Hey everyone!
Has anyone come across any good Lemmy communities for BC-250 Linux gaming builds?
I got my board yesterday and need to sort out PSU, cooling and modding like unlocking the CUs. I don’t have a 3D printer, so I could do with a good place to ask for advice. I can check Reddit for some stuff, but I don’t have an account to post questions.
I’m also open to any tutorials (web/video) or even Discord communities etc. If anyone here has built one or has prior knowledge, I’d love to get your input.
For anyone else who, like myself, doesn’t know what a BC-250 is:
AMD BC-250
A PS5 APU’s second life as a budget Linux gaming PC
Originally built for crypto mining, these cut-down PS5 APUs were headed for the scrap heap. Then Linux driver support arrived — and everything changed. Now they’re surprisingly capable mid-range gaming PCs with 16GB GDDR6 that double as local AI inference machines.
Heads up! The folks on discord say this site is outdated now
also if it sounds like its too good to be true, the biggest flaw the device has is that its idle power usage is high, so its a device you definitely want to shut off after youre done playing.
Also it’s gotten hard to get, paid like 200 EUR plus import tax for mine, we’re a bit too late here.
Yup! I paid $217 USD with shipping
I was looking 2 weeks ago when I was getting tired of waiting for Steam Machine updates. They were closer to $150-$175, so they are going to keep increasing.
Let me guess, it just came with the unit and you still had to buy a power supply, case, storage, other necessary accessories, and the end price gets you something much more than 200 EUR. Probably more like 400-500 EUR.
How far off am I?
A bit, just wanted a small PSP, so another 50 EUR for that, rest is printed. But well for me its a fun project not sth to count every cent.
Great shout out! That’s my plan, keep it under desk connected to my monitor or move it to the living room, but never left idle if not in use.
I’d also include…
The 40 CU unlock is a lottery, you could get a damaged unit and not be able to reach that many compute units.
That’s the very reason of this board’s existence though. Initially it’s a binned APU that is not supposed to pass QC for the 36 CUs required for the PS5, as a way to recycle silicon that should have ended in a landfill. The only guarantee is that 24 CUs work.
I’m not sure the massive increase in power and cooling requirements vs. stock is worth it in a mid-range gaming situation, as the performance uplift is not as impressive.
I came really close to using one until I found out about the idle power usage.
I’ve not seen one thus far here on the Fediverse. If you haven’t already, check out this site which has some exhaustive instructions for working with the BC-250 - it was invaluable when I got mine!
