Valve open-source the Steam Machine e-ink screen so you can make your own
ahlCVA
544 points
100 comments
July 03, 2026
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Discussion Highlights (17 comments)
ray_v
It would have justified the price had they included this in the base model - this is the next best thing I suppose. Valve is really coming out as the good guy here in the video game industry and we should really support and applaud all that they're doing to hold the line for consumers and fans.
dgellow
In case you're wondering and don't want to click around, the display is a standard Adafruit 5.83'' eInk panel: https://www.adafruit.com/product/6397
anticorporate
I'd love to see an easy guide to doing this with the Framework Desktop form factor. I didn't buy any of the silly little squares for the front of mine since I figured I could 3D print some later, but six months in still haven't gotten around to it.
foax
This is so cool! Coincidentally, I'm currently building something in a similar vein that pushes system metrics out to an Android app so an old phone or tablet can be used as a case screen. The app has widget plugins that expose a repo of metrics received and a GL surface, that can then be used to display fancy visualisations. Check it out here: https://github.com/xfoa/humours . It's not finished yet, but the basic functionality works. It just has one widget at the moment that draws a spinning cube with temps, etc.
romaniv
"Valve will not be making and providing their own e-ink display for the Steam Machine" Too bad. The picture in the articles looks awesome. Like a device from some alternate reality. Neither retro nor the standard flat-panel LCD. I don't want to mod a pre-build $1,049 device. I want it to be good our of the box and I'd rather pay more to get more. (If it was a $3K top-of-midrange machine, I would buy it in a second.)
RataNova
I wish more hardware companies treated these kinds of optional add-ons as something the community can run with instead of either productizing them badly or locking them away completely...
westurner
Looks like Waveshare has a E6 full color ePaper/eInk/EPD display in 3.6" and 7.3" but not yet in 5.83": "5.83inch E-Paper Display (G), E-ink Display, 648 × 480, Red/Yellow/Black/White , SPI Interface" https://www.waveshare.com/5.83inch-e-paper-g.htm?sku=32584
rbanffy
Is the Steam Machine a decently priced desktop compared to the "generic" ones?
Fokamul
Clickbait, I want to make an actual eInk display myself. Not just buy one from Adafruit.
ismaVQ
Hold on , i gotta recharge my front plate
orbital-decay
Is it even useful as a faceplate? An active display would be way more accurate at displaying hardware stats when the machine loses power (it'll shut down).
tra3
I would love to see an analysis of how valve's openness and goodwill affects their bottom line. Intuitively it should be a net positive for them, but there gotta be upfront costs, otherwise everyone would be doing it too.
deadbabe
e-ink is becoming the new hotness lately. There may soon be a time when you will look at every poster or menu on a wall and wonder if it is paper or an actual e-ink screen that will soon change to some other image. Airports, highway signs, etc.
shomp
Care to fix this ungrammatical headline? :)
dv35z
Anyone aware of an A5 sized (~10 inch diagonal) eInk screen that can use HDMI or USB-C as an input?
neves
Whyv does a game console need a slow e-ink display?
julionc
Valve mi familia