PS5 Pro? No thanks – my living room will soon be home to a custom Steam PC

Martin Jud

10.12.2025

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

Pictures: Martin Jud

Consoles are convenient, but always require compromise compared to a high-end gaming PC. I’m sick of it. So, my PS5 Pro will soon be history. In its place, I’m building a home-made Steam Machine for my living room.

After two decades with PlayStation, the time has come. For some time now, my PS5 Pro has remained unused most evenings. And despite being a die-hard sofa gamer, I’ve found myself playing Steam games in my office way more. This shift can be traced back to a recent series of disappointments. Just to name one, the PS version of Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon didn’t just struggle for FPS, it quickly drained my patience too with constant crashes.

I had similar problems with games in Unreal Engine 5. Although The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is more playable, it’s also affected by recurring frame rate drops. As a final example, I’d like to mention RimWorld: the console version offers fewer DLCs than the PC release.

No more. I want more power, more frames per second, a more detailed experience and the ability to add new hardware. And although I own way more games for PlayStation, I’m now switching to Steam and GOG for good. I’m making a clean cut, but still secretly shedding a tear.

My plan: a high-end living room PC for Linux gaming that’s as compact and quiet as possible

The solution was obvious: a system that offers console comfort without compromising on performance. I want 4K, 120 Hz, HDR, VRR, silent cooling and the option to upgrade. But I’m fully committed to AMD – not just because of the value for money, but also because Bazzite, a Fedora-based gaming Linux with Steam Deck comfort, simply runs better on AMD hardware. I’ll also install Windows 11 as a secondary boot option so I can play the few titles that don’t run on Linux due to copy protection.

In my main priority Linux, however, AMD has one peculiarity when connected to a TV that’s only HDMI-capable: VRR and HDR can only be used to a limited extent via HDMI. My solution? Output the signal via DisplayPort and convert it to HDMI using an adapter. This requires both a special adapter as well as specific firmware I’ll have to flash. Whether this’ll really work out perfectly remains to be seen. But if you already want to know which adapter I’ll be using, it’s the Cable Matters DisplayPort 1.4 to 8K HDMI Adapter with Custom Firmware 7.01.124.

Other details also require clever solutions: the Bluetooth on my planned mainboard isn’t yet supported by Linux. Mind you, this is board-specific and may well work depending on the Bluetooth chip used. In my case, I’ll deactivate it and use a Bluetooth USB adapter instead.

Dreams of the future

My direction is clear: a powerful GPU, CPU and more will be packed into the most compact housing possible. I ordered the components one by one over the last few months, and at long last, they’re all here. Fortunately, I paid less than a third of the current RAM price.

More specifically, I ordered the following case, system fan, fan accessories and power supply:

• Jonsplus MATX Handle Case Z20 – Black-Orange
• 2 × Noctua NF-A14 PWM chromax.black
• Noctua NF-A12X25 PWM chromax.black
• Noctua NA-SAVP1 chromax.black
• Noctua NA-SYC1 chromax.black
• Enermax PlatiGemini 1200 Watt 80 PLUS Platinum

Yes, some of you might be surprised by the power supply unit. It’s clearly oversized and, depending on your point of view, a bit exaggerated. Even potential future system upgrades will never be able to utilise it to capacity. I only ordered it because the efficiency is apparently best at 20 to 50 per cent utilisation. This’ll hopefully have an effect on longevity. In addition, its fan should never be making noise.

Mainboard, processor, CPU cooler, graphics card, RAM, SSDs and heatsink:

• MSI MAG B850M Mortar WiFi
• AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
• Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black
• Sapphire Radeon RX 9070 XT Nitro+
• Kingston Fury Beast, 2 × 32 GB, DDR5-RAM, DIMM, 6000 MT/s, CL30
• Crucial T500 4 TB, M.2 2280
• 2 × Seagate FireCuda 530 1 TB, M.2 2280
• Axagon Aluminum Heatsink for M.2 SSD CLR-M2L3

Other:

• Arctic MX-6 thermal paste
• Velcro cable ties
• Cable Matters DisplayPort 1.4 to 8K HDMI Adapter (Custom Firmware 7.01.124)
• TP-Link UB500 Plus Bluetooth USB adapter

Existing TV and soundbar:

• Samsung QE85QN95A
• JBL Bar 1000

My thoughts on all the components will follow in the next article. I’ll show off the system build in detail, as well as what hurdles arise and how you can practically implement console comfort all by yourself. Finally, I’ll reveal sometime early next year at the latest how I configured the UEFI, how I struggled with flashing the adapter and more about Bazzite.

Martin Jud

Senior Editor

martin.jud@digitecgalaxus.ch

I find my muse in everything. When I don’t, I draw inspiration from daydreaming. After all, if you dream, you don’t sleep through life.

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