I recently finished my first small-form-factor PC and have been enjoying the build, but I'm dealing with persistent crackling audio while using SteamOS. The more troubleshooting I do, the more I suspect the issue may be related to the RX 9060 XT itself rather than a faulty individual card. I'm still within the return period and want to try a different AMD GPU to see whether it solves the problem. Ideally, I'd like 16GB of VRAM, though 12GB would be acceptable, and the card must be no longer than 255mm so it fits in my case. What AMD alternatives would offer similar performance and work well for a Steam Machine setup?
4 Answers
You could also try another Linux gaming-focused distribution that boots directly into Steam Big Picture mode instead of changing the GPU. There are several options besides SteamOS that may behave differently with your hardware.
An RX 7700 XT could be worth considering for comparable performance, but check the exact model’s dimensions carefully. Many versions are longer than 255mm, so the card design matters a lot.
The Sapphire Pulse RX 7600 XT is one of the more compact AMD options with 16GB of VRAM. It should fit your length requirement, although it won’t necessarily match the performance of a 9060 XT.
An NVIDIA replacement with similar performance would probably cost more, and NVIDIA support may not be ideal for a SteamOS-focused build. Sticking with AMD makes sense here, especially if you want good Linux compatibility.
That was my concern too. I’d rather stay with AMD unless there’s a particularly good compact alternative.
I tried Bazzite for that reason, but the crackling problem still happened there, so I’m increasingly convinced the GPU or its driver behavior is involved.