Steam Machine Discussion

[mike.coulter]

It seems like a fantastic machine, it’s just a shame the industry has ruined entry price points for average consumers.

I’m sure it will do well, and if prices can come down I’m sure it would do even better.

 

[jeffpeng]

The price that shows up on no "DIY vs. Steam Machine" comparison is the integrator tax. You literally cannot build a PC this compact, this well integrated, this silent and with all the custom HDMI trickery yourself with parts available from NewEgg. You just *can't* unless you are willing to spend substantial amounts of time and actually have the skills required to pull it off.

But I also get the the Steam Machine sits in a really weird spot the Steam Deck didn't launch into:

The Steam Deck was and largely still is competing with the Nintendo Switch. And here it offered a really compelling value: vast back catalogue of games, a lot of which you probably already own, now on the go in basically a hand-held PC. Awesome.

The value proposition of the Steam Machine is: small neat silent box that also has HDMI-CEC. Those are two very specific features to care about, and I feel for most people that already have games on Steam they lose to "most fps per dollar". Now for people that are *new* to steam... it's a really tough sell compared to the PS5 or even the XBox.

The bottom line is this: people want a console with console features at console prices that also is a PC that does PC things with PC performance. That simply doesn't square. The current hardware economics just make this even worse.

 

[East India Company]

There really is one born every minute I guess.

Indeed, and fortunately there are also plenty born with the patience to educate them.

 

[Queen6]

Very cool and niche machine, but not the budget friendly cube Valve hoped to put out. Had this come out at $500-$700 it could have done very well.

That's shame of it, had the Steam Machine launched at Valve's original target price... For many it would have been a solid solution. The Steam Machine is clearly not designed for enthusiast's who likely have far more powerful HW. More for the average gamer on a budget who wanted a reasonably priced plug & play solution. I wouldn't be surprised if Valve was originally targeting a higher spec, but that's simple not possible in the current economy.

Valve simple doesn't have the clout and has to live with what it can get at massively inflated prices. Those that think it's underpowered & overpriced go look at the AI industry & chip makers as they the ones at the root cause... Unless the AI bubble burst HW prices are only going to keep increasing for the foreseeable... Even Apple is increasing pricing and reducing SKU's nor are they alone.

Q-6

 

[leifp]

I’m both happy and conflicted that they’ve released it now. They did all the work, might as well profit from it. Thanks to the market it’s an absurdity. But it will, like the Steam Deck (eventually), get updates and down the line is when I’ll be interested in it. I have a NUC with an RTX2060 in it and that’s the machine it needs to beat, soundly, before I’ll be tempted into purchasing a Steam Machine. Or I’ll just get a different NUC replacement. Regardless, steamOS is the reason I’m intrigued, and I may well install that on my NUC.

 

[diamond.g]

I originally wanted one if it would work well with the Vision Pro but after seeing the disappointing reviews and the price, I’ll probably wait for the next generation

That seems like a weird pairing.

Both your CPU and GPU are substantially more capable than what's in the Steam Machine.

Eh the CPU performance probably isn’t as far apart as one would think. Zen 4 is a pretty good upgrade over Zen 2. Even 4c with its lower clock headroom.

 

[salamanderjuice]

That seems like a weird pairing.

Eh the CPU performance probably isn’t as far apart as one would think. Zen 4 is a pretty good upgrade over Zen 2. Even 4c with its lower clock headroom.

Steam Machine CPU should be faster. The 3700X has a couple extra cores but they're slower.

 

[diamond.g]

Steam Machine CPU should be faster. The 3700X has a couple extra cores but they're slower.

Everything I could find indicates the multi core performance is about equal and the Z4 single core performance is higher. But in this case the SM is GPU bound so it probably doesn’t matter all that much.

 

[dmr727]

I’m both happy and conflicted that they’ve released it now. They did all the work, might as well profit from it. Thanks to the market it’s an absurdity. But it will, like the Steam Deck (eventually), get updates and down the line is when I’ll be interested in it. I have a NUC with an RTX2060 in it and that’s the machine it needs to beat, soundly, before I’ll be tempted into purchasing a Steam Machine. Or I’ll just get a different NUC replacement. Regardless, steamOS is the reason I’m intrigued, and I may well install that on my NUC.

This is how I see it too. I don't want a console because I want my Steam library, and I've always loved the idea of a NUC sized machine for the living room. It's just such terrible timing. For $700 I'd own one.

 

[uacd]

Tbh I quite like the concept of this device.

It is expensive but so is the newest iPhone which is in comparison a useless device. Even on baseline Steam Machine you can do a lot more than on any flagship smartphone. The only minus is that you are tied to Steam, but it it by far a much more free ecosystem than PlayStation or Microslop.

I totally not agree with Linus and similar bloggers who criticize it. He literally says PS5 is better, oh HOW WRONG he is. PlayStation will ban your account whenever they would like to, game prices are way too high, you can’t play old games on it, you don’t even have a browser! On a device that costs SO MUCH.

Steam Machine is not bad. Probably could be better but definitely not a bad device out there. For someone like me who doesn’t care about those new useless titles this device is like a goldmine. But I will probably not get it anyway because I am not much of a gamer, but if they continue making those in the future - I will probably buy it for my future kids.

Being free of Windows bloatware and PSN prison is much better than some tiny hardware disadvantages. New Nintendo Switch has “only” 12 GB RAM yet it currently sells better than Xbox or PS5, because it is an easy device that has cartridges (I.e. REAL games you can collect and sell, and they will still work after 20 years or more), and it is relatively cheap - a big plus in this economy

 

[uacd]

Steam Machine is going to sell out, despite the inflated price no thx to the AI industry as in the long run it will be far cheaper than a console. Sony & Xbox are just rip off artists, they have no care for gaming only thing they care about is extracting as much money as is possible from their customers... I dont think for one second Valve wanted to price so high but the greed of others interfered.

Indeed, I agree 100%! There is a rumor that new PS6 will cost 1000$ due to RAM prices. I really, really doubt it will be any more competitive vs Steam OS whatsoever. However people who are eager for GTA VI will probably stand in lines to get it. But Sony offers nothing but a horrible experience, they are indeed greedy extractors out there

 

[salamanderjuice]

Tbh I quite like the concept of this device.

It is expensive but so is the newest iPhone which is in comparison a useless device. Even on baseline Steam Machine you can do a lot more than on any flagship smartphone. The only minus is that you are tied to Steam, but it it by far a much more free ecosystem than PlayStation or Microslop.

I totally not agree with Linus and similar bloggers who criticize it. He literally says PS5 is better, oh HOW WRONG he is. PlayStation will ban your account whenever they would like to, game prices are way too high, you can’t play old games on it, you don’t even have a browser! On a device that costs SO MUCH.

Steam Machine is not bad. Probably could be better but definitely not a bad device out there. For someone like me who doesn’t care about those new useless titles this device is like a goldmine. But I will probably not get it anyway because I am not much of a gamer, but if they continue making those in the future - I will probably buy it for my future kids.

Being free of Windows bloatware and PSN prison is much better than some tiny hardware disadvantages. New Nintendo Switch has “only” 12 GB RAM yet it currently sells better than Xbox or PS5, because it is an easy device that has cartridges (I.e. REAL games you can collect and sell, and they will still work after 20 years or more), and it is relatively cheap - a big plus in this economy

You're not really tied to Steam. Even on SteamOS you can install games and apps from outside Steam (e.g., Epic or GoG) with no jailbreaking or hacking required. If you wanted you could even install Windows and buy games from the Windows Store instead.

 

[uacd]

Th PS5 Pro just has a much better value.

Yes, you can use the Steam Machine as a PC and use all our Steam Library but a what cost? To play everything with low settings and FSR to get 50-60fps?

I can't see the benefit with this thing. You can buy a PS5 for $400~ less or just look for a second hand PS5 for $600~ less. Or look for a Pro with a controller, 2TB and much better performance for even less than this thing.

I like the form factor since I like little PCs (mine is not little but yeah) and that little led bar looks really good but man, that's all.. nothing more. The price, no controller, the performance.. no thank you.

Games used be something more than a bunch of raytraced 4K textures…

Games are for the experience and not for the graphics in my opinion.

Besides that, when you play a game on a console on TV, from a distance of more than 3 meters you will hardly notice any graphical issues, but you will feel the experience. Anyway all the PCs that support ultra graphics are so overpriced that most people won’t even look at them, they can often cost more than a Mac.

Try watching some old movie in 540p on 8k TV, such as Twin Peaks or maybe old non-remastered versions of Back To The Future. I believe there will be not much difference in details because our brain is the most powerful upscaler in the universe

 

[uacd]

You're not really tied to Steam. Even on SteamOS you can install games and apps from outside Steam (e.g., Epic or GoG) with no jailbreaking or hacking required. If you wanted you could even install Windows and buy games from the Windows Store instead.

That’s actually wonderful! I didn’t know it supports GoG too. Then such a device is definitely better than any of those limited consoles, even given the high price

 

[Rychiar]

That seems like a weird pairing.

why? Steam gaming is great on the Vision Pro but I have to go through Nvidia geforce now currently cus I only own a Mac. would be nice to have some native PC games with owning a Windows PC.

 

[rui no onna]

Enough chitchat.

Who got on the queue for one of the models? I have the 512gb with controller.

Lost the lottery. Waitlist on 512GB + controller. With the way things are, I wouldn't be surprised if Valve just does one production run and I never get one. 😭

 

[rui no onna]

I’m both happy and conflicted that they’ve released it now. They did all the work, might as well profit from it. Thanks to the market it’s an absurdity. But it will, like the Steam Deck (eventually), get updates and down the line is when I’ll be interested in it. I have a NUC with an RTX2060 in it and that’s the machine it needs to beat, soundly, before I’ll be tempted into purchasing a Steam Machine. Or I’ll just get a different NUC replacement. Regardless, steamOS is the reason I’m intrigued, and I may well install that on my NUC.

SteamOS doesn't support NVIDIA GPUs yet but you can try installing Bazzite or CachyOS.

The Steam Machine has a custom GPU that's around RX 7600M w/8GB VRAM. I reckon it will beat the RTX 2060 6GB on your Phantom Canyon NUC but I don't know what the performance delta is like. Probably the same as the mobile RTX 3060 8GB and RTX 2060 6GB delta.

Mind, I remember the Phantom Canyon NUC was around $1K barebones when it was released?

 

[diamond.g]

why? Steam gaming is great on the Vision Pro but I have to go through Nvidia geforce now currently cus I only own a Mac. would be nice to have some native PC games with owning a Windows PC.

Why not use crossover?

 

[teh_hunterer]

Why not use crossover?

Because GeForce Now runs things far better than Crossover ever could. As long as you have good internet connection and you're going over ethernet, GeForce Now is just better.

No translation layers, just the exact hardware the game was written for.

 

[macfacts]

The value proposition of the Steam Machine is: small neat silent box that also has HDMI-CEC.

theres already "steamdeck" competitors, like the asus rog xbox ally. i'm sure theres going to steam machine alternitives.

 

[chrash]

The value proposition of the Steam Machine is: small neat silent box that also has HDMI-CEC.

And this is exactly why I preordered one. I currently use a Steam Deck for streaming Moonlight from my gaming PC, which has been a fantastic experience (after jumping through the initial hurdles to get it set up). This will solve the last two issues I (or rather, the family) had -- HDMI control and nicer aesthetics.

 

[jeffpeng]

And this is exactly why I preordered one. I currently use a Steam Deck for streaming Moonlight from my gaming PC, which has been a fantastic experience (after jumping through the initial hurdles to get it set up). This will solve the last two issues I (or rather, the family) had -- HDMI control and nicer aesthetics.

Hu! Yeah, I'm doing exactly that with an Apple TV. Gaming "PC" Server with Sunshine in the basement, Moonlight via Apple TV (or to a Mac).

I hope more people will see the value in this.

 

[TracerAnalog]

Neither do I, but I can put a better PC together for less many others dont have such skills... So I think the Steam Machine will sell especially when you factor in the deals you can get on Steam's digital storefront. Is definitely going to be a thorn in the side of PlayStation & Xbox who are just rip-off merchants at best these days...

Q-6

I think it is quite the challenge building a better performing PC with such a small footprint and power usage. Bigger and faster: easy. For me the appeal was always going to be the combination of ease of use, SteamOS, small footprint, low noise and... price. For €1400 I have to pass. Which is a shame because now I have to keep gaming on Windows which annoys me to no end. I owned a Steamdeck and 'upgraded' to an Ally XBOX X... which I half regret. Windows is just... ugh

 

[rui no onna]

I think it is quite the challenge building a better performing PC with such a small footprint and power usage. Bigger and faster: easy. For me the appeal was always going to be the combination of ease of use, SteamOS, small footprint, low noise and... price. For €1400 I have to pass. Which is a shame because now I have to keep gaming on Windows which annoys me to no end. I owned a Steamdeck and 'upgraded' to an Ally XBOX X... which I half regret. Windows is just... ugh

Why not install SteamOS on your PC (AMD GPU)? Or Bazzite or CachyOS for NVIDIA?

 

[maflynn]

Why not install SteamOS on your PC (AMD GPU)? Or Bazzite or CachyOS for NVIDIA?

I'm rocking CachyOS on my PC desktop, and I can say that is largely the best all around best alternative to Windows. For a dedicated gaming setup, i.e., little to no apps, just games, the Bazzite, or SteamOS.