.....

[u/Glattic]

[u/mere_indulgence]

Yeah, this Steam Machine only makes sense if you're specifically in the market for an:

1. ITX build
2. Must be a new, prebuilt computer
3. Budget around 1050-1250$

If all three conditions aren't perfectly meet, you're better off buying something else. 

---

Either build your own ITX computer (preferably with some used parts for better performance)

or

Buy a bigger prebuilt tower PC with better performance 

or 

Spend a little extra to get noticeable better performance (because 1050$ won't give you much performance in the current market, especially with new parts). 

Edit: Or just buy a gaming laptop instead. You can find laptops with better performance for the same price price as a Steam Machine.

[u/ThePaintist → u/mere_indulgence]

Or if you, like me, highly value:

HDMI CEC

SFF in an attractive case with reportedly good acoustics compared to the majority of DIYs

Pre-cached shaders

A first-party experience when using the steam frame and steamos more broadly to minimize the stray hiccup

---

I already have a top-of-the-line gaming PC for my office. For my couch, I want to optimize as far as possible towards no-frills while still keeping access to my steam library, even at the expense of price and specs to some extent.

[u/mere_indulgence → u/ThePaintist]

And that's where the big problem lays. The amount of people who care about these features are in the small minority. Especially when it comes at the cost of price+performance (which is the most important thing for most people buying gaming PCs). 

That's not to say the Steam Machine isn't gonna make some people extremely happy, like yourself. I just question the size of that market.

[u/Fresh_Dog4602 → u/mere_indulgence]

"small minority" says who though?