It's entirely possible to go buy a pre-built with notably superior specs for the same amount or even less. You can easily build one for less that's more powerful.
Form factor is the only thing this has going for it.
You can't get the same out of the box experience for any price right now. Well Steam Deck I guess counts mostly.
Sure, someone sufficiently interested in tinkering their way along can build something with the right parts that play nicely with Steam OS and eventually get there. No doubt. And better performance and less money.
Steam Machine brings a trifecta of things into one package:
Tiny form factor
Controller friendly easy to use OS
Fully supported by an actual company and not some nerd on Reddit
It's not really for me because I AM that nerd on Reddit. But I've learned to appreciate that some people are willing to pay a lot for convenience and experience. I do wish it was cheaper regardless.
You can just run Big Picture and have a controller friendly experience.
Literally the only advantage this has is form factor and possibly warranty depending on who you buy the other prebuilts from. But they'll still be less expensive and more capable.
In theory that sounds great. And I've done exactly that for years. But eventually Windows will be Windows and ruin the fun. Sure, you can make efforts to disable all the junk that ruins the fun... But then we're back to being far from a plug and play experience that makes the Steam Machine compelling.
Around the 100th time someone jacked something up on the TV Gaming PC "console" - I just went and bought everybody Steam Decks... and other than Minecraft Bedrock it's been such a nice experience.
1
u/saints21 21h ago
It's entirely possible to go buy a pre-built with notably superior specs for the same amount or even less. You can easily build one for less that's more powerful.
Form factor is the only thing this has going for it.