The Steam Machine isn't shy with its red LED error codes, but it's apparently jumping the gun in terms of temperature warnings. Luckily, Valve is already working on a BIOS fix that will tweak the thresholds to 100°C for both the CPU and GPU, which should prevent any scary false alarms from disrupting your couch PC sessions.
Originally flagged by Reddit user Pure-Outcome-5977, the Steam Machine temperature warning can currently kick in at way below 100°C. Performance overlay stats shared by the cube's owner show the full red LED bar showing with the CPU at just 81°C, with the GPU and VRAM sitting at an even cooler 75°C and 81°C, respectively.
If you're not used to dealing with gaming PC temperatures, the red warning light might have you believe the cube's about to explode. However, Steam Support has confirmed that the error codes are indeed in need of calibration, and Valve is reportedly already on the case.
Update Regarding Red Light During Gameplayfrom r/steammachine
"After discussing with our engineers, there is a known issue with the current BIOS that results in the red LED lights displaying much earlier than they should." Valve confesses. "The issue is just with when the lights are set to come on."
That's Valve's way of immediately signalling that there are no major faults at play here, especially since this isn't the first time error codes have caused a ruckus (looking at you, GPU Red Line of Dead). Instead, the mini PC maker explains that the "Steam Machine itself is within normal operating temperatures, which they confirmed from your screenshot."
"Steam Machine will start throttling performance at 100 C for the CPU/GPU and will shut down to protect itself if temperatures rise past that." Valve guidance is honestly in line with every other GPU I've encountered, and in reality, chipsets won't immediately die even if it's running at those temps for some time. Emergency shutdowns are more a protective measure to ensure chips can live a long and happy life and flag absurd temps ASAP to protect the rest of your rig.
If your Steam Machine is currently shouting at you for temperatures nowhere near 100 C, Valve has your back. Steam Support confirms that "a BIOS update is being worked on to be released soon that will fix the red LED light behavior to be at 100/100 C for the CPU/GPU instead of 95/90 for the CPU/GPU that is currently happening."
I do find this specific instance a little curious, seeing as plenty of enthusiasts are currently pushing the Steam Machine to its limits for reviews and benchmarks without any red LED issues. I suspect that the lightbar is simply a little twitchy right now and more likely to sound false alarms, something that might not happen with every unit. Still, it's both nice to hear Valve is already on it, and I'd probably rather be safe than sorry with my $1,049 cube had I nabbed one at launch.
If you've got a Steam Machine sitting pretty on your desk or TV bench, it's probably worth checking out Valve's reference error codes. If you do end up with an aggressive red HAL light trying to get your attention, it might indicate a serious fault, but you'll at least have a rough idea of what's going on from the pattern displayed.
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