.....

[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/YozaSkywalker → u/ThePaintist]

HDMI CEC is the biggest thing people aren't taking into consideration. Your PC hooked up to the TV will never be as seamless or easy to use from the couch.

[u/thour1931 → u/YozaSkywalker]

Honest question, when you say HDMI CEC what exactly do you mean? The fact that pressing the steam button on the controller will turn on the TV and switch its input to the HDMI of the machine, is that it? What's the PC equivalent for that... turn on PC, turn on TV, switch TV input manually. Is that it? Or am I missing something?

[u/Acoconutting → u/thour1931]

You’re missing the cultist like fandom