Valve has still not confirmed pricing or availability for the Steam Machine. In the meantime, the developer of EmuDeck is selling an alternative called Playnix, which should outperform the Steam Machine thanks to an AMD Radeon RX 9600 XT 16 GB GPU.
Better than a machine which we don’t know the performance or price of? WOW!
But seriously, yeah you’re probably gonna be able to match steam machine performance with your own build, maybe under price or over depending on your region. However, you will not be able to put it in a sub 4L case. That’s the real trick valve is pulling.
Haven’t heard of any comparisons of NUC style machines. If any can match performance of the steam machine, they have real alternative possibilities. Just dont show me a PS5 sized pc and say it can equal performance… cause yeah… I wouldn’t dobt that, but that’s nothing special. Call me when you got it in a 16cm cube.
And the HUGE software push they’re making. Plus, Valve probably welcomes anybody joining in on the form factor. This isn’t console wars, Valve isn’t Microslop or Nintendo.
It has DDR4 so it uses the AM4 platform which means that the CPU is several years old. I’m sure it is a consequence from the RAM prices, DDR4 has not increased as much as the DDR5.
Probably not a solution for everyone but the steam deck really got me on SD Cards. An external reader would still suck, but I love how cheap you can find 512gb - 1tb sd cards. Very easy to travel with as well.
There’s another slot for storage and you might be able to replace the primary drive, like I did with my Legion Go. You should be able to do 4 TB, even more if there’s a SD card slot.
My minimum for a games drive is 1TB.
I don’t have a Gbit in download speeds. So I don’r want to download games every 5 days just so I can play something else.
I mean, you will almost certainly be able to build machines that outperform the Steam Machine 2 in bang-for-buck if Valve isn’t subsidizing it, which they said that they won’t. If not at release, then a few years in, because a console-style periodic hardware release model will lag whatever’s at the bleeding edge.
The desktop I’m typing this on isn’t gonna be cheaper than the Steam Machine 2, but it is unquestionably going to be more powerful.
But that’s not gonna be what the Steam Machine is for — you could always build a DIY gaming PC, unlike with consoles. It’s an open platform. I had a media PC plugged into my TV with a TV interface card a quarter-century back. What Valve is gonna be aiming for is going to be ease of use, the “you plug it into your TV, plug it into power, turn on gamepad, play games that target Steam Machine 2” thing. That’s where consoles have been able to pick up users that haven’t done the PC.
Also the real goal with it, like with the Deck, is to set a standard for what hardware games should run well on for the next several years, and to give PC manufacturers a target for what to match or improve on.
And I definitely hope that wake from controller can get standardized as a result from this (Bluetooth LE 5.5 extension anyone?) because you’ll see other manufacturers try to build it into their machines too
Also just generally revamp Bluetooth HID profiles for latency
Also, I am pretty sure the steam machine is smaller than I was able to achieve in my efforts to make a tiny gaming PC for the living room. That kind of thing can only be done at great effort.
This is interesting; specs look pretty solid for the price. Notably this uses DDR4 ram vs. the DDR5 in the Steam Machine which, given the current… situation… probably contributes a lot to the price point seeming reasonable.
Good photo. Was wondering how much space it would take. While the 9060xt is significantly better than the 7600m and FSR4, that Steam Machine is beautifully compact. No rush. Still hard to decide this or that. Also the SM coming with the Steam controller is a major plus even though 8bitdo gamepads are great
If it can outperform the steam machine, nice
The question is, is it gonna be a console-like experience? Just plug and play?
Having the most powerful hardware won’t matter at all if we can’t figure out a way to make people who aren’t tech savy be able to just sit down and play on it, without needing to know what Proton is.
The appear (AFAIK) of the Steam Machine, is this, you plug it in, grab the controller and go play, even if it doesn’t have the most top-of-the-line hardware, being hassle free is a huge win over any other.
Specially given how now, the Xbox, the PlayStation and the Switch 2 are direct competition. And they’re simple for a end-user who isn’t tech savy (well… Subjective, I find the Xbox UI to be a convoluted mess)
If the hardware has the compatibility for it, then yes
It probably is what they have in mind, but they could also go the route with some custom system. Unlikely but not impossible.
The issue if they go custom, is how much ground they’ll need to cover to reach SteamOS levels of plug 'n play
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The 9060 is very low performing… It’s that what the steam machine has as well?
I have a 2080ti with a higher passmark score, and that thing is from 2018.
well no shit
Expensive PC in outperforms cheaper PC shocker! Read all about it!
Better than a machine which we don’t know the performance or price of? WOW!
But seriously, yeah you’re probably gonna be able to match steam machine performance with your own build, maybe under price or over depending on your region. However, you will not be able to put it in a sub 4L case. That’s the real trick valve is pulling.
Haven’t heard of any comparisons of NUC style machines. If any can match performance of the steam machine, they have real alternative possibilities. Just dont show me a PS5 sized pc and say it can equal performance… cause yeah… I wouldn’t dobt that, but that’s nothing special. Call me when you got it in a 16cm cube.
Isn’t the point of the steam machine the drivers, developer optimisation, and plug and play aspect, this is just another computer.
It’s like the Steam Deck vs Windows handhelds debate. Don’t care if it’s faster if it isn’t as convenient as Valve’s product.
Popular*
And the HUGE software push they’re making. Plus, Valve probably welcomes anybody joining in on the form factor. This isn’t console wars, Valve isn’t Microslop or Nintendo.
The author is obviously not a fan of valve. The bias comes through in their word choice
It is impossible to have better performance than the Steam Machine, because the Steam Machine doesn’t even exist yet !
Yeah, I mean… This is just “company releases Linux gaming pc” and just noting that it has a better graphics card than the Steam Machine.
Ackshually there have been a few Steam Machines sold back when they were introduced. They should be horribly outdated by now.
Costing…how much?
I can compare a city car with a super car.
Obviously has no merit but hey: Who cares ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
$1139
It also looks at least twice as large
And honestly since the steam deck I kinda trust valve with hardware build quality.
Volume wise maybe but it’s low enough to fit in a standard TV unit. The boxy design of the Steam Machine doesn’t look very compact to me.
I haven’t kept up with hardware prices but this seems fair to me.
It has DDR4 so it uses the AM4 platform which means that the CPU is several years old. I’m sure it is a consequence from the RAM prices, DDR4 has not increased as much as the DDR5.
Do feel like 512GB isn’t a lot these days. Especially with bigger libraries.
Probably not a solution for everyone but the steam deck really got me on SD Cards. An external reader would still suck, but I love how cheap you can find 512gb - 1tb sd cards. Very easy to travel with as well.
Do you run them from the SD cards or just install them onto the main machine from there?
Sorry for the Starter questions but ive been out of the non-console game for about 20 years.
You can run them off SD cards. There’s a hit to loading speeds, but it’s not that mucn
For my deck specifically i keep em all on the SD Card, somehow valve made it so that I personally don’t see a difference between nvme and sdcard.
For my pc yes, I just use it to transfer to my gaming ssd/nvme storage, but thats primarily because my internet is slowerthan the transfer rates.
I probably wouldn’t try running helldivers on my pc through an external card for instance, but it would work perfectly on my deck in that form.
There’s another slot for storage and you might be able to replace the primary drive, like I did with my Legion Go. You should be able to do 4 TB, even more if there’s a SD card slot.
Yeah, but you gotta open it up. Valves SD card design that allows you to go from handheld to console is pretty damn nice and convenient.
Not for today’s sad prices. Holy moley.
My minimum for a games drive is 1TB.
I don’t have a Gbit in download speeds. So I don’r want to download games every 5 days just so I can play something else.
cries in BRL and 96% import tax
You can do way more performance than that for not much more money, if you’re willing to try something unorthodox in a different way:
AOOSTAR Gem 12 Max Mini PC
$580 ($550 for Amazon simps)
CPU: Ryzen 7 8745HS ( 8C / 16T / base 3.8 Ghz / max 5.10 Ghz)
(approximately multi thread performance equivalent to a Ryzen 5 9600 AM5 socket)
RAM: 24 GB DDR5
SSD: 1TB
Power: Max draw 70w (on its own)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GGB5L9P7/?psc=0
XFX RX 9070 OC (16 GB GDDR6)
$640
Power: ~220w
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXLBTL4B/?psc=1
EG01 OCulink eGPU Dock
$100
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G1STZM7H/?psc=1
ASRock PRO-650 G PSU
$50
Power: 650w (way more than what you need)
Gold Rated
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FSTL4VDZ/?psc=1
Total pretax cost: ~$1370
Cost %: +~17% compared to Playnix
50% more RAM, also its DDR5
100% more SSD capacity
GPU 3DBenchmark = +~60%
OCuLink is at worst gonna knock 5%-10% off of performance/fps, compared to similar hardware just connected directly via PCIe 16.
… should basically crush almost anything at 1440p, if you turn off RT when you want higher fps.
Or you can maybe find a cheaper 9070, or perhaps go with a 500w PSU, which is still more than enough, to lower that total cost a bit.
Is there an option to order it without the 8BitDo controller?
I mean, you will almost certainly be able to build machines that outperform the Steam Machine 2 in bang-for-buck if Valve isn’t subsidizing it, which they said that they won’t. If not at release, then a few years in, because a console-style periodic hardware release model will lag whatever’s at the bleeding edge.
The desktop I’m typing this on isn’t gonna be cheaper than the Steam Machine 2, but it is unquestionably going to be more powerful.
But that’s not gonna be what the Steam Machine is for — you could always build a DIY gaming PC, unlike with consoles. It’s an open platform. I had a media PC plugged into my TV with a TV interface card a quarter-century back. What Valve is gonna be aiming for is going to be ease of use, the “you plug it into your TV, plug it into power, turn on gamepad, play games that target Steam Machine 2” thing. That’s where consoles have been able to pick up users that haven’t done the PC.
Also the real goal with it, like with the Deck, is to set a standard for what hardware games should run well on for the next several years, and to give PC manufacturers a target for what to match or improve on.
And I definitely hope that wake from controller can get standardized as a result from this (Bluetooth LE 5.5 extension anyone?) because you’ll see other manufacturers try to build it into their machines too
Also just generally revamp Bluetooth HID profiles for latency
Also, I am pretty sure the steam machine is smaller than I was able to achieve in my efforts to make a tiny gaming PC for the living room. That kind of thing can only be done at great effort.
I mostly wanna know how much power the steam machine will need. I’ve got to invert it from 12v DC.
Just sayin, Steam Machine hasnt been released yet, the specs might change and the software also makes a big difference.
This is interesting; specs look pretty solid for the price. Notably this uses DDR4 ram vs. the DDR5 in the Steam Machine which, given the current… situation… probably contributes a lot to the price point seeming reasonable.
Also 600W is likely several times more power draw than the Steam Machine is aiming for, however much that might matter to someone.
600W PSU does not mean it actually uses 600W
No but you’re paying for it to have that capacity
600W with that form factor? This thing is gonna be louder than a PS4
No Ryzen 5 is more than 95W, and the 9060 is a 200W card.
They could easily get away with a 400W PSU, similar to a PS5.
That’s more power than my server and desktop put out together when I’m gaming
Good photo. Was wondering how much space it would take. While the 9060xt is significantly better than the 7600m and FSR4, that Steam Machine is beautifully compact. No rush. Still hard to decide this or that. Also the SM coming with the Steam controller is a major plus even though 8bitdo gamepads are great
If it can outperform the steam machine, nice The question is, is it gonna be a console-like experience? Just plug and play?
Having the most powerful hardware won’t matter at all if we can’t figure out a way to make people who aren’t tech savy be able to just sit down and play on it, without needing to know what Proton is.
The appear (AFAIK) of the Steam Machine, is this, you plug it in, grab the controller and go play, even if it doesn’t have the most top-of-the-line hardware, being hassle free is a huge win over any other. Specially given how now, the Xbox, the PlayStation and the Switch 2 are direct competition. And they’re simple for a end-user who isn’t tech savy (well… Subjective, I find the Xbox UI to be a convoluted mess)
If you install SteamOS on it, wouldn’t it be as plug-and-play as the current Steam Deck?
It depends if it ship with SteamOS or something similiar…if the user has to install it, it’s not plug and play
If the hardware has the compatibility for it, then yes It probably is what they have in mind, but they could also go the route with some custom system. Unlikely but not impossible.
The issue if they go custom, is how much ground they’ll need to cover to reach SteamOS levels of plug 'n play
I admit to hoping it was more… nix?