says that, starting with SteamOS 3.8, users can put together their own Steam Machine-style PC using their own parts. The latest SteamOS update has also improved compatibility with newer Intel and AMD platforms, making the idea of a DIY SteamOS box more realistic than it was during the Steam Deck-only era.

For players with Nvidia GeForce graphics cards, however, the situation is still not where it needs to be. SteamOS has historically been far easier to run on AMD-based systems, and Valve has acknowledged that Nvidia support is still a work in progress. Pierre-Loup Griffais told The Verge that Valve has a growing team focused on Nvidia driver support and is working closely with Nvidia, but he also indicated that full support may not arrive this year.

That matters because Nvidia still represents a huge part of the PC gaming audience. Valve’s “just build your own” message is technically true, but for many players it comes with an asterisk: a SteamOS-first living-room PC currently makes the most sense if the hardware is already friendly to Valve’s Linux-based platform.

There is another limitation too. SteamOS is not yet designed around a simple dual-boot setup with Windows. Valve’s current installation path is still closer to a fresh install, meaning users should not expect a polished wizard that easily partitions a drive and lets SteamOS live alongside another operating system.

That leaves room for community-driven alternatives. Linux gaming distributions such as Bazzite and Nobara already try to offer a SteamOS-like experience while giving users more flexibility, including setups where Windows remains available on the same machine. For PC players who want a console-style Steam interface but are not ready to wipe their Windows installation, those options may remain more practical for now.

Valve’s position is still important. The company is no longer treating SteamOS as something tied only to Steam Deck or its own Steam Machine. But until Nvidia support and dual-boot installation are in better shape, the DIY Steam Machine idea is more appealing on paper than it is for a large part of the existing PC gaming market.