GoKawiilTL;DR A Steam Machine user encountered the Red Line of Death within 20 minutes of using the device.
The error indicates a GPU failure.
The Steam Machine has its GPU soldered onto the motherboard, so it can’t be replaced by regular users.
Valve opened reservations for the Steam Machine late last month, and the gaming PC has already started reaching some users. However, one customer who got their hands on Valve’s pre-built PC has already run into a potentially major hardware fault.
User me_hill made a post on Reddit showing their new Steam Machine displaying a Red Line of Death (via Wccftech). The unit no longer boots and is unusable. Worse still, this happened within 20 minutes of their using the device. The user further adds that they were playing No Man’s Sky on the device when they decided to install an available update. Since then, the machine shows only a red line and doesn’t boot or display anything on the monitor.
According to Steam Support, the red light indicates different types of errors. A breathing red line in the right half of the device indicates a GPU failure.
To make matters worse, the Steam Machine has its GPU soldered onto the motherboard, so it can’t be fixed or replaced easily by regular users. The company recommends that users open a ticket with Steam Support to get help with such errors.
Hardware faults in PCs and consoles aren’t new or unheard of. The Xbox 360’s infamous Red Ring of Death was so widespread that it became a meme in gaming circles. The PS3 also had its Yellow Light of Death, which indicated a critical hardware fault with the console. In the case of the Steam Machine, it’s the fact that a brand-new unit encountered a hardware fault like this that’s cause for concern.
Steam Support is well known for being prompt in providing solutions, and in this case, the solution is most likely a replacement Steam Machine. However, given the long waitlist for the device, the affected user is likely to have to wait a while before a replacement is shipped.
Meanwhile, Valve announced that users will be able to assemble their own Steam Machines with SteamOS 3.8. That idea is looking better and better because at least you’ll be able to replace a GPU or RAM stick that goes bad instead of waiting for Valve to ship out a replacement device.
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