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Comment by BadBadJellyBean | Hacker News Reader

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BadBadJellyBean·

I'd be interested in a bare bones version. That way I could shop for RAM and an SSD myself.

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I want to go one step further and be able to add the CPU and GPU myself. Would also make future upgrades easier.

Maybe someone can invent a universal system to allow CPU and GPU upgrades on a desktop computer.

Fewer people than ever are comfortable doing that, even though the information on how is easier to get than ever.

I hope a repairable and upgradable Steam Machine would help more people dip their toes into it.

I fully understand being uncomfortable with a CPU swap, but a GPU swap isn't difficult.

Valve also could have gone the Framework route of releasing a motherboard+CPU combo so you can upgrade later down the line just by swapping the board out.

I guess they can earn more money by soldering everything on the board and having you buy a completely new PC every time you want to upgrade.

That would include trade off of locking yourself to single form factor. Less of issue with laptops with decades of design behind them. But unlikely to be preferable for first design you make.

You could use mini-ITX form factor.

Sometimes it is heavily marked up, but I'll never be able to get it cheaper than Valve in bulk.

To be honest you dont really need high speed or high quality SSD on Steam Deck. Almost 100% of games work just fine from good MicroSD card.

Its obviously less reliable, but with read only OS with only occasional writes it will work just fine for decade.

But many do already own SSD and RAM that they can reuse.

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