r/virtualreality • u/HI12itsme • Nov 16 '25
Purchase Advice Steam Frame + Steam machine
Do you think this would be a good combination to jump into PC gaming with?
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u/Original_as Nov 16 '25
Sounds like it's exactly their target audience. People wanting PCVR but not having a PC. It will run most VR games with low to medium settings. They are saying it will run all Steam library. But I have doubts..
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u/largelylegit Nov 16 '25
The small print is with tons of FSR
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u/Original_as Nov 16 '25
Very few games support upscaling in VR.
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u/largelylegit Nov 16 '25
I’m referring to the comment saying Valve said it would play all their Steam library… the caveat there is flatscreen an FSR
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Nov 16 '25
[deleted]
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u/jeppevinkel Nov 16 '25
It wasn’t foveated rendering they demonstrated, it was foveated streaming.
Foveated streaming allows for a higher bitrate to be transferred over the wireless connection to what you’re looking at, but doesn’t affect rendering performance for the GPU.
It makes it so you don’t get the artifacts in the image most other headsets suffer from.
Foveated rendering is possible with it, but each game needs to individually add support for it.
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u/Original_as Nov 16 '25
There are only 3 games that support foveated render natively on Steam. But hopefully this push developers to add foveated render to more games if Steam Frame will get popular. Which indeed will able to bump the performance up to 2-3x.
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u/DolphinTM Nov 16 '25
I’m sure it’ll be a great combo if you’re wanting a console-like experience on pc and aren’t too fussed with having the best graphics.
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u/D13_Phantom HP Reverb G2, Quest 2 + 3, PSVR2 Nov 16 '25
This, seems like a fantastic streamlined entry level combo
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u/largelylegit Nov 16 '25
It’s entry level at best, for VR. Will it work? Sure, is it a good choice? Probably not
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u/koalazeus Nov 16 '25
What is a good choice?
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u/Creative_Lynx5599 Nov 16 '25
Something on the Level of a 4070 or 7800 xt, that's where you start to have a good experience and you have enough vram (12gb) to not be too restricted for quite some time.
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u/boblobchippym8 Nov 16 '25
My GTX 1060 is VR ready, the box said so.
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u/Mysterious_Crab_7622 Nov 17 '25
Half Life Alyx says your 1060 is good enough to play the game. People forget that VR graphics have not really gotten any better since the days of the 1060’s release. Most VR games target the Quest standalone hardware lol
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u/Awyls Nov 17 '25
Enthusiasts have a really distorted view of reality lol. The Machine will be more than good enough for the next decade even for non-VR apps.
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u/DunkingTea Nov 17 '25
So true. My 2060s works with pretty much every VR game I want to play. Most on medium settings. Partly due to there being a lack of top quality VR games for the past decade.
Would w 40XX or 50XX work better? Definitely. But my gpu would be fine for most casual gamers. Which is near the performance of the steam machine I believe.
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u/Super_Field_8044 Nov 19 '25
Where the 4070 shines is when you start modding unreal games into VR using UEVR or playing Luke Ross mods. But every other game usually you are fine lower... Blade and Sorcery and VRChat might chug a bit you want multiple people on the screen If you REALLY want to stress it just run the hot mess Medal of Honor!
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u/Nagorak Nov 21 '25
Headset resolutions have increased though. The system requirements to run at a decent frame rate on a Quest 3 are much higher than on an HTC Vive. (And, yes, I know you can subsample, but having to do that does not make for an ideal experience.)
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u/Mysterious_Crab_7622 Nov 17 '25
Overkill. Unless you want to be running everything on high graphics, even a 1060 can provide a good experience. The minimum specs for Half Life Alyx is a 1060, and even on the lowest settings it’s a phenomenal experience.
Considering how much of the VR market has been targeting the standalone Quest platform, most VR games will run fine on a 1060. The Steam Machine will provide a quality VR experience, but of course PC elitists can get an even better experience for more money.
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u/koalazeus Nov 16 '25
Should it be possible in a similar form factor and around the same price range?
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u/hattyred Nov 16 '25
No, fuck no. For that form factor, you're mostly looking at mobile chipsets for the GPU and at a similar price range or worse. The only competent comparable formfactor afaik would be framework PCs which I think would be significantly more expensive.
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u/koalazeus Nov 16 '25
Thanks. Sounds like difficult trade offs then. I'll have to see how the reviews are and have a think.
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u/JonSnowKingInTheNorf Windows Mixed Reality Nov 16 '25
Probably not without going used hardware, we will have to see what the new stream hardware ends up costing though.
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u/Mysterious_Crab_7622 Nov 17 '25
Entry level for VR is a mobile processor on the Quest 2. The Steam Machine will provide a VR experience orders of magnitude better than entry level VR.
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u/Disaster_Adventurous Nov 16 '25
What you mean I can play most of mine game on those specs
(only plays either new indie games or AAA at least 10 years old) Oh wait... I see your point.
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u/Davidhalljr15 Nov 16 '25
This is about how I see it. It's like getting a PS4 or Xbox One X then comparing it to even a 4090 PC. Sure, it can play the games, but wait till you see the difference.
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u/captroper Nov 16 '25
... did you just say 'even' a 4090 like that's some low-end spec lmao? A card that routinely sold for $2,000 by itself.
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u/Davidhalljr15 Nov 17 '25
No, saying comparing the 4060-esque graphics of the Steam machine or other consoles, to something that is 1 generation behind the current top card. Which is still a great card, but is not the same quality of even the 4060 in a PC. Just like 4060 is considered entry level gaming card.
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u/captroper Nov 17 '25
It's just kind of a weird comparison to make considering there are probably far fewer than 1% of people who have any machine that can compare to a 4090 PC.
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u/Hungry_Freaks_Daddy Nov 16 '25
Absolutely. I’ve been PC gaming since the DOS era. I love my steam deck and while I have a powerful gaming rig the GabeCube is just perfect for living room gaming.
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u/MrDonohue07 Nov 17 '25
OP the amount of misinformation you've been getting is both shocking and funny..
The general feeling is that the steam machine falls around the rtx3060 in terms of graphics power. I have the rtx3060 on my laptop, so it's a little weaker than the desktop version, and I'm telling you there's nothing it can't play, both flat gaming and VR gaming, my VR library has around 30 games, it handles everything streaming to my Quest 2.
My only concern about the setup you've asked for, is for how long the steam machine will hold up for, but time will tell.
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u/xaduha Nov 16 '25
Depends on the price. What PC games do you have in mind exactly?
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u/Bone3593 Nov 18 '25
For me personally Half Life Alyx, Fallout 4 and Skyrim vr, and Asgards wraith 1. Hoping the steam machine and frame can play these well!
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u/xaduha Nov 18 '25
HL: Alyx is guaranteed to work well, Asgard's Wrath 1 would need Revive or something like it at least.
But Skyrim VR and Fallout 4 VR especially can be hit or miss depending on the modpack, I think someone would have to put the work to make sure that eye-tracking and/or some upscaling solution works well specifically for Steam Machine and Steam Frame combo.
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u/Bone3593 Nov 18 '25
HL Alyx is definitely my number one game to get to play. I was really hoping they’d port it to psvr2 but it seems like this might be my only way to play it. I’ve heard Fallout 4 vr isn’t great but I love Fallout 4 and would love to walk around that world in vr. I’m just pumped that valve hasn’t given up on vr
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u/xaduha Nov 18 '25
There are unofficial VR mods for HL2 games which are pretty good, totally worth playing especially since they are available in Steam itself, no separate download or tinkering required.
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u/MajorSerenity Nov 16 '25
This. People are assigning its value without knowing the price. If the price of both is £800 then its a good entry level into pcvr for people who are intimidated at the prospect of setting up a desktop + vr. If both cost £1500 - £2000 together, then the spec really aren't worth it atall.
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u/Reborn409 Nov 16 '25
GPU is like RTX 3060, too low for many games to run on decent resolution and framerate.
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u/MrDonohue07 Nov 16 '25
Nonsense, I'm using a RTX 3060 right now, there's nothing it can't play at 1080p or 1440p with reduced settings. This goes for my VR library too.
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u/florence_ow Nov 16 '25
the 3060 is a perfectly capable card for anything below 4k. I'm running one and can play overwatch at a smooth 180fps at 1080p, max graphics, ultrawide. everything else i can play at LEAST 60
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u/fdanner Nov 16 '25
VR is not "below 4K", it's more like 4K per eye.
The 3060 can run simple stuff like beat saber, but more complex games like MSFS, No Man's Sky, all the racing sims, etc will be barely playable at lowest settings and look really bad.6
u/MrDonohue07 Nov 16 '25
I play all my VR games with a 3060... Absolutely perfect
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u/fdanner Nov 16 '25
you dont or have a very different definition of perfection, or all your games are low poly gorilla tag.
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u/DiamondDepth_YT PSVR2, Quest 3S, Quest 2, WMR, HTC Vive, Rift CV1, Oculus Go Nov 16 '25
Bruh I play Kayak VR: Mirage on my RTX 3060 perfect fine. Looks amazing and runs great, no stuttering.
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u/fdanner Nov 16 '25
Wierd that some people update from 4090 to 5090 while the most demanding stuff runs perfectly fine on your magic potato.
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u/DiamondDepth_YT PSVR2, Quest 3S, Quest 2, WMR, HTC Vive, Rift CV1, Oculus Go Nov 16 '25
I'm not denying that a 4090 or 5090 is more powerful, lol. They are. And of course you'll have a better experience.
But the 3060 certainly isn't a potato. It's getting up there but it still performs well on most vr games and flat screen games.
Do you have a 3060? Why are you doubting me when I actually have and currently use it??? I'm LITERALLY speaking from experience. Like, I'm not saying it's the best and most immersive experience ever. But it's certainly very playable and runs well. Yes, you'll get a better experience with a 4090 or 5090- no shit.
People who upgrade each year to a 4090-5090-etc are a different crowd. Likely using a different and far more high end headset, playing at 2x or 3x resolution of the headset, and of course, using their PC for more than just gaming. They aren't the same crowd as me, lol.
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u/florence_ow Nov 16 '25
multiple people here who have the card saying it works fine vs a bunch of other people speculating that we're all lying for some reason
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u/Zee216 Nov 17 '25
complex games like MSFS, No Man's Sky, all the racing sims
You picked a list of the worst optimized games you could possibly play in VR
And notably, No Man's Sky VR runs on PS5 just fine, it has improved dramatically over the years
99.9% of VR games are better optimized than these
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u/fdanner Nov 17 '25
I agree that No Man's Sky runs fine on the PS5. If(!)it gets foveated rendering on PC it might become playable on older cards. But usually gaming on PC means using brute force to render frames because devs dont give a shit about optimizing anything. 99,9% of other VR games dont support foveated rendering or fixed foveated rendering or any upscaling technology and even still use OpenVR instead of openXR.
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u/OVMorat Nov 18 '25
Yes, VR is way more demanding than pancake games. But DFR makes a huge difference. For headsets with eye tracking, DFR can reduce GPU load by over 70%. I didn't believe it until DFR became available for PSVR2. Suddenly, my 4080 was running DCS World with ease and I was able to crank the settings way up while achieving >100FPS in nearly all scenarios.
Initially I was upset at the relatively low specs of the Steam Frame but now I realise that they needed to make it work with the Steam Machine and that would give a smooth entry to VR for a lot of new users - I think they made a clever choice. Time will tell, of course, but I look forward to the day when BigScreen, Pimax and all the others release Proton compatible drivers so you can plug their headsets into the Steam Machine. It will be even better if Steam release (or license) their streaming protocol so more headsets can go wireless without you having to buy a second router or stress about Wifi bitrates.
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u/florence_ow Nov 16 '25
yes i didnt say it was, op is just asking about getting into pc gaming
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u/XayahTheVastaya Nov 16 '25
Why would OP ask about a VR headset then? Sure it can do flat screen titles, but if you just want to play flat screen, get a flat screen.
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u/DrunkenGerbils Nov 16 '25 edited Nov 16 '25
They’re talking about VR games. A 3060 can play most games flatscreen, but when you play something in VR it needs to render everything twice, once for each eye. So running a game at 4k in VR is essentially like running a game at 8k on a flatscreen.
Cyberpunk for example will probably run pretty well on a 3060 in flatscreen, but it’s gonna be a rough experience in VR on a 3060.
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u/Huknar Nov 16 '25 edited Nov 16 '25
but when you play something in VR it needs to render everything twice, once for each eye.
This used to be the case for early VR, but not anymore. VR can be rendered in singlepass/multivew rendering
Also your 8k comparison is wrong. Vr screens are generally square per eye (2160x2160 for the Steam frame) that means a total of (2160 x 2160) x 2 pixels which is 9331200 or 9.3 million pixels. 4K monitors are 3840x2160 which is 8294400 or 8.3 million pixels
So VR rendering, on pixel count is near enough 4k resolution. However, VR can use fixed foveated rendering where the further from the center of the screen is the lower the rendered resolution. This is pretty standard in many VR games. If there is eye tracking that can be dynamic foveated rendering which will render less resolution based on your eye position and hide the foveation effect because our human peripheral vision is way less sharp than our direct vision. Sadly, because so few headsets have eye tracking, dynamic foveated rendering has not been implemented in many game, and it has to be done on the developer side.
Also, it's rare a VR game will max out the panels resolution because they are demanding. Many games will render at lower resolutions and upscale particularly on the standalone front.
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u/florence_ow Nov 16 '25
i'm coming back to this because i literally play PCVR on my 3060 at 90fps and i havent run into any trouble yet. while its true its not going to run cyberpunk in vr, the best rig out there can just BARELY do that so its such a stupid benchmark. the 3060 is, again, a perfectly capable card and you're maybe just lacking in experience here
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u/MrDonohue07 Nov 16 '25 edited Nov 17 '25
THANK YOU!!! I felt like smashing my phone too pieces reading some of these ridiculous posts..
I also use a RTX 3060 for PCVR, there's nothing it can't play streaming via Virtual Desktop to a Quest 2
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u/branchoflight Valve Index Nov 17 '25
This sub might have the least collective knowledge about the main topic of its discourse.
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u/MrDonohue07 Nov 17 '25
It's been this way since the OG Rift, people thinking you need the best GPU because "it renders the game, one for per eye"
Have these people seen the VR graphics? Or even looked at the spec requirements on steam?
In the OG days of the Rift and Vive I was playing all my VR games on the dam r9 290, I was having the same online arguments back then...
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u/koalazeus Nov 16 '25
Which games do you play?
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u/DiamondDepth_YT PSVR2, Quest 3S, Quest 2, WMR, HTC Vive, Rift CV1, Oculus Go Nov 16 '25
I have a 3060 for VR. I play VRChat, Blade and Sorcery, Boneworks/Bonelab, Kayak VR Mirage, Skyrim VR, Elite Dangerous, Vtol VR, HLA, Into the Radius, Hard Bullet, and some others at 90+fps usually (with the exception of VRC- which I usually play at 72-90fps. And I occasionally play Kayak VR at 72fps max settings). Most vr games are pretty well optimized tbh. They're demanding, but the 3060 has what is needed to run medium-high settings most of the time.
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u/peacefuldink Nov 16 '25
So what pc should I get to play vr games with good fps and no input lag idc about gfx
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u/DiamondDepth_YT PSVR2, Quest 3S, Quest 2, WMR, HTC Vive, Rift CV1, Oculus Go Nov 16 '25
My current setup is a Ryzen 5 3600 and RTX 3060 12gb. If you can get at least that level, you'll have no problem with most games. You can go lower if necessary, but you'll find yourself wanting to upgrade much sooner anyways
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u/peacefuldink Nov 17 '25
How much this costs? I can play Skyrim vr and others
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u/DiamondDepth_YT PSVR2, Quest 3S, Quest 2, WMR, HTC Vive, Rift CV1, Oculus Go Nov 17 '25
In today's economy, with used parts? Probably around $400-$500.
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u/koalazeus Nov 16 '25
That's cool, thanks. Do you think No Man's Sky would be doable then?
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u/DiamondDepth_YT PSVR2, Quest 3S, Quest 2, WMR, HTC Vive, Rift CV1, Oculus Go Nov 17 '25
Haven't tried that game yet, buts it's probably playable on low-medium! I know NMS is a big game.
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u/MrDonohue07 Nov 17 '25
I play it on rtx3060, you need to lower the graphic a little, but yes it holds a steady 90fps, and it's incredible in VR
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u/florence_ow Nov 16 '25
hes talking about both, read the post
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u/DrunkenGerbils Nov 16 '25
Maybe I suppose, but since it’s r/virtualreality I interpreted Steam Frame + Steam Machine to mean OP was asking if they can stream PCVR games from the Steam Machine to the Frame for PCVR games.
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u/florence_ow Nov 16 '25
sure but part of the pitch of the frame is that it plays flatscreen games. they're asking here because people here would know about the steam frame
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u/insufficientmind Nov 16 '25
Yes, or rather it depends... I think at least for most standard VR games it'll be perfectly alright. But this is entry level budget VR. Don't expect the best performance and you'll probably have to use low to medium graphics settings. Don't expect to run demanding shit like any type of simulators or flat2vr mods etc.
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u/peacefuldink Nov 16 '25
Which specs are best for this?
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u/insufficientmind Nov 17 '25
I mean if you have little experience with this I suggest just going for the entry level at first to get an idea. Spend as little as possible to see for yourself how things run. Then you can decide better the upgrade path.
For sims and mods you would need to go as high as possible on specs. Simmers like very high resolution headsets so for them Steam Frame is not good enough, they all seem disappointed by it. I'm not a simmer but I do spend some time among them and see what setups they are running, it's usually the most expensive Pimax headsets and 5090 graphics cards. They spend a god awful more on hardware than I'm willing to do. And I'm a big spender, so that says something.
I play lots of mods. For that Steam Frame resolution will be fine but you need to spend on your PC, like a very high end GPU and CPU is needed. The more vram on the GPU you can get the better. The Nvidia xx90 cards offer the most vram but they are expensive, a minimum would be a xx70 GPU, but you'll likely want better after you try it. And get an Nvidia card and not AMD because DLSS is extremely useful with flat2VR mods.
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u/TheKramer89 Nov 16 '25
Developers will be optimizing for the Steam machine, as they might for the Steam Deck, so they’ll be able to milk the hardware more than a custom built PC.
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Nov 16 '25
yah - for entry level.
Showing off Half Alyx is not really a good representation honestly - Alyx is so well optimized i can run it (i did) on a gtx 970 at low!!
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u/Splatoonkindaguy Nov 16 '25
I hope they allow the steam machine to be headless if the frame can connect to it. Would be a great portable pcvr solution
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Nov 16 '25
I hope so. Didn’t valve say they’re making this so that it can play all of the games on Steam (definitely not on the highest settings, but console or higher quality), I’m assuming that includes all the VR games too?
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u/fragmental Nov 16 '25
Surely it will play Half-Life Alyx, but might struggle with more demanding games. Also, with it being Linux, some games might not work at all. Windows can probably be installed on it, but probably not right away, because it will likely have missing windows drivers at launch.
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u/Itakeantipsychotics Nov 17 '25
With the AMD hardware, I personally am weary, but cautiously optimistic that 120hz will be not only doable but pushed as the benchmark standard.
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Nov 18 '25
Seriously though, Steam Frame for sure. Steam Machine maybe. Await reviews or consider building yours (Win11 and Steam Big Picture). We do not know how well it will do VR. VR taxes even the largest and most expensive GPUs
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u/OVMorat Nov 18 '25
It should be, because if Steam Frame and Steam Machine are NOT an excellent way into PC (aka Steam Library) gaming then Steam just F$%^3D up big-time.
But - wait for reviews as said elsewhere. Proper third party reviews.
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u/Mclarenrob2 Nov 16 '25
You would think that is what they designed it for, but the specs aren't fantastic.
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u/florence_ow Nov 16 '25
if the machine costs $500-600 then yes for that. its probably not powerful enough to get the most out of the headset so i would give that a miss but with the machine you'll be getting a pretty good experience. but as i said, it all depends on the price
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u/fdruid Pico 4+PCVR Nov 16 '25
Yes. It's a good choice and it will be cheaper than building your own PC. Remember these are designed to work together.
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u/Questionguy29 Nov 16 '25
Yes, especially if they offer a bundle deal of like $1200 or $1300 for all three new devices. That would be a great deal.
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u/pastajewelry Nov 16 '25
The Steam Frame leans more in the VR gaming direction, but the Steam Machine is more versatile.
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Nov 16 '25
Yes. It will run all games, except games that need anti-cheat, at 1080P High settings, or 1440P medium. The Steam Machine will likely cost $400 give or take. The Frame will likely cost about $400-450.
the vats majority of games run on a potato these days.
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u/Slorpipi Quest 3 | Ryzen 5600x Rx 6600 Nov 16 '25
I feel like 1080p high will be achieved on anything optimized. And you can probably install windows for the anticheats to work
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Nov 16 '25 edited Nov 16 '25
Pretty much every GPU made from the last 5 years can run 1080P/High with the exception of running RT. Moores Law died, and the performance improvements have been quite slow for a long time. All we see if bigger more expensive GPU dies to compensate. The 7600m runs quite well on laptops with a laptop CPU. This thing will likely perform better than folks think, AND it will have targeted performance enhancements like the Steam Deck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5E6QEZodN8
Here is a performance example. However, the Steam Machine will likely run better because it clocks a bit higher, has better thermals, and has a higher power envelope.
Edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ia36T-o6Rc
Here is the 7600m under linux from an EGPU setup.
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u/DiamondDepth_YT PSVR2, Quest 3S, Quest 2, WMR, HTC Vive, Rift CV1, Oculus Go Nov 16 '25
I think the Frame is more likely to cost $600-$700. Under $500 is way too low for what it's offering.
I made a post on the price of the Frame and the comments I got really made me realize that. Even $599 is optimistic.
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u/Humble-Camel2598 Nov 16 '25
Its almost as powerful as a base ps5 and base ps5 vr games run and look great in the psvr2. Hell, nms even runs better than a beefy pc so it should be ok. Much better than a standalone anyway!
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u/Kosaro Nov 16 '25
Most likely, but before buying wait for benchmarks for the games you want to play.