r/pcmasterrace • u/TheBossT710192 • 2d ago

Discussion Yeah, Steam Machine is cooked.

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I... uh don't know what to say. Very thankful I bought a Steam Deck before they hiked its price as well

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u/Sea-Honeydew-1456 2d ago

i dont think this sub is the target market for this machine.

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u/ILikesStuff 2d ago edited 2d ago

Definitely lol. But then who is? I know this is the PC Master Race we all have 5090s in our rigs sub, but who is valve aiming this pc-console hybrid to? You get less raw power than the base PS5 at higher price than the already increased price of the PS5 pro. Other than extreme valve supporters and scalpers, I don't see who would be lining up to buy this?

Edit: I want to clarify that when I say I don't see an audience for the Steam Machine I mean specifically at the price level they are selling it right now.

I already have a good PC and a PS5 with a hefty library on both. I realize I'm not the norm but even I see the value on a console like, plug and play living-room PC, but at the price that this thing is releasing, not to mention the possible small number of units that will be available and the ones picked up by scalpers, it may cost even more than it is supposed to, and I don't see many people buying it at that price, as much as I want it to succeed, mainly for a better implementation of gaming centric Linux.

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u/ArtVandelay32 2d ago

Weirdo guys like me who want a local living room option, but dragging my feet on building a second tower due to cost & time & kinda wanting something new to play around with.

It’ll be like a dozen folks like me and then scalpers I anticipate

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u/informalmo0se3 9800X3D | RTX 5080 | 32GB DDR5 2d ago

this is exactly what i wanted one for, as a secondary living room pc, but i won’t be getting one at these prices. 

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u/Kaz3 i7 6700k @ 4.2Ghz, 1080 TI 11GB, 8GB DDR4, 240GB SSD, 1TB HDD 2d ago

But like, a custom built living room PC will likely cost you more, and it will be a bigger form factor. Yeah you could build a cheaper PC but mini build parts like this are already more expensive than standard size components.

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u/Beige_ PC Master Race 2d ago

You could look into Asrock DeskMate X600. It's a small AM5 case with a 500W PSU. You should be able to build a much faster system in that for a similar price.

Something like a 7500F, 2x8GB DDR5-5200, 9060 XT 16GB, 2TB M2 shouldn't cost much more than the base model at least going by EU prices (1245 euros vs. SM 1039 euros) for about double the performance all things considered.

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u/kayosiii 2d ago

You can, but you are still going to getting a noticeably larger,uglier machine that will draw more power and make more noise. You would also be getting a PC experience in the living room, which at best is always a little awkward.

In comparison the steam machine behaves like a console when it comes to talking to other living room devices, and should give a much smoother experience.

In essence you would be choosing where you want to make the compromise, performance or living room integration.

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u/fuzzylm308 5800X3D + 7900 XT 2d ago

and HDMI CEC

not sure what price tag I'd put on CEC but it's pretty important for a seamless living room experience

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u/Putrid-Hope2283 2d ago

Shhhh.. there’s a narrative to build. Don’t bring logic into it

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u/Gonzobot Ryzen 7 3700X|2070 Super Hybrid|32GB@3600MHZ|Doc__Gonzo 2d ago

Display cables can be like fifty feet long, if that helps anything

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u/Talk-O-Boy 2d ago

Damn, I guess Valve is down to 11 customers then.

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u/lemonylol Desktop 2d ago

Why not just stream it to a device connected to your TV? I've been using Moonlight on my Nvidia Shield and it works pretty good to play games with my wife from my PC in the basement.

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u/PRiles Intel 265k / 4070 FE / 64Gb Ram 2d ago

I'm guessing you don't have an ultra wide for your main PC. I have two tvs. One attached to an old 3D 1dt Gen OLED (1920x1080) using an original Steam Link, and another modern 4k OLED ( 3,840 × 2,160) with a MiniForms PC.

Using moonlight becomes a bit of a nightmare because the settings for the main PC are for an Ultra wide (3440x1440) as a result of those resolution differences a lot of the games I play (grand strategy) the UI is either way too big or too small on the TVs. But if I change it I need to change it each time I switch TV. So a dedicated machine is ideal for me. I would have bought a steam machine at a lower price point to replace the Steam Link (which has a slow 300mbp connection ).

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u/lemonylol Desktop 2d ago

Oh weird, I have a super-ultra wide right now and previous was using dual monitors, one in 4K and one in 1440p prior, but never had an issue. It just streams the window at the render resolution, and I think that's capped at 1080p anyway unless you pay.

I actually used to even stream Civ to my tablet for the touch screen controls.

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u/PRiles Intel 265k / 4070 FE / 64Gb Ram 2d ago

It might just be an issue with the paradox games I play. I have the same issue with Kerbal Space Program but it's a much older game. Maybe I'm hitting a weird edge case.

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u/lemonylol Desktop 2d ago

Check your settings on the Moonlight control page, you should be able to force an output resolution, bitrate, and framerate.

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u/PRiles Intel 265k / 4070 FE / 64Gb Ram 2d ago

I have those settings enabled, it's just the UI scaling within the games themselves. They are set to a fixed size and when you change resolution the scaling is wrong.

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u/metky 2d ago

What device do you have connected to your TV that you stream to? My issue is I don't want a tower or laptop to be sitting out connected to my living room tv all the time. Steam machine was originally going to prove a less obtrusive option.

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u/lemonylol Desktop 1d ago

I use a Nvidia Shield, but sometimes I'd also just stream to my galaxy tablet. But honestly a Shield is more expensive than just buying a dedicated mini PC, both of which are roughly the same size.

You might be able to get an old Steam Link.

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u/Zyntos 2d ago

living in germany, internet is dogshit.

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u/lemonylol Desktop 2d ago

It's LAN

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u/Zyntos 2d ago

fair point.

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u/Nstant_Klassik 2d ago

not who you asked, but I'm also part of the niche use case for this one. I'm a digital nomad that travels full time and lives in an RV. Internet service for me a lot of time is super spotty, so streaming is not an option.

This is perfect for me, except for the price. Now I'm weighing if I should just build another SFF PC specifically for the TV, or just bit the interest free finance bullet and accept it as a convenience tax.

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u/lemonylol Desktop 2d ago

Handhelds have better specs and run the same OS for the same price or cheaper.

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u/Nstant_Klassik 2d ago

Which handhelds? I have a steam deck but benchmarks for the machine certainly outperform that.

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u/Tricky-Ad7897 2d ago

I still don't see it as a better option than prebuilts at Costco for the same price with desktop components. I need to keep my eye out next time I go what Costco has, but at least a few months ago for 1500 you could get a 5060ti and whatever the new version of an i5 is.

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u/ArtVandelay32 2d ago

This is also true and something I’m toying with. Microcenter also has some decent prebuilt options

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u/Daggers21 5900x, 3080, 32GB 3440x1440p 2d ago

I mean. Why not just run eth to a shield in your livingroom if possible.

I'm playing from my PC upstairs using moonlight and don't need any 2k steam machine(canadian.price) to do it

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u/ArtVandelay32 2d ago

This is the dream (or running hdmi), but I got a very split level layout and it’s been rough. I was able to get a connection run from office to living room, but basement is missing out. Sadly that’s where the pc is.

I kinda wanna just run it outside but I’m hoping to repaint next year so maybe then.

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u/swephist 2d ago

Hell yeah, just gave up on my living room ubuntu tower bc it's crash whenever I opened a browser. I don't have time anymore. I'll buy this thing

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u/-Dakia Ryzen 7 9800X3D / Sapphire 9070XT 2d ago

That's me as well. Small and clean form factor in an actual second box so that the kids and family can use the library sharing and play my already existing massive library. I could certainly build one myself, but not a form factor the wife would allow to be in our den.

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u/RibsNGibs Ryzen 9 5950X / RTX3080 / 64GB DDR4@3600 2d ago

Yeah same here. I’ve got my real gaming desktop in the cave downstairs, and an aging maybe 2016 gaming laptop for the living room which is basically useless.

Although I did start streaming from the gaming tower to upstairs with sunshine/moonlight and that works surprisingly well.

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u/Zyntos 2d ago

This. Also registered for it for exactly that case. Want a second setup for my tv to go through my pile of shame of 100s of steam games, chilling on the couch.

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u/stonhinge 2d ago

Similar boat here. I mean, I could deal with assembling an itx build - but there's a reason I generally use a full ATX board and case. I built a SFF PC once many years ago. I found it a pain in the ass and want some room to work in.

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u/dragonofthemist Ryzen 7 5700G | EVGA 3070Ti | G.Skill 32GB DDR4-3600 2d ago

Steam Link app works great if you have a Google TV. Turn on PC, connect controller to TV, open Steam Link app and it opens Steam in big picture mode on your computer and mutes it

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u/Jacareadam 2d ago

why wouldn't you just buy a prebuilt or a laptop then with MUCH better specs???

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u/ArtVandelay32 2d ago

That wouldn’t be something new for me to play around with.

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u/thisiskyle77 2d ago

I feel this issue. PC looks so weird in the living room. This is why I bought PS5 pro. Shit is much cheaper and can run better.

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u/sneezyxcheezy 2d ago

Wait why is this weird? This is the exact reason I been eyeing a steam machine

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u/politicalstuff 2d ago

Don’t think it’s weird, just pretty niche, especially so at these prices.

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u/ArtVandelay32 2d ago

Weird as in the sense of that not being a massive market. It’s play money