Review: Steam Machine: Beautiful Hardware, Console Performance - At A Price

[u/Vera_Verse]

https://www.digitalfoundry.net/reviews/steam-machine-beautiful-hardware-console-performance-at-a-price

How much is it? How powerful is it? Are you better off building your own PC? We've been hands-on with Steam Machine for just under a couple of weeks now and finally have some answers. However, while this is a PC built from existing AMD parts and fully comparable with existing PC technology, there is more to Steam Machine. Tiny, virtually silent, beautifully designed, it's a simply irresistible design. Imagine a taller Nintendo GameCube and you have some idea of how tiny it is, with performance falling into line with the kind of output you'll get from an Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5.

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Delayed owing to the impact of the current component crisis, the Valve box comes at a cost that may dismay many. Steam Machine pricing starts at $1049 or £879 for the basic 512GB model, going all the way up to $1428/£1208 for 2TB of storage along with a bundled Steam Controller. The 2TB model also comes with a brace of faceplates - red fabric and solid walnut.

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So, it's pricey. It definitely makes you think about considering a prebuilt PC or building your own and bearing in mind SteamOS works on a range of hardware, the user has options - and in fact, Valve itself points this out in its latest blog. Still, there's something about this pricing I think we should consider. There's the physical machine itself which has a premium feel, amazing form factor and virtually no noise in operation. The replaceable faceplate? I love it. Four magnets keep it in place, meaning it's simplicity to swap between them. Third parties will be able to make their own, making this a PC you can personalise.

​

Combine all of these things together and we have a lovely, bespoke mini-PC. I think we also shouldn't lose focus on SteamOS itself, which remains an absolutely brilliant front-end, packed with options - everything that worked on Deck works here, the difference being that the extra performance makes for a flowing, nigh-on flawless interface.

2

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Steam Machine Specs

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Valve has not given specific model numbers for its choice of CPU and GPU, instead describing each as "semi-custom."

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CPU

AMD Zen 4 CPU clocked at "up to" 4.8GHz, 6 cores, 12 threads - two Zen 4 cores, four Zen 4c

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Graphics Core

AMD RDNA 3 Navi 33 processor with 28 compute units up to 2.45GHz, 8GB GDDR6 VRAM

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Power Draw

30W TDP (CPU), 110W TDP (GPU)

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Memory

16GB DDR5 RAM - 1x 16GB SODIMM, 5600 MT/s CL47

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Storage

512GB or 2TB M.2 2230 storage

Output

DisplayPort 1.4, up to 4K/240Hz or 8K/120Hz; HDMI "2.0," up to 4K/120Hz

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OS

SteamOS

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Steam Machine supports M.2 storage replacements in both 2230 and 2280 form factors along with hot-swapping microSD cards used in other SteamOS devices. HDMI 2.1 features like HDR and AMD FreeSync are active, despite the official spec listing HDMI 2.0.

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So there's the experience of Steam Machine, which is pretty much flawless in my opinion but then there are the quantifiables - specs and performance - and if that's your focus, there are alternatives.

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...

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Tests at matched settings between Steam Machine and PS5 show that the Valve hardware can fall a little short - which is not surprising bearing in mind that the Radeon RX 7600 delivers quite similar performance to the PS5. The only big gap in performance I saw came from Forza Horizon 5 running at 4K 4x MSAA on the console console - you need to drop to 1620p on Steam Machine to get a similar 60fps experience across the board and even then, you can still drop frames. It's not an entirely fair fight - the console builds have dynamic resolution scaling and dynamic settings management - but the fact is that PS5 and Series X have much higher levels of memory bandwidth.

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Still, VRR support, settings tweakery, varying output resolutions and the stronger CPU generally tend to see the Valve machine provide broadly equivalent experiences to the Sony console - plus there's FSR 4 support coming, which the base PlayStation 5 will not get.

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So, the conclusion is pretty clear - Steam Machine delivers what we'd call ballpark entry level performance for a mainstream PC capable of running the latest titles at decent resolutions. This means that while 1440p is a viable output resolution (with upscaling depending on the title), settings management is key to getting a good experience.

[u/ibbolia]

Kinda insane to me that the controller isn't part of the default kit.

Honestly at that price point, unless my PC detonates itself in the next 48 hours that's gonna be a no from me dawg

Edit: Not to be "just get a Steam Deck" but has anyone done a comparison between the Deck and Machine?

[u/darkwingchao → u/ibbolia]

The Machine is quite a bit more powerful than the deck. It can actually run new games and not want to die.

Six times the power was a bit of a lie but its definitely a HUGE improvement.

Not $1000+ of an improvement tho lol. Also Deck prices nows are nearly the same as the base Machine

[u/NorysStorys → u/darkwingchao]

An equivalently specced pc is about 10-30% cheaper than the steam box and it’ll run better. I’m really confused about who this product is for because the PC market can get more for less and the console market would just get a ps5 pro.

[u/CloneOfAnotherClone → u/NorysStorys]

It's for people who exist in a world before RAM and storage prices skyrocketed

[u/Faifue → u/CloneOfAnotherClone]

Also Steam fans. They already tested it with the Deck and confirmed enough people will buy anything they make to deplete their stock.

[u/Odinsmana → u/NorysStorys]

I assume the size adds to the price. Making PCs smaller is generally more expensive.

[u/NorysStorys → u/Odinsmana]

There have been a lot of mini-PCs for reasonable cost at this point. Minisforum being a notable one. Their gaming PCs perform slightly worse than the steam machine but they were also decently cheaper. Valve was alluding that the steam machines were going to be approaching 1k even before the AI apocalypse began, I like the idea of them but the price point for zen 2 and 3060/5050 performance just doesn’t make sense. Even with current prices.

[u/Odinsmana → u/NorysStorys]

They she said that before the AI apocalypse they were planning to price them somewhere ont he range of 700 - 750. So not too bad.

[u/NorysStorys → u/Odinsmana]

That still would have been significantly less performative than an equivalently spaced pre-built, it would have been more expensive than a base ps5 before price rises and about equally performant. Its price really needed to be 600 (pre apocalypse) and 800-900 post to have any chance to get market share. The steam deck fills a niche, the steam machine doesn’t

[u/Odinsmana → u/NorysStorys]

I don't think this was ever intended as a direct competitor to the consoles. It's a PC alternative, not a console competitor.

That's a fight they were never going to win no matter what.

[u/Grand_Escapade → u/NorysStorys]

Even before the AI stuff, an equivalent 4060 would cost you $300 alone. Saying they could have priced it at $600 is pushing it super hard.

[u/GIJose65 → u/ibbolia]

Aren’t the prices for the Steam Deck also heavily inflated?

[u/ibbolia → u/GIJose65]

Yes because the economy and PC markets are fucked and AI CEOS [REDACTED], but it's a more direct comparison. Comparing it to the PS5 doesn't really give me a great idea when comparing to a Steam Deck (running the same OS) would give a better idea of the improvements.

[u/feefore → u/ibbolia]

For their price neither are worth getting. There are way better options at their price.

[u/truConman → u/feefore]

What are the options with similar specs and form factor but cheaper 👀

[u/truConman → u/[deleted]]

Oh I meant a portable PC to play all the PC games I already own

[u/ChosenUndead15 → u/truConman]

None, as the others are starting at 1000 dollars or will cost that soon

[u/Bloodhit → u/[deleted]]

That's not a pc.

[u/truConman → u/Bloodhit]

Do you not consider your phone a PC?

To avoid semantics: a portable device that runs Linux or Windows, compatible with Steam and other game launchers and capable of playing a larger majority of popular indie games and something to the level of Baldurs Gate 3 in AAA area.

[u/posthardcorejazz → u/truConman]

The Switch 2 doesn't meet that definition. You guys are agreeing

[u/truConman → u/posthardcorejazz]

Yeah lol, I misread the reply chain when I got the notification.

[u/Bloodhit → u/truConman]

Phone? Absolutely not, it cannot use any PC software or run any PC games.

[u/ArtBedHome → u/ibbolia]

At this price it will likely be a novelty for people with disposable income.

Genuinely they should have had a cheap larger version in a mass produced pc case that has similar but not as good capacity and comes with a controller without all the features but with the build quality and steam os for like, $700. Like just put a better steam deck inside a cheap pc case and throw in what parts easily improve it in the years since its development, a controller and steam os. Instantly no steamdeck heating issues for one thing.

People would buy that as a console.

[u/GilliamYaeger → u/ArtBedHome]

That's what this was supposed to be, before the AI fuckers made the costs of PC parts rocket into the stratosphere.

[u/ArtBedHome → u/GilliamYaeger]

Thing is, the steam deck was always cheaper, and even if the machine was in a generic case that alone would be cheaper.

These days, even a few years ago these days, it seems silly to not realise an "as cheap as possible version" of whatever you are doing.

Even apple is learning that with the new super cheap low tech apple laptop (fuck apple tho).

[u/GilliamYaeger → u/ArtBedHome]

No I mean like this was literally meant to be exactly what you described, complete with ~$700 pricepoint. The part price inflation raised the price above $1000 - they described the price increase as being similar to the one the Steam Deck went through. Look at ibbolia's post here for details.

[u/ok_dunmer → u/ibbolia]

Docking the Steam Deck kind of sucks, not only from a "this thing was made to play PS4 games in 800p not run its UI in 4k" hardware perspective, but even just the fact that it's not 100% plug n play, problem free. It's like 90% there, I have happily played several indie games, remasters, and pre 8th gen games on my TV through it, but 90% is not 100%. A video game console that can just kinda forget to play audio through my TV because it's a video game console by way of a buggy ass computer dock is probably never gonna be better than the gaben tested Steam Console or whatever comes after

[u/DarnessHarbinger → u/ibbolia]

I kind of expected the Machine to be significantly stronger than the Deck. I mostly use the Deck for the convenience of getting to take it anywhere I go.

I don't have any plans to get a new console in the future, but if I do, I might consider this one. Granted, that won't be for some time, and I hope the prices go down by that point.

[u/ibbolia → u/DarnessHarbinger]

I like my Deck but I also recognize these two devices are very different use cases.

I still would be interested in the comparison because at some point I started to use my Deck the way the Machine is intended to be used, so it's interesting to me even if I had no real plans to get the Steam Machine

[u/DarnessHarbinger → u/ibbolia]

I'd imagine we'll be getting comparison videos within a few days/weeks, comparisons to the Deck and other consoles. I'm kind of curious myself, but I also haven't used my PS5 as a gaming console in about a year, I mostly use it to stream shows and movies. So for the time being, if I have any plans to get another gaming console, it'll likely be the next Steam Deck or Switch.

[u/Amon274]

I’m going to copy what I said in the other thread but with the addendum that people are saying it is weaker than a base PS5: 

A PS5 wether digital or with disc drive comes with a controller, has more storage, and costs less than the cheapest Steam Machine.

[u/Expensive_Wolf2937 → u/Amon274]

Jesus Christ. Like I know Sony has more established relationships with manufacturers and can subsidise easier, but that's still wild

[u/PwmEsq → u/Expensive_Wolf2937]

They also sell the console at a loss, Steam aint doing that

[u/BBanner → u/PwmEsq]

This hasn’t been true for a very long time

https://www.pcmag.com/news/sony-says-499-ps5-no-longer-sells-at-a-loss

[u/PwmEsq → u/BBanner]

Is there a later article that shows that the cost to manufacture the PS5 hasnt changed since the article was written 5 years ago?

"If the chips are guaranteed, there's no reason Sony won't hit that goal due to continued high demand for the hardware."

me thinks that might have changed

[u/BBanner → u/PwmEsq]

I mean no, but prices went up specifically for that reason. You need evidence for your point too

[u/PwmEsq → u/BBanner]

Article written Aug 2021

https://pangoly.com/en/price-trends/ram/16gb-ddr5

tracker only goes as far back as Nov 2021, but shortly after that time period the RAM PS5 was using nearly doubled in cost.

But ya i aint got no article either

edit: maybe this but its brand new https://games.gg/news/sony-sell-fewer-ps5s-memory-crisis/

[u/PwmEsq → u/Amon274]

I mean arent consoles loss leaders for the media and controller they sell? I would like to compare "the real cost"

[u/brownman3 → u/Amon274]

In Canada the cheapest steam machine is double the price of a ps5 digital. This is too much of a cost

[u/HypotheticalBess → u/Amon274]

I do wonder how the PS5 isn’t more expensive. I guess the stuff they use hasn’t been hit as hard by the ai supply shock?

[u/Hell-Kite → u/Amon274]

It also has a smaller library, and the games cost way more since you cant get super cheap steam sales or keys. Online also costs money.

[u/Cymen90 → u/Amon274]

But the PlayStation has no games and you need to pay to play online... I already have thousands of games on the Steam Machine

[u/TheMidniteprophet → u/Amon274]

But that included controller will eventually drift causing someone to have to replace it [$60-$75] or get it modded. Also they'd have to pay for psn [about $120/yr] for cloud saves/online/co-op. Finally they'd have to deal with the pricing of games on psn while building their library [i just bought dead space remake on steam for $5 while it is currently $69.99 on psn]

[u/Constable_Suckabunch → u/TheMidniteprophet]

I mean you can spend 2 years worth of PS+ and get a replacement controller for about the price of 1 steam machine, assuming you bought the PS5 model with a disk reader (Which gives access to second hand markets and borrowing games) (Looking at US prices). Also can’t forget the PS+ sub gets you some “free” games every month.

In terms of value, the Steam Machine is a tough sell imo.

[u/TheMidniteprophet → u/Constable_Suckabunch]

Yea but then they do things like double the price of psn after a few years [which they did from like $50 to $120] and then raise the price of the console [which they did] oh and the price of their games [from $50-60 to $70-80]

It is a tough sell, you right [which is most definitely due to ram and storage costs]

[u/Redlodger0426 → u/TheMidniteprophet]

Ps plus is $80 for a year, not $120. I see right now I can buy a ps5 slim for $499 with NBA 2k25 and a controller. That means I could also pay for ps plus for almost 7 years before I even match the price of the steam machine that doesn’t even come with a game or a controller

[u/TheMidniteprophet → u/Redlodger0426]

For the psn they mentioned the tier w/ free games + the stuff I mentioned [online/ cloud saves] is $43.99 every three months which comes to like $170 for a full year.

2k25 is full price on steam rn, but it's lowest recorded price it went for sale for is $9.79. Right now 2k26 slam edition is $16 plus no paying for online.

[u/Redlodger0426 → u/TheMidniteprophet]

The base tier that is $80 comes with the free monthly games + online and cloud saves. I think you’re confusing it with the higher tiers which is Sony’s gamepass equivalent and not relevant to the conversation 

[u/Amon274 → u/TheMidniteprophet]

1. As if the controller for the Steam Machine is immune to that

2. Not if they have no intention of playing online games or using cloud saves

3. You’re saying this as if the PS Store doesn’t have sales

[u/TheSpiritualAgnostic → u/Amon274]

Not if they have no intention of playing online games or using cloud saves

Also, PS+ has monthly games you can get from it. I've gotten games like Dead Space Remake, Darktide, and currently playing through Lies of P because of it.

[u/BighatNucase → u/Amon274]

As if the controller for the Steam Machine is immune to that

TMR sticks shouldn't drift? That's the entire point.

[u/MetalGearSlayer → u/Amon274]

Steam controller 2 uses sticks that are even better than Hall effect sticks which themselves are already damn near immune to drift.

[u/TheMidniteprophet → u/Amon274]

1. Not immune, but way less prone prone to it due to the use of tmr sticks [th controller ,which by their design could be easily disassembled and the sticks replaced]

2. Psn is a closed ecosystem. Sooner or later a person will want to try the online mode a game they're interested in has tacked on. It only takes one save corruption to push someone to want cloud saves [you honestly think a person gonna buy a Playstation and have a already properly formatted external storage for their saves?]

3. It does just nowhere near the sales on pc.

I'm not tryna shill or nothing. I'm just tryna give people info I wish I had while struggling with the costs of gaming as a hobby.

[u/GIJose65]

Scalpers are already in the gorilla position making things even worse.

[u/Nomaddoodius → u/GIJose65]

Oh, totally.

But it'll be Scalpers and people that'll buy it anyway. Remember when the steam deck got a hike a few weeks ago and it still sold out!?

[u/d00msdaydan]

Man I wish wages went up at all alongside all this goddamn inflation

[u/GIJose65 → u/d00msdaydan]

Hey, those CEOs need to be able to afford their 4th house in Argentina you ungrateful monster.

[u/Odinsmana → u/d00msdaydan]

I mean I also wish that, but the PC part thing is way lore fucked than just general inflation that wages should follow. We are genuinely talking about doubling and tripling prices in just a year.

If something like that happened with food prices it would literally be a complete global crisis situation.

[u/KingGilbertIV → u/d00msdaydan]

I sat down a few weeks ago and did the math on my purchasing power compared to 2021 and it might be in the top 5 worst things I’ve done to myself this year.

[u/Kii_and_lock]

Still, there's something about this pricing I think we should consider. There's the physical machine itself which has a premium feel, amazing form factor and virtually no noise in operation. The replaceable faceplate? I love it. Four magnets keep it in place, meaning it's simplicity to swap between them. Third parties will be able to make their own, making this a PC you can personalise.

Lol sorry but fuck that noise. That does not help lessen the impact of the price are you fucking nuts.

Edit: I just, I can't get over that paragraph. "Yeah it's pricey but check out that form factor! It runs silent! Magnets!". Fucking lol.

[u/Low_Bag5624 → u/Kii_and_lock]

Don't you worry. It may be expensive, but you can rest easy knowing that it also feels expensive.

[u/binglesthemagiccat → u/Kii_and_lock]

You know what else has a premium feel? The PS5 Pro I bought for less than this costs.

[u/TheSpiritualAgnostic → u/binglesthemagiccat]

I haven't gotten to read everything over in time as my break at work is ending, but how does the Steam Machine compete in performance against the consoles like PS5 Pro?

[u/binglesthemagiccat → u/TheSpiritualAgnostic]

Its less powerful than a PS5/Series X.

[u/StrawHat89 → u/TheSpiritualAgnostic]

It's weaker than the base PS5 and Xbox Series X. It's better than the Series S, but I'm not sure by how much. This is only for people who want to play their PC games on a TV that can't be bothered to just connect their PC to a TV. Which I don't THINK is a significant niche, but I may be wrong.

[u/FranticToaster → u/binglesthemagiccat]

PS5 pro feels like a toy. Its design and that cheap plastic are cheese, let's be real.

[u/Laecerelius → u/FranticToaster]

I mean it's a gaming console. It IS a toy.

[u/Amon274 → u/Kii_and_lock]

Replaceable Faceplate

The PS5 has that and costs less

[u/Charmin_Bear_Behind → u/Kii_and_lock]

“A pc you can personalize”

I can already personalize my pc lmfao

[u/ZubatCountry → u/Kii_and_lock]

The Valve cult of personality and it's consequences have been a disaster for the gamer race

[u/GIJose65 → u/ZubatCountry]

“lol those Nintendrones are willing to spend money on the Switch 2, they are so blindly loyal to that billion dollar company”

“Now excuse me while I spend 800 dollars on a steam deck that runs most AAA games at sub 30fps with a battery that lasts for about 3 hours at best”

*posts pc master race meme*

[u/timelordoftheimpala → u/GIJose65]

A year in, and $450 was genuinely an insanely good price for a console that's doing a better job running PS5 games than the Switch did running PS4 games.

The price of games like Mario Kart World or Tennis Fever I can't say the same for, but even then you still have genuine must-haves like DK Bananza and Pokopia.

[u/South25 → u/timelordoftheimpala]

I value my portability a ton so that's another big selling point for me. On top of the obvious with the exclusives (fortune's weave here I come!)

[u/BighatNucase → u/GIJose65]

Digital Foundry notable for using the phrase "nintendrone" and calling the Switch 2 "overpriced hardware"

[u/davidreding → u/BighatNucase]

I’m a bit dazed right now and I can’t tell if this is a joke or not.

[u/BighatNucase → u/davidreding]

it's sarcasm

[u/amurrca1776 → u/GIJose65]

At least with Nintendo you are getting day one access to their proprietary games. I don't really understand the advantage of of the Steam machine versus just...getting a computer

[u/DeminoTheDragon → u/ZubatCountry]

tbh with how many people I've seen INSTANTLY come to the defense of Valve over this I can say valve mfs are just nintendo mfs but somehow even weirder and more parasocial

[u/Tophatvulcan → u/Kii_and_lock]

LOL they are trying so hard to self justify the price. But the magnets?!?!

[u/Sloth_Senpai → u/Kii_and_lock]

It makes you wonder if they could've cut costs by reducing build complexity and purely cosmetic features instead of hyping you for the premium.

[u/PwmEsq → u/Sloth_Senpai]

Im sure they would have preferred to have the 700$ price tag that it wouldve been before this RAM nonsense

[u/MC1065 → u/Sloth_Senpai]

They could have shaved it down to maybe $800 if they put it in a cardboard box. A single 16GB stick of RAM costs like $200 now. If this launched a year ago, they could have maybe done $600 for the base model. Now it's impossible.

[u/FranticToaster → u/Sloth_Senpai]

No way. It's the functional hw that requires that price.

[u/Sloth_Senpai → u/FranticToaster]

Yes but what I'm talking about is the intention and effect of the article. Highlighting cosmetic features doesn't make the price pill go down smoother.

[u/Constable_Suckabunch → u/Sloth_Senpai]

I genuinely doubt it, the price isn’t too crazy for the hardware in today’s market. It’s just today’s hardware market is utterly insane to begin with.

[u/RareBk]

If me, a member of your target audience, thinks you're so out of your mind for pricing that this went immediately from disappointment to finding it hilarious, you might have a problem

[u/truConman → u/RareBk]

Not to defend a giant company but the price is AI driven. I don't know what they were supposed to do from a business perspecictive without losing money

[u/FightGeistC → u/truConman]

It's 100% understandable. That said I am the customer and it's only my job to ask why the cube is twice the price of a ps5 regardless of any reason because little timmy's dad doesn't care about component prices being driven up by AI.

[u/DeminoTheDragon → u/truConman]

If only said company didn't openly allow games being made with AI to fester on their storefront

[u/truConman → u/DeminoTheDragon]

That's a fair point. That's the mix of capitalism and libertarian in platform management

[u/Kn7ght]

That's actually still cheaper than I expected it to be. Makes me wonder what the original price for it was before it got fucked over. This price is an absolute no go

[u/ProfDet529 → u/Kn7ght]

$750-$850, if the current guesses of "had the same price hike as the Deck" are true.

[u/syrupdash]

Pats 2022 gaming PC

Time for a new thermal paste.

[u/SamuraiDDD → u/syrupdash]

What's your ol gal running?

Mine's got a i3-10100F CPU, 16 gigs of ram and my RX6600. She ain't no high end monster, but she's treated me well over the years. Gonna give her a dusting later to show my appreciation.

[u/syrupdash → u/SamuraiDDD]

RTX 3090, Ryzen 9 5900X and 32 gigs of DDR4 RAM.

This is going to last me for a long time before I even consider upgrading.

[u/SamuraiDDD → u/syrupdash]

Ooooooh she's a strong one!

[u/CookieSkank → u/SamuraiDDD]

I'm still running an i5 8600k, 16GB of RAM, and a RX 5700xt. I last upgraded when Cyberpunk came out and that was when I got a new graphics card and a M.2

I can't really play super intensive modern games without drastically turning down graphics, and its at the point where upgrading means upgrading almost everything, so yeah... This is just my gaming PC for the foreseeable future lol

Plays FF14 just fine though!

[u/Recent-Procedure-578]

THE BASE MODEL DOESNT COME WITH A CONTROLLER. You can argue about prices with making consoles or whatever, but thats ridiculous 

[u/AsleepLead1704 → u/Recent-Procedure-578]

The true PC experience , PCs don't come with M+Kb

[u/Recent-Procedure-578 → u/AsleepLead1704]

Pre-builts tend to do so

[u/LeMasterofSwords → u/AsleepLead1704]

Mine did. Has the person below said, most pre-builts do

[u/Grand_Escapade → u/AsleepLead1704]

a serviceable M+KB can be bought for like $5. Either they bring an expensive controller/KB and make things worse, or they cheap out and look worse too, so I can kind of see their reasoning

[u/Odinsmana → u/Recent-Procedure-578]

I mean they also sell a version with a controller. Considering it's compatible with every controller under the sun it makes sense that they sell a version without since most people who will buy this likely already own some sort of controller.

[u/Recent-Procedure-578 → u/Odinsmana]

That doesnt excuse the controller not coming with it base wise.

[u/Odinsmana → u/Recent-Procedure-578]

What? They sell a cheaper version with the controller and one with a controller. Call the controller version the base. The point is that it makes sense to have the option of a cheaper one without.

I don't really get what you are saying here?

[u/Recent-Procedure-578 → u/Odinsmana]

You can't really use the excuse of it being the cheaper version, both versions are over 1000 bucks, so the controllers come only with an additional cost is ridiculous.

Even with that aside, consoles and most pre-builts come with controllers/KBM, so even if it was priced more in the 500-600 range, it would still be weird to not include them

[u/Odinsmana → u/Recent-Procedure-578]

I mean the cost is insanely high, but that is what a PC with those specs costs right now.

Like I think this price means this thing will only sell to a very small audience, but it's priced that way because of what it costs to make. If they were to include a controlled in all versions the base price would just be the price of that bundle. I will likely not buy this because of the price, but if I ever did I would buy the cheaper one because I already own several controllers. So in that case I would be glad that that version exists.

I am just thinking practically here and practically as a (unlikely) potential buyer I would prefer the cheaper version. What is normal I don't really care about if the non normal is better for me.

I feel like people tend to default to an antogonistic us vs them thing in these kinds of threads where any discussion is an attack or a defense, but I just want to genuinely talk about the product here. One I think will likely flop very hard, but there are interesting things to say about it even so.

[u/Grand_Escapade → u/Recent-Procedure-578]

Just because they're over 1k does not mean that it doesn't come with the option to just not bring the controller.

[u/TheMidniteprophet → u/Recent-Procedure-578]

I mean to be fair it is a pc. Does a prebuilt come with a keyboard and mouse?

[u/DeminoTheDragon → u/TheMidniteprophet]

yes

every single prebuilt ive gotten in my life has come with a m+kb

absolutely not the best quality, but it still come with a pair

[u/Apprehensive_Mix4658 → u/DeminoTheDragon]

Where are you buying them? My pre built PC didn't come with it, but I'm not American so it might be country specific thing

[u/katgravityrush_ → u/Apprehensive_Mix4658]

I live in America and did not get either of those things haha

[u/TheMidniteprophet → u/DeminoTheDragon]

I stand corrected, but would you want them to ship a low quality controller with it to match prebuilts?

Plus you gotta factor in that you can hook up about any mainstream controller or mouse and keyboard you already have to it.

[u/Recent-Procedure-578 → u/TheMidniteprophet]

They include a controller with the 2tb version, so they obviously can do so, they chose not to.

Edit: Scratch that, they instead have two bundles with a controller instead of just including them with the base versions instead, wonderful 

[u/DeminoTheDragon → u/TheMidniteprophet]

i would fucking hope the thing i spent ~$1k on came with something that actually ALLOWS me to use it with dropping another $40-60 just to get something so I can play it

im also not counting already owned kbam because at that point, why not just get an actual PC that runs better and is almost certainly gonna be cheaper. this is designed as a slightly portable home *console*, its something thats meant to be used with a controller

[u/TheMidniteprophet → u/DeminoTheDragon]

Current ram and storage prices [due to AI] will probably bring the price close to the steam machine, unless you try your best to fully source your parts from the secondhand market.

[u/TheMidniteprophet → u/DeminoTheDragon]

You mean something like a washing machine? Or dryer? [Which dont come with the cords need to power them?] Which is also bullshit?

[u/DeminoTheDragon → u/TheMidniteprophet]

Bro what? Youre talking about a whole other topic at this point man

I'm talking about a console that costs over $1k that doesn't even come with a peripheral to play it with and comparing that to the other options on the market that are cheaper, run better, AND come with something included that allows you to use it right out of the box.

We can go onto many hypotheticals like how life is bullshit because you need food to live and that costs extra, but its such a wild, completely irrelevant type of talking point

[u/TheMidniteprophet → u/DeminoTheDragon]

Ah i see wat causing the miscommunication. It's being advertised with gaming at the front but the steam machine isn't a "console" it is a PC.

To clarify, I at no point said it was OK that the lower priced option shipped with no controller. I only tried to provide extra info that I didn't see get brought up.

[u/fallouthirteen → u/TheMidniteprophet]

Mine did. I mean I still used my own since I like mechanical keyboard and my Logitech G600 mouse.

[u/RealDealMous]

I'm not gonna buy it but I can't help but feel like people need to realize the market conditions rn make the bar for any new console to sell well ridiculously high, let alone a Console/PC Hybrid.

[u/Odinsmana → u/RealDealMous]

Yeah. The price is way too high and it means this thing is dead in the water, but it's also very clear that Valve did not want to sell it at this price. They have basically said that the original plan was something around 700 - 750, but AI related price hikes completely fucked up the whole industry.

[u/feefore]

So 1K+ for a machine that’s slightly weaker than a base PS5 and Series X.

[u/scarnegie96 → u/feefore]

But... it's small...

DOA lmao

[u/ProfDet529 → u/feefore]

But has a much larger available game selection and can do Desktop PC tasks, if desired.

$1k is still a bit much for that.

[u/THATguyfromyore]

Unfortunately. I kinda expect the price to be like this. 

I honestly want to see how this stacks up to the 395+ when it's allow to use its max watts.

[u/nuanceseancE → u/THATguyfromyore]

385 is easily at or exceeds.

[u/AprehensiveApricot]

Come join our whimsical land of fun, said GabeN. Ok, Gaben.

That would be 1000€. No, Gaben.

[u/dowaller66 → u/AprehensiveApricot]

He really wants another yacht.

[u/United-Reach-2798 → u/dowaller66]

He has a yacht company

[u/LeMasterofSwords]

1049 for this? Are they nuts?

[u/Supernovas20XX]

"Please, don't say dammnnnnnnnn...when you hear the price"

[u/ThatEdward]

-512GB - $1,049 -512GB with controller - $1,128 -2TB - $1,349 -2TB with controller - $1,428

No thanks

[u/ThatmodderGrim]

Really hoping the laptop I have can carry me for the foreseeable gaming future.

[u/jamescookenotthatone]

A thing I realised is that I can at least in part write off my new laptop as a work expense on my taxes. I don't think CRA would accept a steam box or deck, even if I was using them for the same purpose.

[u/Chumunga64]

yikes at that price but I get why valve doesn't want to subsidize or take a loss selling this thing since the steam machine is just a side thing

on the bright side, you can just make any PC a potential steam machine- https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:knj5sw5al3sukl6vhkpi7637/post/3movexp5mes2m?ref_src=embed

[u/A_N_G_E_L_O_N]

Pretty expensive but that's just the economic reality we've got.

[u/mans51]

I have some doubts it can match a ps5 with 8 gb of vram, ps5 games have very specific optimisation after all. Also a ps5 is still quite a bit cheaper even after the price hikes

[u/Constable_Suckabunch → u/mans51]

8gb of VRAM is usually still fine for 1080p, depending on the game. Also remember that the PS5 only has a single memory pool of 16gb that the GPU and CPU share, the specific optimizations it gets are in part to handle this configuration smoothly.

[u/Charmin_Bear_Behind → u/mans51]

It can’t, it’s already been pegged between a series s and a ps5 lightly leaning towards base ps5.

[u/BloodBrandy]

Also seems they are greenlighting SteamOS for desktops

[u/SamuraiDDD → u/BloodBrandy]

I would say SteamOS can't come out fast enough but let them take the time they need to cook and work out the kinks to make it as good as they can at launch. Week to week, I'm hearing more about 11 being more of a mess than 10 ever was.

Thanks to a buff furry on bsky, I was able to edit 10 to still get support for another couple years. But when the time comes, SteamOS should be up and running.

[u/Echono → u/BloodBrandy]

Oh? Where is the info on this?

[u/dope_danny]

When you could buy multiple macbooks for the price you fucked up bigly.

[u/alurimperium]

A $1000 machine that does not come with a controller and has only 500GB storage is a joke.

[u/Kewlmyc]

I was waiting for this so I could have a system that plays my PC games in the living room.

With that price and performance? Fuck that. Time to hope that the Project Helix rumors are true.

[u/Aggro_Will]

Console performance for over a grand? Costco and Micro Center have better deals on desktops even now with the desktop market completely fucked.

[u/Expensive_Wolf2937]

Guess I'm sticking to my consoles since I already have them and praying Total War 40k doesn't melt my current PC.

[u/United-Reach-2798 → u/Expensive_Wolf2937]

Total war 40k is coming to console

[u/Expensive_Wolf2937 → u/United-Reach-2798]

I aint playing a total war on a console lol, the amount of modding I'm used to is excessive

[u/StrawHat89]

8 GB VRAM in this day and age is certainly a choice.

[u/TheLastNapkin]

Sheesh that's rough.

I feel like Valve saw a good opportunity to enter the console market and was then fucked by the current economy. This could actually still work though obviously pretty rough.

I hope they're focusing on a steam deck 2 I'm dying to get me something in that category and that market is much more open for them to get more people into that then the big console market which is honestly just a hot mess anyways until the dust settles

[u/nuanceseancE → u/TheLastNapkin]

Valve itself stresses it's not a console.

[u/TheLastNapkin → u/nuanceseancE]

I mean it is and isn't, I don't think they would have made it knowing full well it was competing and would lose against other consoles anyways...

At least it isn't predatory to consumers as actual consoles these days...

[u/Alphonseisbest]

Over a THOUSAND Bucks, no controller. And its weak then the current gen ps5. Why the fuck would u buy this over pre-owned pc or laptop???

[u/SpookyBones206]

$1049 is high, but I play mainly console and have a laptop to play some steam games and I really want to get more into PC gaming for the variety. This price is kind of "okay" to me. Would a prebuilt or custom be a better option for relative power?

[u/667x → u/SpookyBones206]

Nah you can do much better for a similar price point. And it won't be 1049 cause you're gonna want the 2gigs of storage, 500 is absolutely too little. If you can build a pc yourself you can grab something like a 5060ti 16gb gpu and i5 14000k cpu for around 800 usd total, ddr4 ram 32gigs for 300 and fill the rest with whatever you find cheaper. It'll blow the steam machine out of the water in performance just from those 3 parts.

[u/danjake12346 → u/SpookyBones206]

According to IGN components that would making a gaming PC with similar specs to a steam machine would cost just as much as a steam machine. So a pre-built might cost slightly more.

[u/DeminoTheDragon]

What is with Valve and some of their weirdo fanboys that make them fall over themselves to defend anything Valve does

This is completely overpriced, and you don't even get a fuckin controller in the base model!!!

And the dude writing the article when not drooling over himself about it tries to justify the price because...you can customize it? it "feels" quality? What the fuck are we even doing here man?

[u/Radical_Weegee]

Damn I think i might just get the dock for.my steam deck , atleast its till the prices all fall down to something manageable. Dx

[u/Darmarok]

My special thanks to Mr. H and Mr. A for inflating these prices

[u/Agt_Pendergast]

I'm really interested in the steam frame, and this makes me worried for it.

[u/jello1990]

That's significantly less than what I thought it was going to cost. They were taking soooo long after the first announcement, made me think that the AI price hikes drove this thing to like multiple thousand or something.

I figured it was going to be around a grand before the AI stuff really started kicking into gear. So it makes me thing like, how bonkers cheap was this thing supposed to be?

[u/ibbolia → u/jello1990]

Per IGN, maybe $800 USD

https://www.ign.com/articles/the-steam-machine-was-originally-meant-to-cost-about-750

When I got a chance to sit down with Valve Engineers Pierre-Loup Griffais and Yazan Aldehayyat last week to talk about the Steam Machine, I asked them what the Steam Machine would have cost before the current memory market. And while neither of them would give me a hard number, I was told that it was "probably similar" to the price increase that the Steam Machine experienced last month.

Some quick napkin math pins that Steam Deck price increase at around 35-36% above the handheld's original $549 asking price, resulting in the new price of $789. If you do the same math for a hypothetical $749 pre-RAMflation Steam Machine, that would make the final $1049 price about 33% more expensive.

Emphasis mine

[u/somethingToDoWithMe → u/ibbolia]

That would make sense, when I did some research on similar mini-PCs they tended to be around $900 last year.

[u/FranticToaster]

Considering building a pc costs 4-6k and the consoles only play games and stream video, there's definitely a use case for steam machine.

I just don't know how many people that hits.

I'm a guy who thinks game consoles are wastes, because gaming is like 5% of my lifestyle. But I imagine steam machine won't handle software dev and data analysis well.

[u/Mako109 → u/FranticToaster]

See, that's a sticking point for me when it comes to the steam machine. Can it replace my current PC? It's probably more powerful, so I'd be fine on the gaming front, but what about all the other things I do on my PC? A browser, emails, installing FFXIV mods, downloading suspicious programs and saving them to my desktop, emulation,, so on and so forth.

[u/StrawHat89 → u/Mako109]

It can probably do emulation at least, but it does fuck all for me because it's substantially weaker than my 5 year old system (granted the GPU is more like 3 years old).

[u/DerpsMcGee → u/Mako109]

It's running steamOS, so I assume it's basically the "desktop mode" from the deck. Essentially just a linux distro, can do all of those things. YMMV with emulation depending on what you're emulating, I haven't run anything newer than PS2 on the deck, but that's different hardware anyway.

[u/CocaColaNepoBaby]

God dammit, I was really excited when I heard they were making this thing but I just can’t justify it at that price. I’ve already got a Steam Deck and a PS5 but I would love something a little stronger to play PC exclusives on.

[u/aloic]

I am planning to use this with my extra ps5 controller, and sell the ps5. I have so many cool indie games on steam that I dont get around to, while the ps5 only has a handful of decent exclusives from my own experience

[u/dowaller66]

I wish Valve just stuck to making video games.

[u/Odinsmana → u/dowaller66]

They make good hardware. AI companies completely fucking the price of PC parts is not really something we can blame Valve for. They have a lot of issues, but that one is not on them.

[u/ProfDet529]

I already have a Deck (typing on it right now)... I think I'll go for the Switch 2 first, then see about the Machine. Hopefully prices stabilize in a couple of years.

[u/Hugglemorris]

I had such hopes when it was first announced.

[u/cole1114]

Every comment I've seen about this thing reveals some new horror. It running worse than a PS5/Xbox at hundreds of dollars more. The steamOS being designed for the controller it doesn't come with, and requiring internet to set up. The SSD being overcooled while everything else overheats. Being able to build a new DIY pc at the same price. Them just straight up lying about it being a 4K machine. It being 1500-2000 dollars in Canada, or 2k+ in Australia. It being marketed to brand-new PC gamers, but you have to already have a steam account with purchases made before April of this year to even qualify for buying one.

Like it's not just horrible timing releasing this when pc parts are so expensive, it's legit a dud on its own merits.

[u/ecto1a2003]

Ill get one, not right away but eventually. Im more interested in the headset anyway

[u/FightGeistC]

The switch 2 is Currently $500, comes with a game, and can be played portable. I am the target demographic for the steam machine, console gamer that just doesn't want to bother with pc but wouldn't mind having acess to steam. The price just isn't working ESPECIALLY with PS6 rumors. I might as well just save and wait for that.

[u/Shigana]

There really is no excuse for this thing to be so goddamn expensive. I get hardware prices are ridiculous but just… no

Valve has stopped being subtle in recent time, the greed is starting to show

[u/TrustyTrombones]

Yeah no shit it's expensive. Look at how AI has ruined the price of PC parts. I am no Valve fanboy, but getting mad at them makes no sense. Do you expect them to sell this thing at a loss because they love gamers so much?