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Valve Steam Machine, SteamOS Desktop, Steam Frame VR and Steam Controller

kram182 said:
.....and will outperform the Steam Machine even more than the current gen consoles do.....

the Steam Machine is only going to have a harder time playing new/newer games from here on out
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Current gen consoles cost almost as much as the Steam Machine, and are far more restrictive. If you don't put any value on the openness of the Steam Machine well okay, but others might because this isn't an apples to apples comparison. Also the idea that a console much less a PC is predicated only playing the latest path traced thing at 4K max settings doesn't seem to be borne out by any legitimate metrics. Even the "major" consoles (PS5, XBSX ) have spent their entire release playing things at lower res , lower framerate , upscaled stuff etc, to say nothing for those like the Switch that are closer to a mobile device. Many of the most played titles on PC are not massively demanding and/or scale down easily. Anyone buying a Steam Machine isn't doing it because it has 5090 or even 5070Ti tier GPU performance; that's never been the market. Ultimately on both console and PC sides, there's a lot of room for other features rather than raw power; perhaps even the majority. The Steam Machine is going to be able to play a lot of the same titles as consoles, using many of the same tricks, but also have the benefit of being an actual PC with all that entails in terms of openness.

The Steam Deck sold at much greater frequency than the more expensive also-ran, Windows powered handhelds even if they had some newer chipsets or greater specs of one type or another. Clearly, there is some degree of interest and allure to what Valve offers. Many said that it wasn't worth it to buy a ROG Ally or Lenovo or MSI or whatever else device that was slightly more powerful and a lot more expensive, in order to play the kinds of things they'd be playing on these handhelds. So it goes with the Deck - where Valve has created a better experience for a certain target. I imagine there will be others who prefer the Steam Machine a similar way for what it offers. The people who are worried about it not being able to play Cyberpunk 2 Path Traced at 4K/240hz a couple years from now are not making purchasing decisions for this in the first place and, unlike Sony or MS, Valve doesn't need them to do so to be successful in their long term strategy.
 
RanceJustice said:
Current gen consoles cost almost as much as the Steam Machine, and are far more restrictive.
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PS5 1TB is $640 on Amazon now. Steam Machine with 512GB is $1049, and does not come with a controller. $1128 with controller. The PS5 Pro with 2TB is $900, Steam Machine with 2TB & controller is $1428. Quite a bit cheaper. 76.25% more expensive for a basic Steam Machine compared to the base model PS5. 58.66% more expensive for the 2TB Steam Machine relative to the Pro.
 
kram182 said:
Linux.... that's worse and more problems for the normies you're saying it would benefit.
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I think we're a few years to late to try and make that argument. Its obvious that it works very well for a gaming/HTPC handheld - even normies are figuring out how to use deckyloader or whatever else to bring the stuff from the desktop mode and custom emulators into the Steam Big Picture UI. Linux itself has made incredible strides in the past few years not least of all because of Valve's effort, but we're not talking about some device that's going to have someone randomly trying to get a random broadcom wifi card working without binary blobs like it was the mid 2000s. Watching Microsoft has made even a wider array of 'normies' open to Linux, but that wasn't even the openness I was talking about - it was simply being able to use the Steam Machine as a PC instead of a locked down console. We've already seen on the Deck people are interested in this for a variety of reasons and the barrier to entry is low.
kram182 said:
Is a portable handheld device not really apples to apples here when we have prebuilts/DIYs/consoles to compare against the Steam Machine
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The point was that even people who were buying a portable handheld device often chose the technically less powerful one that offered a better experience because Valve went out of their way to ensure it worked well for that set of uses. As far as comparing to others DIY and many types of prebuilts are not even in the same sphere - they require more tech knowledge, money, space, size etc.. than what's going on here with the Machine. Those who are going to be interested are going to want some smaller-than-ITX platform. For people who don't have any interest in the open ecosystem that is PC and what Steam has brought to it well.. sure some of them will buy whatever console; just like those who are enamored with one particular game or series will make that the first part of their purchase decision etc. However, many others will want a small device that is capable and fits in the living room that allows reasonable-for-the-size power, ease of use, and the openness of being able to configure it as they wish - no matter if that means HTPC stuff like Kodi, emulators, pirated games, mods, or just launching titles from Epic, GOG, or Itch using Heroic Launcher from the same Steam Big Picture UI.

More and more people have gotten tired of console platform owners trying to maintain a paradigm that's long, long out of date and without benefit to the user anymore; quite the opposite in many cases. Some of them will see a "console ease of use" experience that doesn't reqire that same lock-in to be desirable and, if they're in the market for something small and prebuilt, I'm not sure what is going to be available thatt is going to compete in terms of size, power, and performance across the board at the time the Steam Machine is launching (ie soon).

Flogger23m said:
PS5 1TB is $640 on Amazon now. Steam Machine with 512GB is $1049, and does not come with a controller. $1128 with controller. The PS5 Pro with 2TB is $900, Steam Machine with 2TB & controller is $1428. Quite a bit cheaper. 76.25% more expensive for a basic Steam Machine compared to the base model PS5. 58.66% more expensive for the 2TB Steam Machine relative to the Pro.
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If we're talking about base model PS5 then any discussion of performance is totally off the table in addition to the price or capability. Of course, you could also buy a Switch 2, or used PS5/XB/Switch etc...or build a custom PC yourself from cheapest used parts you buy online from other users and all of that would be cheaper, but that's not really part of the same discussion segment here. Both in terms of power and in terms of openess, the Steam Machine is much more capable machine vs a PS5/Xbox/Switch etc - it costing more in this context is about buying a PC, not a game console. As before, it doesn't have a company treating the hardware as a loss leader for the platform lock-in. If someone just wants "the cheapest thing to play games" , it was never going to be Steam Machine much in the same way that a Steam Deck was never going to be cheaper than a Switch - but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its role, a different approach, and some find value in that.
 
Flogger23m said:
PS5 1TB is $640 on Amazon now. Steam Machine with 512GB is $1049, and does not come with a controller. $1128 with controller. The PS5 Pro with 2TB is $900, Steam Machine with 2TB & controller is $1428. Quite a bit cheaper. 76.25% more expensive for a basic Steam Machine compared to the base model PS5. 58.66% more expensive for the 2TB Steam Machine relative to the Pro.
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Ya the "but the price is almost the same" argument is some hardcore fanboy cope. No, it isn't, not even close. The base PS5 is WAY cheaper. $400 is not a trivial amount of money for things at this price level (not to mention the Steam Machine going over the mental barrier of $999) and ya, even the base PS5 seems to be slightly faster than the Steam Machine in the benchmarks I've seen. The PS5 Pro completely blows it out performance wise, but also with that storage given that storage is one of those non-trivial cost things these days and STILL is $150 less.

It is just not price competitive no matter how you slice it.

While the openness thing is real... it isn't something people who play console games give a shit about. If your whole idea is "Easy to use system that does everything for you," that ecosystem can be totally locked down and people don't notice or care. Not everyone is in to that, I'm one of those people not in to that. Most of those are already PC gamers. I doubt there was a huge amount of people who bought consoles because they didn't like the complexity of PCs but said "Man, as soon as a console-like PC comes along that runs Linux so it is open, I'm SO THERE!"

I just don't see it having much market.
 
I just don't see it having much market.
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It's niche. It will sell out. They'd be fine to sell a few million over the coming years, it sets a baseline standard.

It will do what Valve wanted in 2015. But indirectly.

Screenshot_20260622-195856.png


(It's already doing it)

Being able to run my PC library on my nOt A cOnSoLe is a huge plus over consoles.
 
The price only makes sense to non-PC builders. You can find better specs on Mini-PC's with an OCuLink or USB4 port with an eGPU setup. Or better yet, a Thinkstation P3 Tiny with an i7-14700T that has a PCIe4.0x8 slot. It's a real shame they didn't include an OCuLink or USB4 port on the Valve machine, but I think they knew what they were doing by NOT including them.
 
That one think apple have been doing really well, they have less of that only if it had been 2 years earlier it would have been good release.

end of 2022 RDNA 3 gpu core during the small windows between Etherum mining and GPT 3 launch, Nvidia has an upcoming Q3 2026 nvidia N1X laptop running 2024 cpu cores and should have been 2024 gpu cores, common refrain for Intel release schedule for years now.

RanceJustice said:
. Both in terms of power and in terms of openess, the Steam Machine is much more capable machine vs a PS5/Xbox/Switch etc
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Not really when it come to play games it seem too despite the raw power advantage in some specs-numbers, maybe as driver-game mature on it but not at the moment, at least not in the early benchmark i saw of people trying to run the sames games at equivalent settings.
 
MikeTrike said:
It's niche. It will sell out. They'd be fine to sell a few million over the coming years, it sets a baseline standard.
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If this thing outsells the Steam Deck in whatever timeframe you choose (2,3,4,5 years) I'll be shocked.
 
rinaldo00 said:
If this thing outsells the Steam Deck in whatever timeframe you choose (2,3,4,5 years) I'll be shocked.
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Yeah keep in mind selling out does not necessarily mean popular, it can just sell out from low volume. If I sell out because I only have 5 things to sell vs 5,000 - doesn't mean I will ever sell 5,000 (so to speak don't take the numbers literally please)
 
RanceJustice said:
If we're talking about base model PS5 then any discussion of performance is totally off the table in addition to the price or capability. Of course, you could also buy a Switch 2, or used PS5/XB/Switch etc...or build a custom PC yourself from cheapest used parts you buy online from other users and all of that would be cheaper, but that's not really part of the same discussion segment here. Both in terms of power and in terms of openess, the Steam Machine is much more capable machine vs a PS5/Xbox/Switch etc
Click to expand...

I don't see what used hardware has to do with anything. Obviously used hardware sells for less. But if you want a new PS5 or a new Steam Machine, a PS5 or Xbox will be cheaper. If you want openness Windows PCs exist and are more upgradable. I know Valve got screwed over by hardware price increases but they were were going to compete on pricing regardless.
 
Marees said:
this will be a niche product — won't sell much; maybe that is how Valve planned it all along 🤔 — as a trojan horse for steam os that supports installing on your own hardware ??
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might sell better than expected due to the ongoing PC RAM issues which makes building a PC almost impossible until maybe 2028...Valve might have found the perfect window to release this
 
The only reason why anyone should buy a steam machine is if they have no idea how to put together their own computer, but wanted a curated steam box with a no hassle warranty. Otherwise you're much better off slapping together the cheapest matx/itx case/mb/cpu/ram/9060xt for double the performance for less money with steamos on it if that's what you're into.

It's possible Valve is hoping Asus/lenovo/acer etc put out their own steamos box that's better than the steam machine (their original plan 10 years ago). It could be why the price is so high compared to the performance, to leave room in the market for Steam Machine clones.
 
rinaldo00 said:
If this thing outsells the Steam Deck in whatever timeframe you choose (2,3,4,5 years) I'll be shocked.
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I'll be surprised if it outsells the steam deck estimated at the 4+ mil mark since release. I'd be more pleasantly surprised than shocked though, assuming they could even make that many.
 
Had some time to cool down... and still don't like the price. This was supposed to be the 'mainstream trojan horse' and if they could only price it at enthusiast levels, they should've just delayed/cancelled or made it a limited run. I really hope poor sales doesn't dissuade Valve from releasing future Steam Machine-like hardware; I think the concept is great.

One thing that I do like is the release of the official DIY SteamOS 3.8. Installed it on my desktop, and while the installer is still janky (I recommend removing all SSD except for the one you want to install SteamOS on) it's been pretty smooth so far. It's not nearly as 'comfortable' out of the box as Bazzite (Bazzite has a bunch of stuff preinstalled, easier install process), but for a gaming console/htpc-only build, it's pretty great. It also fixed the main issue I had with Bazzite on my desktop (spotty sleep/resume, it'd wake with image issues). TBH, not sure if that was an issue with Bazzite, something I installed, or something Valve fixed.

Still, with the Steam Machine out on the market, hopefully this will mean more frequent updates for the DIY SteamOS.
 
Marees said:
this will be a niche product — won't sell much; maybe that is how Valve planned it all along 🤔 — as a trojan horse for steam os that supports installing on your own hardware ??
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A niche product is making your own steam machine out of a BC250...

This is supposed to be a mainstream console-like experience. At $500-600, it would have sold like hotcakes. At $1050+, it's DOA. I'll just go back to my BC250 in the living room.
 
Last gen console is cheaper than a 2026 gaming PC!?!?!? Color me shocked LOL

Some people have weird perspectives.
 
Out of curiosity, what kind of streaming video service options are available via these and/or SteamOS? Better or worse than Windows' Edge tabs? The PS5's capabilities aren't the best, either, but the Xbox = top tier.
 
Not in the market, but comparing only of DIY price doesn’t seem to capture full picture. The form factor and noise makes this interesting for me. I’ve had ITX toasters that sound like jet engines under load, which is not a good experience.
 
Domingo said:
Out of curiosity, what kind of streaming video service options are available via these and/or SteamOS? Better or worse than Windows' Edge tabs? The PS5's capabilities aren't the best, either, but the Xbox = top tier.
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Windows/Edge is better

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamOS/comments/1snelw0/the_next_unsolvable_linux_issue_valve_needs_to/

https://linuxcommunity.io/t/drm-the-final-barrier-to-linux-desktop-adoption/3760

https://forum.level1techs.com/t/wat...cock-amazon-netflix-in-full-resolution/246528
 
Marees said:
this will be a niche product — won't sell much; maybe that is how Valve planned it all along 🤔 — as a trojan horse for steam os that supports installing on your own hardware ??
Click to expand...
We think this but remember the Steam Deck high a massive price increase and it sold out immediately. I think this could also happen with the Steam Machine. I would still blame scalpers.
 
I checked eBay on steam controller 2 sold prices the other day and a guesstimate average was between 250-275. So there is a scalper market for steam/valve hardware
 
The TV in the living room that will be connected ot the machine should be not bad as a tv streaming service usually.
 
To all saying DOA... I highly doubt it.. There are more "Valve" fanbois out there than you think...
This thing will sell out, and be scalped like crazy... and people will open their wallets up without a second thought...

*edit*
and I will come back to eat crow because I'm sure I've said it will be DOA also...
:ROFLMAO:
I prefer my crow well done please
 
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DukenukemX said:
We think this but remember the Steam Deck high a massive price increase and it sold out immediately. I think this could also happen with the Steam Machine. I would still blame scalpers.
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Both can be true. The Steam Machine is a niche device, but there's a large enough niche (and the production runs small enough) that Valve will have steady business.

The only illusion we need to dispel is that console makers will be worried. Current-gen consoles can outperform the Steam Machine at lower prices, and next-gen models will blow it away. Unless Valve plans an aggressive update cycle, the only real advantage here is "it can run my Steam games" (a significant one, but only for some PC enthusiasts).
 
Aurelius said:
Unless Valve plans an aggressive update cycle, the only real advantage here is "it can run my Steam games"
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Or a non valve company that can see an complex indirect way to use steamOS-gaming living room machine as a way to attract peoples with a post sale moneytisation plan via pre installed plugin to the steam client (could that work technically and legally) ?

Say Nvidia making their own steamOS living room machine with an aggressive GeForceNow ads/plugin into steam and other Nvidia services, depending on how well steamOS for nvidia support will be.
 
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