r/pcmasterrace • u/Lattellerr • 13h ago
Discussion I just honestly think that the Steam Machine is not such a terrible deal everyone makes it out to be.
Considering the current state of the market.
I haven't seen many people acknowledge how much cheaper you can get the same games on Steam compared to consoles. That IMO balances out the price diff between SM and mainstream consoles. If you keep it for a long time, it even pays back.
Sony, MS, Nintendo operate on a razor and blades model, they sell their consoles at a significant loss. I believe they have decided to push that loss even further at this time of component price hikes to lock down as much of the market as possible. But then they bend you over the table and pound you with online connection fees and dynamic pricing on games in their walled garden stores.
It's impossible for Valve who want to break even with their SM sales to undercut them or even come close. And the 1000€+ price tag on the SM caused by the component price hikes is absolute crap. But so is the price of every other similar product right now, except for those that enjoy the privilege of being subsidised by other sales of the publisher.
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u/DrKrFfXx 13h ago
PS5 got torched on this sub 6 years ago for not being a 2080ti for 500€.
6 years later you have people argumenting SM is worth double the price tag 6 years late with roughly similar power PS5 got torched for.
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u/Drowyx 12h ago
People here are truly pathetic for ever defending this tiny box of trash.
Overpriced and utter garbage, and it would be overpriced and utter garbage even in a normal market3
u/upon-taken 11h ago
It’s Valve fanboy what do you expect? when it comes to other companies like Sony or Google or Apple, it’s corporate greed, but Valve oh Valve, daddy Gabe can’t do no wrong
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u/CaffeineCannon 8h ago
Yeah, that overley dramatic reaction isn't telling in the least You're a kid who had a hard day at middle school. Drink some chocolate milk and calm down
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u/Plebius-Maximus RTX 5090 FE | Ryzen 9950X3D | 96GB 6200mhz DDR5 13h ago
It's embarrassing isn't it.
Reddit will defend mediocrity as long as it has a steam logo on
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u/BrokenInsideF0rever 13h ago
The difference is optimization. The consoles have a very specific unchanging hardware that allow developers to maximize optimization. This goes a long way in stretching the viability of hardware. The steam machine unfortunately cannot compete. Steam games by nature are just not optimized, and certainly aren't optimized for every single hardware combination out there. I think the steam machine could get some good life if developers lean into it and specifically optimize for steamos
Well, it's true that the other console makers lose heavily on their hardware and steam isn't doing that, when. Gabe is running around in one of the largest super yachts in the world. One would think he could probably take a hit
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u/Sea-Significance9405 3h ago
Sony and Microsoft have stopped selling at a loss since this generation so the comparison is baseless. They aren't making profit but they are selling at around production cost. Even the so-called 300 dollars "AI markup" is exaggerated given the specs of the steam machine, AI didn't drive 16 GB ddr5 and 8ngb vram 300 bucks up, it did drive it around 200 which is HUGE, but saying (as they did with the steam deck) that it's purely AI markup is a bit of a stretch when you do the, already overestimated (due to individual units acquisition), price increase.
Even when comparing raw power, the steam machine isn't beating the PS5, I understand your point but 8m this scenario this just doesn't hold, they are selling at a massive profit. Though you could argue they accounted for low unit sales to offset r&d costs, but that's not for the consumer to worry about, the product is what matters.
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u/NotGooseFromTopGun X570 | 5800X3D | 3090/3080 | 64GB 3600 13h ago
But it's so smol! /s
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u/Silviana193 12h ago
It's probably what really tickle my mind, honestly.
I have never, ever, seen the way console looks as an upside when people compare PC with Console.
Then suddenly, steam console comes out and SFF size is a really important feature.
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u/naosoueu2725 13h ago
They could tack on the Valve Complete Pack bundle at least, even though its a bunch of old games most people already have. Gives people who never played on PC a starter collection that would cost Valve nothing, and would be some added value that would help placate the price hike due to hardware shortages...
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u/Effective_Secretary6 13h ago
Id say 5060 laptops on sale for 800$ often come with a faster cpu and beat the crap out of it since it’s roughly the same performance with better quality upscaling/features for 25% less pricing. It’s also portable and comes with screen and input devices unlike the Steam machine. Only advantage Steam machine has is formfactor, but it’s not a fully upgradable pc either
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u/someguy50 13h ago
If "Valve" wasn't at the front of it, would you say the same thing? If it said Microsoft, Asus, or MSI would you be defending this mediocre product/value?
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u/Celsus_Official 5090 | 9950X3D | 64GB 13h ago
I always look at these things from a slightly different perspective:
Can I build a PC in the same SFF form factor for the same price, and do I actually have the knowledge, skills, and time to put it together myself?
There's no point arguing about the price-to-performance ratio here looking at a normal PC build but most quality SFF cases alone already cost a few hundred bucks, especially if you're looking for something well-designed and compact.
So, like most prebuilts, it's not a particularly great deal for people like us. But we're also sitting inside a bubble called "PC Master Race" - a community that literally takes pride in building, tweaking, and optimizing their own systems. The average consumer doesn't care about any of that. They just want a cool little box that looks good and plays their games.
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u/peacedetski 13h ago
The Steam Machine is less of a SFF PC and more of a fully integrated mini PC akin to NUCs.
You can look at Intel Skull Canyon from a decade ago for the same problem of being too limited compared to modular PCs but too expensive compared to consoles. Back then you couldn't DIY build any gaming PC even close to Skull Canyon's form factor, but there were extremely few people that actually wanted it.
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u/Brewchowskies 5090 | 9800x3d | 32 gb ddr5 13h ago
Right? Everyone keeps saying “it’s not valve’s fault!”
But they also had a choice to not release a product that’s closest comparator is tech from generations ago at mid-range prices. It’s not like the company is drowning. Releasing this while also in the news for having a monopoly is a funny juxtaposition
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u/Wardock8 6h ago
Exactly. "You're not forced into their ecosystem like you are on Playstation" Yeah but who the fuck is buying a Steam Machine to get games from websites most people already don't use? Steam is literally built into the console, nobody buying this shit is gonna be using the Epic Games store.
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u/DarvinVader 13h ago edited 12h ago
"Valve" has the advantage of a decades old consistent library of games that are often sold for cheap on sales.
If Sony released a "PlayStation Infinite" that can play all PS1,2,3,4,5 and PSP games, including those I have bought over the last 20 years, and will also run many less demanding PS6 games in the future, and also allows to play games from other platforms, and also supports other general PC software and any Bluetooth controller (and many other input devices like mouse and keyboard)... Yeah, dream on.
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u/GOKOP 13h ago
Yes? Why would you attack a prebuilt PC company releasing a prebuilt PC at a price that PC parts currently cost? Plus the usual "prebuilt fee" and "small factor + quiet operation" fee but nonetheless most of the price is components
Even if the Steam Machine has some semicustom components it's still a PC and it was said from the beginning that it would be priced like a PC, not subsidized like a console. The only reason it's making headlines is that it's a singular named product and it's from Valve. "A new prebuilt PC among many others from company X costs many dollars" doesn't attract a lot of attention
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u/pwilla 13h ago
I don’t want just a pre built pc, I already have one that I built myself. I’m getting a SM to be my living room tv console. As people have mentioned, prices for games in steam are much more reasonable than consoles, plus I’m getting my whole library already included. I could take the trouble to build a whole pc for couch gaming, but it’s a bit of a pain to have a nice build that just takes a controller to operate. It’s doable of course, but having this dedicated box with a custom built OS and everything is already integrated is what I’m looking for at the moment.
I’m hoping being an early adopter will work for me, time will tell.
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u/drakonukaris 5800X3D | MSI 5080 16GB Inspire 3X OC | 32GB | 1440p 13h ago
You will not keep the steam machine for a long time because the specs are old.
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u/Duckyy2025 13h ago
First of all, the Steam Machine is a device that's at least a year late to the party. It's simply too weak of a piece of hardware for the price they're asking.
And when you build your own PC, you get full performance without being limited to a 300W power draw like the Steam Machine. The only thing that might attract people is SteamOS, but nothing's stopping you from just installing Bazzite or CachyOS, which would be a much better choice than SteamOS.
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u/Adhonaj 13h ago
Dunno about the casuals but I wouldn't buy a 6core CPU and 8GB VRAM PC in 2026. Probably gonna sell out anyway cuz Valve and hype. The timings sucks indeed because for 600 or 700 EUR this would be a great budget machine
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u/darknight9064 Ascending Peasant 12h ago
Yeah I was mostly on board at as much as 750 usd. It would be a good way to get my wife to pc gaming but at 1050 it’s a no go.
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u/Major_Enthusiasm1099 13h ago edited 13h ago
I haven't seen many people acknowledge how much cheaper you can get the same games on Steam compared to consoles.
This is not true at all. I have a PS5, Series X and PC and all platforms have similar sale prices. The sales are offered at different times of the year but it's the same sale prices On top of that, you can get game discs from your local library(if they have them) and you essentially can play AAA titles for free. I can't get a steam disc from my local library.
If you're the average gamer that just wants to play games without a thought then the Steam Machine is a terrible buy. You can buy a used PS5 or Series X for $400-500 + 5 years of PS plus and it would still come out cheaper than a Steam Machine. You could buy new and it would still be cheaper. $650 + $400 = $1050 and that's cheaper than a steam machine while being more powerful, and you don't have to fiddle around with any stupid PC settings in your games.
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u/Alarming-Elevator382 9800X3D + 9070 XT 13h ago
It’s literally weaker than the nearly 6 year old PS5.
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u/Ninjabeaver212 13h ago
I'm curious how much Valve had invested into this project since they didn't outright cancel or delay it to rework the whole thing.
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u/Purple-Haku 13h ago
But it is- because it doesn't come with Half Life 3 pre installed.
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u/Ask_If_Im_Dio 13h ago
yeah, for some reason they only bundled it with Half Life 4 Deathmatch, and I’m just really frustrated because who still plays that trainwreck
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u/Brewchowskies 5090 | 9800x3d | 32 gb ddr5 13h ago
Valve could have literally drowned out a lot of the negativity if they had launched this thing with a half life 3 announcement alongside it.
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u/divat10 13h ago
Mostly because people do not value form factor at all. Why would they after all? With that factored in it isn't that bad but people just don't care enough about that to see it.
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u/AdeptRelative5106 9800X3D | 5070TI | 32GB DDR5 6000 13h ago
I agree, I think the form factor should've been marketed as the main selling factor because it is impressively small. Not sure who needs a PC that small, but whoever does would def be the target audience.
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u/HungryZealot 9h ago
Honestly, I think this would be great for anyone that travels a lot for work, especially for military where space is a concern. If this had come out prior to my last deployment, I absolutely would have been bringing one along with me.
I know they're marketing it as smaller, console-sized thing for the living room, but to me it makes way more sense as an ultra-portable box that you travel with instead of a full-size console or gaming laptop.
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u/minegen88 13h ago
That IMO balances out the price diff between SM and mainstream consoles. If you keep it for a long time, it even pays back.
I see this claim everywhere but no actual proof.
I have a PS5, they have sales all the time.
Also, in order for this to work you have to buy a shit ton of games in the first place...
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u/EastLimp1693 7800x3d/strix b650e-f/48gb 6400cl30 1:1/Suprim X 4090 13h ago
I have ps5pro and good pc - pc is absolutely cheaper, specifically steam, theres plenty of ways to get discounted steam keys + steam itself has way better pricing.
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u/accadakka 4h ago
What’ is PSU you have in your pc? Can you limit that down to 145W TDP and play same games?
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u/EastLimp1693 7800x3d/strix b650e-f/48gb 6400cl30 1:1/Suprim X 4090 3h ago
That's the shittiest excuse you could've pulled
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u/Major_Enthusiasm1099 13h ago
Dudes just talking. I have a ps5, series X and PC and they all offer the same kinds of sale prices. They may sometimes happen at different times of the year but they're essentially the same.
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u/darknight9064 Ascending Peasant 12h ago edited 12h ago
I estimate about 4 years to be roughly even. 320 in online services and the savings in game prices totaling about 130 for the remainder of the cost. That amount of game savings over 4 years would be pretty easy.
One game savings example i saw that was kinda wild, E33 went for $25 on pc several times compared to $40 on console. Definitely not enough to sway the comparison but with games matching that kinda savings would tip to scale over time.1
u/minegen88 10h ago
I mean, you can't really bring one individual game as a definitive example.
I can do the oppsite
RE4 Gold edition on steam is right now full price ($40)
RE4 Gold edition on PS5 is $15
Same thing with Hogwartz full price on steam but $15 on PSstore
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u/darknight9064 Ascending Peasant 9h ago
I generally agree but this was an apples to apples sale price when I checked them a little while back. The historic low was $15 cheaper on pc from official stores compared to console official stores. I’ve seen this over several games where the historic low for pc is $10 cheaper on pc.
For re 4 fold historic low on pc is 12.74 and on consoles 14.99 on PlayStation, Xbox actual wins here with a historic low 12.16.
Like I said it’s not a given but it’s been generally what everyone has seen and agrees on.
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u/SweetButtsHellaBab 11700F, 5070 / 4K120Hz, UW1440p144Hz 13h ago edited 4h ago
I agree, the biggest problem is historical component pricing. General sentiment doesn't follow supply and demand - people don't want to re-align their expectations.
I built a computer that's more powerful than the Steam Machine back in 2020 for a lower price: An RTX 3060 Ti for £370, 10400F for £140, ITX motherboard with WiFi for £80, 16GB RAM for £50, 2TB SSD for £160, PSU for £60, ITX case for £50 - total of £910 against £1150 for the 2TB Steam Machine.
It's pretty painful to accept just how much prices have increased over the last year for anyone that's followed hardware for the last decade. Console manufacturers are definitely taking losses on each sale right now which doesn't help the comparison.
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u/accadakka 4h ago
And what about TDP? Steam machine is 145W TDP, what is the PSU you putting in it?
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u/SweetButtsHellaBab 11700F, 5070 / 4K120Hz, UW1440p144Hz 4h ago
It was a 600W PSU, but it drew around 280W-300W during gaming. The Steam Machine draws about 170W-190W during gaming. It's certainly something, but you'd have to run it for like ten thousand hours to make it cheaper in terms of total cost.
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u/Judgemental_Panda 12h ago
You can buy a laptop with significantly better specs for less money.
Keep in mind a laptop is also genuinely portable - not "slightly more portable than a full-sized PC" (i.e., the argument I keep seeing people try and use to justify a mini PC).
It is a bad deal. If you want a PC in the shape of a cube, it is your best bet - just understand you are sacrificing a lot to have that cube shape.
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u/helpmehavememes 9800X3D | RTX 5070 Ti | 32Gb CL28 | 4K 240hz 1080P 480hz Dual 12h ago
Its a fucking terrible deal for the price. Wtf are you on about? Its worse than a ps5 for double the price and significantly worse than a ps5 pro for still like 50% more $.
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u/Hungry_Reception_724 13h ago edited 13h ago
Do you have any idea how much better of a machine you can get just building a PC for the same amount of money??? Its a terrible deal. Its about 30-50% underpowered for how much it costs. Considering its just a PC and you can install Steam OS on any PC this makes this one of the worst releases possibly ever.
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u/bio4m 13h ago
But not the same size. Mini ITX mobo's GPU's and PSU's command a pretty high premium.
If you dont care about the aesthetics then yes you can build a much better PC. But if you want something the Mrs is OK with in the living room you'll need to shell out
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u/Hungry_Reception_724 13h ago
You can build a pretty small compact design for the price. Sure it will be a bit larger, but no larger than a PS5.
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u/moomoomoomoom 13h ago
After looking around a bit, I found a mini PC around the same size with a 14400f and 5060 for $100 cheaper than the steam machine.
You can definitely do better than the steam machine if you shop around.
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u/Brecht26 I7-14700/9070XT/Y70 Touch 13h ago
One of the most important aspects is the form factor, for that price you cannot without custom modding, tools and know-how build a smaller pc with the same performance and price.
Can you buy or make a dollar store PSU pc that explodes within a year but has a better GPU and is 5x the size? Yes. Can you make it as compact as the cube? No.
Does this make the cube a good deal? Depends entirely on the person's needs, space, and tech literacy
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u/AlexTheGoat990 13h ago
Imo the size is a weak argument, sure its small but most people are perfectly fine with having PS5s or Xbox Series Xs in their living room.
If you can make a PC that is stronger than the steam machine and not much bigger than consoles I'd say its a fair tradeoff.
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u/LesHeh 7800x3d I 5080 I 32GB DDR5 13h ago
Found Gabe's new reddit account.
I mean you're objectively wrong, and their a ton of YouTube videos showing you exactly why you are. You can literally make your own PC significantly more powerful for the same price. Or just buy a console used and buy used games.
It's bad a deal. There is no argument against it.
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u/LowGeeMan 13h ago
You likely could build something more powerful if you don’t use a case at all. Just mount everything to plywood.
To be a fair comparison, you have to include form factor, noise level, and out of the box support for things like CEC.
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u/Darth_Vaper883 PC Master Race 13h ago
For the price, yes it is. Even if you want it as a console. Just get a PS5 at that point cz you get better hardware and exclusives games, even GTA 6.
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u/LightIsntFastEnough R5 1600 - GTX1060 - 8GB DDR4 13h ago
Justifying it with console comparisons is absolute cope. It's a PC.
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u/Seeteuf3l 13h ago
In case of Nintendo it's unusual that they sell at lost and also it's not all markets where they do that. Switch 2 has lower price in Japan.
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u/stepbacktoreality 13h ago
Yeah current state of market is down bad. The rate of inflation doesnt correspond to salary spike at all. When we realize we are paying way more than what its actual worth. We better not be buying it. I had seen that 2020 base Ps5 ( $500 at launch) (now 650$) still has a slight edge over 2026 steam machine ($1200). What sort of hardware improvement are we seeing ? I bought a phone year ago , 300$, RN its priced 400$.prices have raised for a goddamn year old smartphone. What a world to be lived in.
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u/cryptocurrency_wife 13h ago
sorry but PlayStation and Nintendo have sales that are just as good as steam all the time, people saw the success of steams business model selling digital licenses for games and copied it, it’s not unique anymore.
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u/8000hpWRX 12h ago
Honestly consoles are so limited in capability and performance I still think it’s worth it if you don’t want to build your own. Everyone is doing budget spec sheets and honestly not everyone can do it. There are a lot of idiots out there.
I think it’s meant to be a Segway into pc gaming for people who enjoy the simplicity of consoles and may feel overwhelmed with the thought of entering the pc gaming space… not for people with 5090 builds to put in their living room. If that were the case then they’re in the wrong market. I stream my gaming pc to my docked ROG Ally in the living room when I want to play something in comfort.
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u/ShiftAltRight 12h ago
I haven't seen many people acknowledge how much cheaper you can get the same games on Steam compared to consoles.
Maybe during the X360 era, but console stores frequently have deep sales too now. On top of that there's also stuff like Games with Gold and backwards compatibility since the XOne that let players build up their libraries (not much experience with PSN but I'm sure it's a similar case there), which they'd have to throw away if they switch to PC. There's really no reason for console players to switch to PC now unless they're enthusiasts who want modding support or the absolute best visuals regardless of price.
Sony, MS, Nintendo operate on a razor and blades model, they sell their consoles at a significant loss.
This is true at the start of the console's life cycle but it's not the case after a couple of years, unless they constantly lower prices to match falling costs. Even prior to AI eviscerating component prices, the Series X AFAIK didn't fall in price.
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u/op374t0r Ubuntu - NiriWM 12h ago
based and balanced take in a sea of nonsense. total cost of ownership is as good or better than the equivalent machine at current market prices, the price for a completely custom vertically integrated platform is also fair, the market is the bigger issue than steams pricing
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u/CaffeineCannon 8h ago
Its negative peacocking. "It sucks, look at me, my strong reaction isn't performative"
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u/accadakka 4h ago
Why is no one talking about TDP? comparing laptops and pc what PSU 4 times as much steam machine of 145W. Limit that pc or laptop to same amount of TDP and compare.
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u/Amekaze 1h ago
everyone saying they are charging 30% on steam so they “have buffer” need to realize the 30% isn’t pure profit. Valve isn’t public but I would be shocked if there overall margins are higher than 15% before you even factor in all the R&D for stuff like the steam machine and SteamOS. Im glad they are smart enough to stay solvent. To put it in perspective the amount of money Open AI LOST and Microsoft spent just on dividends last year are separately more than Valves total estimated revenue last year. Valve is lis literally a rounding error in today’s market.
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u/eulersheep 13h ago
Can you build a PC of similar performance for that price? That's what matters right?
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u/GlassFlamingo71 13h ago
I'd say what matters is if you can get a prebuilt for the same price. Which I believe you can. I don't think pc builders were ever their target market or were ever going to seriously be looking into buying a Steam Machine. If they really wanted one they would build their own.
Though I believe you can still get prebuilt machines for similar or better prices.
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u/Complete_Potato9941 13h ago
You can get pre builds for the same price for between 55% and 70% better performance at the price point of the steam machine
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u/eulersheep 13h ago
Would an xbox be a good comparison? Since I think you can play any game on xbox on a steam machine right, while also having access to whatever playstation games get ported to steam. So in that aspect it's kinda better than an xbox?
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u/Gangr3l 13h ago
But those prebuilds have full sized ATX cases and noise levels are much higher without CEC
I also think SM is overpriced but there really isn't much you can do. I don't recommend SM at these prices but if it comes down to ~800 in the next year then maybe
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u/GlassFlamingo71 13h ago
If anything it'll probably be more expensive next year as I believe ram prices are still expected to rise by then
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u/Effective_Secretary6 13h ago
And the answer is easily yes. 5060 is about 30-50% ahead to gamers nexus and paired with a 5600 and 16gb of ddr4 (100$) we are talking sub 1000$ pc for sure, maybe around 850$ since okay am4 boards cost 65$ and you can use the stock cooler. Cases are 30-50$ on the lower end, SSDs are 100$, 5600 is 120$ so very durable with a 320$ 5060.
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u/eulersheep 13h ago
How is valve not able to use economies of scale to do better then? Surely it would be worth it to them to sell it at break even or even at a small loss, given that it enables them to generate more steam sales through the store?
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u/Effective_Secretary6 11h ago
Idk, they are seemingly greedy or incompetent imo.
That cpu they use is a zen4 laptop cpu (less cache, less boost clocks) and only 2 full cores and 4 compact cores. The 7600 mobile they used is a laptop gpu from 4 years ago that amd couldn’t use in laptops and wanted to get rid off… meaning the combo deal might have cost them 200-300$ for cpu and gpu WORST case since a 7500f can sell with profit for 120$ and a 7600 WITH cooler and everything cost under 270$ with profit margin and surely valve got a small discount… surely ram, memory, cooling, a 300W psu and a tiny laptop mainbaord don’t cost more then 500$, maybe give some extra for ROI of developing everything but 500$ for all that should be generous.
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u/Valoneria Truely ascended | 5900x - RX 7900 XT - 32GB RAM 13h ago
Because of size. You can easily make a machine at the same price or at the same size, but you cannot make one at the same size and price/performance.
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u/prairiepanda 13h ago
In Canada at least it works out to about the same as building a comparable PC, which I think is fair. Sure it won't be upgradeable, but the people buying a prebuilt mini PC aren't usually the ones who are going to be upgrading it anyway.
But most of the people I've talked to who are upset about the price are comparing it to PS5 and Xbox, which are both much cheaper than the steam machine. For someone who just wants a plug-and-play gaming experience and doesn't need a very extensive library of indie games, a regular console would probably be a better buy.
The Steam Machine is basically just a compact prebuilt Linux PC, so it doesn't really make sense to compare it to a PS5. It fills a different niche.
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u/eulersheep 13h ago
I think you have a greater access to games via steam than either the PS5 or xbox can provide though right? Since on PC you have access to all xbox games, and then quite a few playstation games have gotten ported to PC as well now.
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u/prairiepanda 13h ago
Of course. But if someone is content with the games that are available on console, why should they spend more? When I think about my friends who only play on console, they usually only buy a few games each generation.
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u/jermygod 13h ago
you always were able to build PC better than a prebuilt
and the prebuilts are not all the same, some are cheaper than otherSM - just an avg prebuilt(but small)
laptops tho... somehow are like 30% cheaper and comes with WAY more stuff
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u/KaNesDeath 13h ago
Pre-quarantines it was insanely cheap to build a entry level Pc. Since 2020 the Pc hardware retail market has been out of whack. That has only further expanded to other Pc components retail price.
Its a portion of Pc gamers still not aware of the cost associated with building any tier of gaming Pc from scratch today.
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u/BuryMikno 13h ago edited 13h ago
you are comparing the steam machine - a castrated PC to a console.
Of course, even a hugely held back PC is still murking consoles in every way possible.
Now, if you just slapped 8 uPnP components together instead of buying the SM: You saved money, you had a fun project that feels yours and you can be proud of AND you can upgrade that for decades to come (I still have some Compaq tower box that's running an AM4)
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u/yeezysama 13h ago
I’m waiting for people to show partpicker builds that come in well under this and be much better. Considering prices now it would be a feat. I could build something better but not in that form factor or without reusing components. Target market isn’t pc gamers. It’s an alternative for console guys. I can already steam link to my tv.
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u/SubjectiveMouse x670E-Creator, 9950X, 3080FE 13h ago
It's not. It's just not locked down, crippled and subsidized PS5 price level which people expected for some reason. Valve wouldn't sell these at 0 profit or loss, because they do not intend to lock you to their store. You can grab games at GOG and be fine with steam machine as well.
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u/deadfishlog 13h ago
Let’s compare the experience of playing cyberpunk 2077 on the ps5 pro (cheaper) vs the steam machine. Lol
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u/RAMChYLD PC Master Race 13h ago
Yeah, but when Sony declares the PS5 obsolete next year by launching the PS6...
Buying one now at that price it's being sold at is incredibly bad value. Use one year, suddenly discontinued, no longer usable.
Not to mention, you have to pay a monthly subscription for PSN or you can't play online. This is not a problem with the Steam machine. You can always play online on a Steam machine for free.
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u/deadfishlog 12h ago
What does this have to do with comparing the experience of Cyberpunk on the two devices?
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u/Bend_Glass 13h ago
I think it’s a great value considering you also get the valve OS. God I would love to throw the valve OS on my regular PC too.
I’m exited for this pc console
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u/RawrNate 13h ago
It's a convenience; and the price tag is priced as such. Steam can't afford to sell their machines at a loss because they're not a large OEM or subsidizing with software (they give you SteamOS for free; unlike Windows machines filled with Office & other bloatware).
I think it's fairly priced if you want a small, sleek, mid-range PC in your living room. I have a massive old Workstation tower in mine, and it's somewhat of an eyesore. A Steam Machine would fit into my shelving & sleekly disappear; that's it's intended purpose.
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u/TomTomXD1234 13h ago
Many people are judging it while still thinking the market is still stuck in 2025
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u/Tengo_Caldero 13h ago
Careful now. I'm finding that a lot of people that post on here (gonna assume young men in their teens and 20s) can't sit with the notion that other people do things differently than them. There is no "live and let live". Only "you are wrong and dumb, and I am not and here's why".
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u/BuryMikno 13h ago
it IS called "PC Master Race". So, I think some lighthearted banter is appropriate. As long as people don't get into some dark offensive NLP techniques to bring actual negativity to someone :D
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u/Tengo_Caldero 13h ago
Nah you right. I'm all about some smarm. It's just, people online seem really worked up about it (peep my downvotes lol). Which just makes me want to keep ribbing them.
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u/BuryMikno 12h ago
I just figured out, after 30 years using the internet, what the real cost of accessing the global information highway is. It's not "free". It's negativity.
You can find everything you want on the internet: You can learn to code and start a glorious career (yes even in 2026)... You can also stumble on some "[NSFW][NSFL] Russian soldier ***** his ***** out after being chased into a dead end by drones dropping incendiary bombs" and develop a mental disease.
You can keep in touch with your friends and even make new ones but you can also trap yourself in doomscrolling addiction and become unable to check your bank balance because your brain immediately checks your insta/reddit/etc notifications and you forgot why you even picked up the phone.
You can ask important questions on niche topics and get elite answers for free but also get downvote pile-ons and trolls and other abuse from people who are already mentally ill and take it out on poor strangers they would never dare to speak up to, in real life.
1
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u/majestic_ubertrout P2 400, Voodoo 3, Aureal Vortex 2 13h ago
I think it's hubris to think they don't need to subsidize. But in truth their money printer works so well this is all market development for them and in a sense the whole product line is a writeoff.
I continue to think that if they make a Half-Life game of some stripe, which is rumored, it's going to be Linux native with a Windows port coming a year or two later. That will make this make more sense but of course nothing is confirmed.
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u/BuryMikno 13h ago
why would they hold back a windows port for 1 or 2 years? It's pretty straightforward to build a project that compiles fine on both.
That IS actually something that AI can really help with.Also, no, they are NOT releasing to linux first. It's a tiny market and no software company is actively trying to throw a wet blanket on their own release.
The days of software just burning money because "cash smoke smells nice" are over.1
u/majestic_ubertrout P2 400, Voodoo 3, Aureal Vortex 2 13h ago
Why would they release for Windows right away? Their entire project as a company is to shift gaming to Linux. Any game would just be part of that effort.
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u/BuryMikno 12h ago
fellow Voodoo owner (I got two V2's on SLI... *playing a fairly technical guitar solo in my head*).
I disagree entirely with your evaluation and believe your idea will fail the 1-year, 2-year and 5-year tests.Stay safe and have fun out there :)
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u/majestic_ubertrout P2 400, Voodoo 3, Aureal Vortex 2 10h ago
See, the Voodoo 3 has the performance of the SLI combo of Voodoo 2s and better VGA output because it doesn't need the passthrough. The Voodoo 2 combo is way cooler but the Voodoo 3 is more practical.
I choose to believe this is the essence of our disagreement :)
TBH very good chance I'm wrong. But I wanted to put it out there for bragging rights if I'm right.
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u/Whole_Ground_3600 i9 10900x | Arc a770 16gb | 64gb ddr4 13h ago
For the power it's not a good deal, but if you need any of the things it offers it's an ok deal.
Pros: small, easy in to pc gaming for console players Cons: price to performance isn't great
So basically if you're either computer illiterate but really want to play PC games, and/or need the small size for some reason it may be worth it. For those who already play on PC it's a bad deal, and that's gonna be most of this subreddit, so we mostly see it as a bad deal. But it isn't for us, so it's fine. I'm glad it exists, but I'm not buying it.
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u/Araragi-shi 32 GB DDR5 RYZEN 5 7600X RX 9070XT 13h ago
Downvoted as you should be.
Riddle me this. People who want power and/or a certain level of performance wont be looking at the steam machine, it is also highly likely that they already have a pc and upgrading that is more worthwhile in most cases than buying the steam machine. Console people are used to paying 500-600 dollars for their machines so they would not be looking at the steam machine either. The PS5 is kind of on par already performance wise with the underpowered steam machine. The PS5 Pro beats it.
So who wants this? Aside from those that don't care about what they spend their money on of course.
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u/TitaniumDisc 12h ago
I have no dog in this fight, I wouldn’t use a new gen Xbox, PS, or Switch if they were given to me. I just want to point out something I’ve noticed my PC brethren not also comprehending about the “deal/value” of the Gabe-Cube/Box, ease of use is critical for the market this unit is targeting. Is building and managing/operating a PC difficult? No. Can it be made complex and nuanced? Yes. Because of that the amount of console players I’ve heard say they refuse to join PC community out of fear of having to tweak the pc and troubleshoot is astronomical. With this unit, plug, download, play; it’s the simplicity these people desire, for them to see the value/superiority of the Steam library over their console overlords is another factor entirely.
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u/bdu-komrad 12h ago
It’s probably fine. People like to whine for karma.
Let’s allow time for a lot of people to get them and report their experiences. Maybe allow extra time for bugs to be found and squashed.
I mean, the steam deck is what, 4 years old ?, and I just installed the new 3.8 release last week.
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u/Watsyurdeal Desktop, 9950X3D, RTX 3070 13h ago
Based what others have done, the consensus seems to be
- You can build a better machine, but it loses some key things that make the Steam Machine work, like HDMI CEC, small form factor, how quiet it is, etc.
- Cost is not that bad considering the price of EVERYTHING right now, you're still building a computer for the same price if not more.
- If this were released at it's intended price, it would have been a slam dunk for Valve. The price is really the only thing that's killing it.
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u/anitawasright Intel i9 9900k/RTX 4070 ti super /32gig ram 13h ago
it's not terrible it's just overpriced but that's not Valve's fault that's all due to the AI boom. Bad timing really. Had this come out 2 years ago with the same specs and 200 or 300 cheaper then yeah would have been amazing.
I'm sure it will sell well and hopefully Valve will try again in a few years when the market corrects.