Building a Bazzite Streambox with the Blackview MP60

Retro Handhelds are wonderful devices for emulating games from the past, but via the modern magic of game streaming, they can often also serve as a great way to experience more modern titles as well.

I love having the ability to play games from my PC library from the couch while someone else is watching TV. It’s a great way for everyone to be together and still be doing your own little thing, like say when your child has the same episode of SpongeBob on for the 900th time.

But while streaming games from my dedicated gaming PC in the basement is a nice luxury, it also dawned on me how wildly inefficient it was. Most gaming desktop setups are running a 550W power supply at the minimum.

Blackview MP60 streaming Bazzite to the CB408

Pulling even some of that juice to stream games like Balatro over my network seemed like an unnecessary hit to the electric bill. Not to mention keeping my big rig dead drawing power all the time when I only maybe have the time to sit down and play games on it once a week.

I love the idea that I can stream the latest AAA PC titles to my handhelds, but I still prefer the experience of big-budget titles being played natively on a large display. In the reality of my day-to-day gaming, the PC titles that I actually stream and play are mostly indies that can be played in smaller doses and are much less graphically demanding than some 4k ray tracing mega beast.

Why am I powering a big rig PC to play Dead Cells? There has to be a better way.

Streaming from my gaming PC also brought with it the hassle of login screens, virtual keyboards, etc. It would be so much easier to just have a low-cost/low-consumption device dedicated to streaming where I can launch an app and have my Steam, GOG, Epic, and even Amazon libraries all accessible from a single place that’s hardwired to my network.

Enter the Blackview MP160 Mini PC. When the company reached out and asked if we’d like to give their new mini-PC a test drive, it seemed like the perfect candidate for my idea to stream throughout the house from a device with minimal power consumption. Packed with the low-power needs of the Intel N150 processor, could this be the project box I’ve been looking for?

The Blackview MP60 Mini PC

The Blackview MP60 with Intel N150

Let’s take a look at the specs that the Blackview is working with.

Windows 11 setup was as simple as just firing up the PC, selecting a language, and naming a local user account. At no time was I prompted to log in to MS365 or create any type of Microsoft account. I’m not sure what Windows image is being used here, but I am for it.

The Blackview MP60 runs near-silently during normal operation in Windows 11, and even during benchmarks, the only noticeable thing was the mild fan noise kicking on. I noticed that Windows 11 Game Mode optimizations were turned on by default.

A peek at the internals of the MP60 c/o blackview.hk

When I first unboxed the MP60, it struck me as chonky for a mini-pc. This quickly made sense when I opened up the screwed hatch on the bottom of the device. The mini-PC and all its internals sit on the top half of the micro-stack and can operate alone, while the lower portion gives the user space for a full-sized SSD expansion drive.

An SSD in the expansion bay of the MP60

This is a great option if you want to dual-boot the PC and keep each OS on a dedicated drive, or if you just want to jack up the 500GB of included storage to keep more Steam games installed. It’s nice to be given the choice in a small form factor.

Considerations

My monthly power bill was certainly the brain child of this project, but given the current cost state of PC gaming, I think low-priced mini PCs like the Blackview MP60 have a place to provide access to a wealth of gaming at a low cost of entry as well.

For $200 (with a coupon), you can have a perfectly functional Windows 11 daily productivity PC that dual boots to something like Bazzite for gaming as well. Specifically for this build, I used the Fedora HTPC image of the OS.

The CB408 streaming Bazzite below the MP60

The system will have to be hardwired via Ethernet. With the number of wireless devices in my home, keeping things hardwired is the only way to ensure fewer headaches along the way.

Projects that explore how to do more with less, or even parts you already have, are much more interesting to me than benchmarking the latest Nvidia card that requires taking on new consumer debt to be able to afford. I’d rather benchmark a PC like this and know where my graphical limits are, like with retro handhelds.

You establish a performance threshold, and you can say anything from here and below should be a great experience on this machine. PCs too often get held up to an unfair lens when compared to other consumer electronics, precisely because they are so capable and versatile. Instead of focusing on what the PC can’t do with the latest and greatest demanding titles, we should be focused on just how much it CAN do when focused on a goal.

Performance Notes

You won’t set any 3D Mark high scores, but it’s scrappy

Modern 3D games are going to be largely out of reach for the Intel N150 and its built-in graphics unit. It will get you by on the types of games I’m focusing on here, but expectations should be kept reasonable.

In use, the MP60 mostly stays cool, save for the area around the logo on the top of the PC that gets slightly warm to the touch during heavy gaming sessions. Heat dissipation through the six heat pipes and copper venting design appears to be working as intended.

The PC shows up on my network manager, rather unsurprisingly, as Shenzen CYX. When looking at the hardware profile for the PC in Bazzite, the processor brand reports as GenuineIntelN150. This struck me as a bit amusing, but very well may be on the level.

After the initial installation of Bazzite is completed, you can exit into Desktop Mode to finish the rest of the optional steps. Bazzite includes a bunch of useful add-ons as part of the installation process. I’d recommend including the built-in option for Sunshine installation during this time, as well as anything else that might fit your needs.

Non-Steam Games

Setting up the Heroic Launcher

In the interest of organizing all of my game libraries into one accessible place, I chose the Heroic Games launcher (Lutris is another option). Install the latest versions of Proton and Wine. Choose to automatically add installed games to Steam in the options. Log in to GOG, Amazon, Epic accounts and install any games you like.

As highlighted in Ban’s Acemagic N150 Review, this processor will get you comfortably into the PS2 and GameCube era for classic emulation. If that’s where your interest lies, that’s the area of performance that you should expect. 6th generation consoles should be playable across the board, with performance dwindling from there.

So, I’m running a Windows game in Linux via Wine and then streaming to an Android device. The future! You could argue that using Winlator does the same thing but more easily. Sure, but then you’re confined to an expensive handheld and a more limited library. This way, you open up more options for games to play and devices to try them on.

Headless in the Closet or HTPC? Your Choice

Sunshine Over Steam Link

In testing various handhelds for compatibility in this setup, I found that devices were continually having display issues when using Steam Link. Handhelds like the Anbernic RG556 could connect with Steam Link just fine, but all I would get was audio, a mouse cursor, and a black screen. Some quick Googling revealed that this can be a common issue that I would have to work out on each affected device.

The MP60 displays locally and via network

Sunshine/Moonlight, however, seemed to offer a more persistent connection, better streaming quality, and all the devices I tried with the PC “just worked”. I’d recommend going this route if you’re considering a project such as this.

For what it’s worth, I found things to be a smoother and overall easier experience operating from Desktop Mode and launching Steam into Big Picture Mode vs. just running in Deck mode all the time. The latter isn’t problematic, it’s just that Desktop Mode provides easy access should you want to do any OS tweaking or software installation remotely.

WoL (Wake-On-LAN)

There’s nothing worse than plopping down on the couch with a handheld to stream a game, only to realize that you have to go downstairs and wake up the PC to do so. It’s a minor annoyance, but enough for me to say “screw this” and just start playing something else on the device. If I want to be able to access the PC at any time (and possibly from anywhere), then WoL is a must.

Normally, the process for setting it up for use in Bazzite is as simple as turning on the option in the PC BIOS. Bazzite has full support for WoL, but Sunshine does seem to be the preferred streaming option.

Unfortunately, in this case, the AMI BIOS included with the Blackview PC does not seem to offer a WoL option under power management settings or anywhere else that I can find in the BIOS. If Blackview wants to market this PC to folks who might want to use it outside of the normal Windows setting, then this would be functionality that I’d hope to see them implement in the future.

All is not lost, however. Bazzite is running in Fedora Linux, which has its own NetworkManager. From the Desktop Mode command line, you can follow the instructions helpfully detailed on the Universal Blue (Bazzite) Forums.

Moonlight also has a built-in feature to send a magic packet to the host PC running the Sunshine server to wake it up. This can be hit or miss depending on your operating environment and setup, but I’ve had good luck with it waking this PC after about 10-15 seconds.

Kodi/Plex

Logo c/o Kodi

If you’d like your Bazzite PC to be able to serve as more than just a headless game streamer, you could consider parking the PC in your entertainment center and have it pull double duty as a media streamer. Kodi and Plex clients are offered as add-ons in the Bazzite setup process and let you launch your shared media library directly from Steam. So, if you’re done with streaming, you can always click over to a movie on your TV.

Kodi offers extensive emulator support and supports streaming ROMs over network shares. If you just want to use the MP60 as a dedicated entertainment and emulation box, it should serve your needs quite well.

Closing

After spending a little over a week with the Blackview MP60, I think it has its merits. If you’re looking for decent hardware quality at a low price, this is certainly a decent option for daily driving productivity, with some bonus gaming and video abilities thrown in.

When looked at through this lens, I think it’s a fine device. Many reading this may dismiss the MP60 for its perceived lack of power, and they’d have a point. I’d like to see Blackview release an SKU specifically intended for gamers, like what Beelink has done with its Ryzen mini-PCs.

If I had the whole project to do over again, I think I’d opt for something with just a little more power under the hood. DDR5 would undoubtedly bump up performance across the board, but like with anything else, it comes with additional cost considerations.

I didn’t have issues with crashes, overheating, or peripheral problems at all in the time I put the PC through its paces. Decent hardware design combined with real cash value delivered a package that would have been a wow in the mini-pc space just a few short years ago.

The form factor has exploded in popularity since the pandemic, and it shows no signs of slowing any time soon. While the MP60 may not be the perfect solution for game streaming, it does a noble job at the tasks asked of it. It’s worth your consideration before going down the route of an RPi5 or something similar.

If you’re interested in taking the MP60 for a spin, we have some good news. This mini PC is already on sale for $30 off, but you can knock the price down even further by using the coupon code 5DLZT84B at checkout. This promotion lasts from now until April 30th, so you have a bit of time before the coupon expires.

Blackview MP60 at Amazon

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