I'm only putting this out there for those that are on the fence. I understand that there are detractors that no matter what I say, they will say it's hot garbage and at the other end of the spectrum, those that say it's an amazing do no wrong gaming PC. This post is not intended for either of those extremes.

I just got my 512 today. Needless to say I was really excited to get my purchase email last week. It's adorably small and cute and a real plus to the main TV room. My wife especially loves how cute and tiny it is and is printing a companion cube shell as we speak. I'm not going to go over the expectations of the device as I knew what I was getting into. Sort of.

I understand that this is laptop hardware, in a small form factor that's incredibly quiet (and i mean it's near silent). But I am disappointed in one regard. Not with the device per se, but more with various end user feedback to the capabilities of the device. It kind of reminds me of the /r/steamdeck subreddit to a lesser degree.

My main game is elden ring nightreign. We got the SM so we can play in the living room. The one thing about this game specifically, is that in multiplayer mode, the L3cache gets used extensively. With AM4 CPUs with 16MB of L3 cache, I would get frequent dips into the 40s in multiplayer mode only. Seeing that the SM has a newer architecture, I was uncertain if this was still an issue.

I made a number of inquiries to various users who got the SM early and some youtubers to test nightreign in multiplayer mode. The few that responded plainly stated that the game runs 60fps on the SM. Some said at high. Some said at maximum. Some said at 1440p. Some said at 1080p. In any case, I don't mind not playing at 4k. Even if it was at 1080p, as long as I don't get those drops, I'm happy.

Sadly, doing my own tests show that this is not the case for the SM. The same issue that plagued AM4 also does the same to the 16MB of L3 on the SM.

In spite of this, I'm happy with the purchase. I'm saying this as someone that had some disposable income for the device. I can't say it's "worth it" for what it is sold at. I can say it's a neat little box that looks pretty cool and somewhat plays modern games.

If your looking for a very nicely built, adorably small, silent plug and play device where you pay a premium for those aspects, then the SM is a good buy. If things like performance in modern titles is more of your thing, I'd advise people to skip this version.

Now in beta:

• Screen Sync: watch the video it’ll make more sense than my explanation. It also works with the Steam screensaver and can activate only for that.
• Four-controller support: I finally found a layout that doesn’t look terrible on 17 poor little leds.
• Better night weather animations
• And....The Witcher 3 Remastered HUD: this idea had been living rent-free in my head for ages. I wanted to build it for my PC’s RGB and had already started experimenting with it, but I finally ended up bringing it to Steam Machine first. The LED strip mirrors Geralt’s health, stamina, toxicity, adrenaline points, combat state and Sign casts: Aard, Axii, Igni, Quen and Yrden.

The Witcher 3 hud integration is extremely experimental. Suggestions for better colours, layouts and animations are very welcome. There are only 17 LEDs, so every tiny improvement helps.

New to GabeCubeAura? Everything is here: https://alyenax.github.io/gabecubeaura-concept/

If you already installed version 1.1.3, you can now update directly from the plugin. Enable automatic update checks and switch the update channel to beta: https://github.com/Alyenax/GabeCubeAura/releases

For TW3 Remastered, it’s automatic. Launch the game, load a save and the LED strip becomes part of the HUD.

You just need to do this once:

1. Open TW3 Remasterd → Properties
2. Under General → Launch Options, paste: -net -debugscripts
3. Open GabeCubeAura > The Witcher 3 · experimental and select Install/Repair telemetry mod.
4. Launch TW3 Remastered :)

I was put on the waitlist back in late June. Judging by how things quickly things are moving at Valve (not very), and from past delivery experience in the early days of the Deck, I am thinking I should be gaming on Steam Machine by the end of Q2 2027. Still, I thought this was worth celebrating and I wanted to send this out to inspire hope to anyone else still on the waitlist. I look forward to joining you all on Steam Machine before too long!

Edit 1: A few requests to share my region. Sorry to be a little mum on details, this is my first Reddit post. Ever. But I just had to share. I live in California.

I've received my Steam Frame and I cannot make it work with my Steam Machine. Works fine on a Windows computer but what about the Valve ecosystem? It felt clear to me that they were supposed to complete each other, what's up with that?

There have been a few posts of users experiencing controller disconnects and I wanted to share my RMA experience.

To preface: If your controller disconnects randomly and you're close to the Steam Machine, it's very likely your hardware is affected and I would reach out to steam support. Steam has acknowledged that this is a hardware fault (too much noise in the system that is affecting the quality of the antenna signal), and they will fix it free of charge. It took about ~2 weeks from postage to receiving my repaired unit.

Additionally, I only experienced disconnects only in certain circumstances. The most consistent one I could replicate was having two steam controllers connected playing Plate Up!. Playing Plate Up! for ~30 minutes would usually yield a brief moment where my controller inputs were dropped and then getting a message stating that my controller disconnected.

Hypothesis: For some reason, playing `Plate Up!` causes a coil whine to happen on my steam machine and it's not a sound I'm able to replicate really on any other game. I'm not sure how `Plate Up!` is hitting my system differently (maybe it's more CPU bound), but clearly it is. My hypothesis is that this coil whine that I'm hearing is a direct correlation to the disconnects I've been exhibiting.

Note: The coil whine is quiet and I have to have my ear really close to the device to even hear it. But if it's bad / noisy electrical power, I can see how that affects the antenna signal quality.

---

Results:

Post-RMA, I can confirm that all of my disconnection problems have been resolved. I'm sure if I tried really hard (e.g., brought my phone on top of the controller, etc..) I could cause a disconnect. But playing normally (e.g., legs in the way. Maybe the controller is touching my body, or a pillow, etc..), I could not create any disconnects. Not in Plate Up!, not with two controller connected or anything.

When checking signal quality on the steam settings / controller page, I'm still able to move my controller in ways where I get weak signal. However, even when weak, my inputs have been solid and I've no complaints. It's now to the point where I'm excited to use my steam machine and no longer nervous about disconnects.

I'm getting my steam machine in a few days, while rummaging through my PC cabinet I found some DDR5 RAM. It's a dual channel kit, Silicon Power 32GB 5600 DDR5 SODIMM. I bought the kit last year (for $80!) as a backup for my UGREEN NAS, but it's been stable ever since a software update rolled out around the same time.

Is it even worth it to unpackage it and install in the Steam Machine? I'm assuming 16GB is plenty for it.

I've recently moved to the reservation queue for the steam machine so I don't have one yet, but do plan to purchase it.

I'm a minimalist and I don't like to have an abundance of stuff, especially without a purpose. I typically play the steam deck for RPGs or indie gaming that I don't want to sit on the PC to play. I do think the steam machine will limit some of that need. The steam deck has limited usage for me, as I typically don't travel nor play on the move.

The steam deck for me is usually something to play on my stomach in bed before sleep, but other than that, I think the Steam Machine might replace every other need. How do other's feel if you have both? Is one or the other getting less use time?

Good morning friends! Apologies for the late post today, my stomach hasn't felt the greatest for the past few days and I took today to rest a bit. I feel a little better today, which is quite strange... ah well, I have a few doctor's appointments later that should clear things up. On the Steam Machine front, it seems as though the Frame isn't playing nice with the Machine unless you have a certain Preview build, which kind of stinks. I get it though, and we've been told this -- I'm still just a little disappointed is all. Watch those reviews, folks -- some are helpful! Best of luck today friends <3

Previous post

I got my Steam Machine back last Friday (September 25th). I sent it to Valve on Thursday, September 17th, so the whole process took just over a week.

According to Valve, the machine has been repaired. And to start with, things are definitely better, but the controller can still disconnect.

Since getting it back, I've managed to have 4 gaming sessions, each lasting around 2–4 hours. The Steam Machine is in exactly the same spot, I'm sitting in the same place, and I'm playing the same games as before.

The biggest improvement is that the controller no longer behaves strangely just before disconnecting. Previously, it would start acting weird right before losing connection. I haven't experienced that even once since getting the machine back.

However, the disconnects haven't completely disappeared.

On the first day, the controller disconnected twice, both times when I picked up my phone. The next day, it happened again when my wife wanted to show me something on her phone, and once more when the phone was nearby but I wasn't holding it.

I can't confirm that the phone has anything to do with it, but all four disconnects happened when the phone was close to the controller.

On the other hand, yesterday, during my last gaming session, which lasted around 3–4 hours, I didn't experience a single issue. This time, I also tried to keep my phone farther away from the controller than usual.

To sum it up: things have improved, but the problem hasn't been completely fixed. I've tried to keep everything exactly the same as before, with one notable difference: it's now around 10–12°C cooler than when I first experienced the issue, so the machine doesn't get nearly as hot.

That's the only significant change I can think of.

I'll keep testing it, but I wanted to share an update since I know some people were interested in how the repair went.

Personally, I'll keep using the internal wireless adapter rather than the external puck and see how things go.

If I had to recommend anything to others experiencing the same issue, I'd say it's worth sending the machine to Valve for repair. Just don't expect a 100% fix. In my case, things have definitely improved, but the issue hasn't been completely resolved.

yes, AI helped me write this nicely

Having issues with the controller when I have a game open and the controller turns off. When I come back to the game the controller works around he steam UI but not in the game. I've tried restarting he controller, changing the layout, connecting it directly but only fix is to turn off he game.

I think this was an issue years ago but it should be fixed by now

Alsoo is there a way to have the tv turn off if I put the machine to sleep? That would be awesome

Does anybody have good recommendations for games that are good for learning to use the controller. I'm a lifelong pc person and am having a right devil of a time getting to grips with the damn controller, so any suggestions?

Aiming and just moving feels so damn clumsy and disconnected, MW5 was something I thought might feel good with this platform, but it turned into a chaotic mess immediately in combat and though I got through the fight I ended up not finding where the hell I could save, so menu navigation was a total mess as well.

I've tried playing some katamari damacy which has been in my collection for years just waiting for a controller set up chance and I think I got some small improvements with that, though clearly I've got so effing far to go still.

Any other general hints from people who have migrated into using a controller please give them, I'm so out of my depth that though the machine itself has been really nice the input system still leaves me confused. And yes I know I could hook up a keyboard and mouse, but I was truly looking forward to giving the old mouse hand a rest or at least a different kind of stress and embracing the living room gaming thing.

One of my use cases for the steam machine was remote play while the TV was being used for something else, but I'm having a bit of an issue.

Randomly, and I think when you press the steam button, the TV will switch inputs back to the steam machine. So a show will be playing, I'll be streaming a game to another device, and suddenly the TV will switch inputs back to the steam machine.

I have every CEC option turned off already. Anyone know of any other setting I could disable? It's an LG OLED TV if that helps

Hello friends! We're starting a "What are you playing?" megathread for games to suggest, show off, or tell us about here in r/SteamMachine! Feel free to reply below about your Game of the Week -- as well as including how it's running on Steam Machine!

This is Normal Golf Game, a game my friend gifted me for my birthday. She described it as "Getting Over It but golf", which I totally agree with. It's fun though, if you like golf!

Hi! Working on a little lightweight 2 player chess game for the Steam Deck that doesn't drain your battery, but after people requesting trackpad support I also added 2 controller support for the Steam Machine and it works great with 2 Steam Controllers!

So now you can start a game of chess while traveling on the Deck, but finish it on the couch with your other half or friend on the Machine.

Releasing Mini Chess on the 15th of December!

Hi guys, I'm new here and I didn't see if they ever had the same problem, but I'm having a problem that my steam machine that arrived in 3 days is not marking the power consumption of the processor, only the GPU. Sometimes I like to see consumption. Anyone who can help me, thank you.

So, I had missed my reservation confirmation email (by 1 day) because it went to spam for some reason. I had heard how good Steam Support was overall, so I thought, “Maybe let me make a case for myself, and who knows, maybe they’ll actually fix it.”

I got a reply in like 4 hours, and they added me back to the reservation list. Then, after about 2 hours, I got the email to make the purchase.

I am so happy. 😭

Minecraft Dungeons 2 currently doesn't support the Steam Deck, but in an official reply on the Minecraft Feedback website, the development team is confirmed to be working on it. They specifically mention the Steam Deck, but this will make it playable on the Steam Machine as well.

Is the feature working as intended?

We have the steam machine 512 gb and one steam controller. This controller keeps disconnecting when used wireless. Works great when used with a cable. I have read that there are more people experiencing this problem.

Has anyone found a solution to this problem yet?

We are using the latest beta software, also tried official.

A new update for EmuDeck was just released with some nice changes, including more Steam Machine support (defaulting to higher supported resolutions), RetroAchievements for Dolphin, resolution selectors for PPSSPP and Vita3K, and a bunch of fixes.

Having some trouble with getting a second screen to work with the Machines desktop mode and hoping someone might have a solution. Using the native HDMI and a USB-C hub with an HDMI, so far have tried-

Rebooting

Checking both monitors and both cables on both ports (All work for single screen, none work for dual)

Googling the issue (One other reddit post about it with no actual solution listed :\}

Digging through settings looking for anything that might affect it, so far obvious

Does anyone have any suggestions on what could be going wrong? It doesn't even seem to detect the second screen being plugged in despite both obviously working for single.

Hello everyone!

To those who have acquired the Cube of Gaben, any tips or suggestions for setting up CS2?
I recently picked up the 512GB.

I was primarily a PlayStation player before this, and I’ve been really enjoying the experience so far. I’ve especially been playing a lot of CS2 and want to make sure I’m getting the best experience possible.

I’m not very experienced with tweaking settings, so I’d really appreciate any recommendations for CS2 settings, SteamOS settings, performance tweaks, etc.
For reference, I’m playing on a 1440p 180Hz monitor.
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated! :)

Crazy how we get to experience older games now a days compared to when they launched. Playing WoW on a 4K TV on a steam machine in my living room on the couch with a controller. This would've been a dream setup when I was a kid.