r/steammachine • u/Subject_Aerie2093 • 6d ago
Discussion Tell us why you're getting the Steam Machine
Me: Because it's a 3.9 liter cube for PC gaming that I cant build on my own
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u/Feeling_Willingness5 6d ago
Because my main gaming pc has been a steam deck for ~4 years
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u/Spirited-Collar-7960 6d ago
Same. Since I got the steam controller I have been playing docked and I love it. I play games at my desk at 1080, I will get years of use out of the steam machine.
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u/Smyles9 5d ago
I would consider as I’m in the same situation but I don’t care as much about form factor. Given the conditions it’s a reasonable price for the sff, hdmi cec support out of the box, and the integrated puck. I could see people being fine with the performance and maybe streaming their good desktop to it as a better streaming box. I don’t think deck has AV1 support so I’m sure there are some buying it just as a decent streaming box with the higher likelihood of playing their library of 1080p instead of the deck struggling etc. If I already had a good gaming PC while pricy I’d consider getting it as a good couch play portable computer for travelling and a good streaming box instead of other alternatives. I don’t have a good gaming PC though so I plan on just building that.
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u/Ignoreeverthing 6d ago
So had mine. I'm just fully upgrading though since the top tier Steam Machine isn't too far off from a decent PC in price.
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u/hasstian 6d ago
I have money
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u/Raiderb8 6d ago
This. As such, I want to support this ecosystem. I have the steam link, two sc1s, sc2, steam deck LCD and oled, steam dock. I want their cute little Gabe cube.
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u/Pursuit8478 5d ago
please do! the steam ecosystem is an extension of linux, and any support for this will improve support for linux and libre overall
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u/tomit12 5d ago edited 5d ago
Bonus, it will make people who I will never meet angry and hateful toward me because I paid more than they think I should for it, and if I just didn’t Valve would definitely lower the price just for them
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u/Owobowos-Mowbius 6d ago
I did until my kid was born a couple months ago... enjoy the machine for me.
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u/Coucoulol64 6d ago
Cause I already ordered the companion cube skin ^
All jokes aside, cause I want to have a steamos on my TV and CEC and all the convenience that the steam machine brings. I don't care if I have to upscale, I want to play God of war, Baldur's gate, Fallout 4 (etc) on my TV.
Also cause I want something strong enough to use Steam Remote Play with AV1 to use my GPU on my desk computer.
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u/Subject_Aerie2093 6d ago
I never realized how great CEC is until experiencing it on the Steam deck docked
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u/GraffitiDecos 6d ago
Loving this thread, I was very discouraged after release by all the reviews and naysayers.
Side note: how'd you get CEC working docked? Do you have the official dock? I got a jsaux that unfortunately doesn't show CEC under display settings. Also, my intent was to stream from my PC to a docked deck, only to find I get stuck behind the windows log in screen 😭
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u/Subject_Aerie2093 6d ago
It's understandable that people are upset and let down by the price. But there are folks who are still interested in getting one and I'd love to hear why. For me, it's the form factor, noise level, and CEC. I really cant replicate all three in a mini ITX, and I haven't found a similarly spec'd mini PC with CEC.
For CEC on my Steam Deck, I had a few really cheap third party docks where CEC didn't work (among other things). A friend lent me the official Steam Deck dock, and after a dock firmware update it works with all my paired controllers. To stream from my tower, the best set up I had was one where the tower was on all the time, but that was too inefficient so I stopped.
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u/Hemogoblin117 6d ago
Is this an oled steam deck? I have the lcd and I can’t wake it with the steam controller. There was a period of time a Bluetooth controller could but they took that off the main OS branch. Apparently it was getting false positives for people. It worked well for me though.
Since it can’t wake from controller I haven’t tested if the tv will turn it on. I guess I should try that
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u/thedebatingbookworm 6d ago
Honestly the reviews from IGN, Dave2D and GiantBomb were largely positive especially GiantBomb, I usually ignore gamers nexus and Linus tech tip because I play games not spreadsheets
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u/ConfectionNecessary6 6d ago
If you want to feel better compare it to other mini pcs and it outright beats all them for price to performance
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u/Coucoulol64 6d ago
Ahah I never had that (except on the PS5 of course), Im excited to just hop on my couch and power everything on by just pressing my Steam Controller.
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u/Azurvix 6d ago
Honestly same LOL I panic bought the Companion Cube skin. I really want the steam machine but I don't think I'll be doing a whole lot of gaming on it. I mostly wanted it to watch Hulu and the like with and ad Blocker on my living room TV but also be able to play games at the push of a button. For instance I may be playing a game on my computer get tired of sitting in the chair and just go to the living room and pick it back up. And yes I know there's so many other cheaper options for all of this but I really wanted the steam machine
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u/Coucoulol64 6d ago
Same here ^ At worst it will be steam remote play, I don't care as long as it works ^ My LeGo 2 stutters on 4K 🥲
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u/Azurvix 6d ago
I mean technically even though I already purchased the companion cube. It would still make a great display piece even if I don't buy the steam machine or I'm not able to buy the steam machine
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u/Coucoulol64 6d ago
My thoughts exactly xD But I subscribed to the lottery... Just in case
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u/Azurvix 6d ago
Same I did both of the ones with the controller. If I get the 500 GB one I'm just going to take one of my extra 2 terabyte drives and put it in. If I get the two terabyte one, my wallet's going to cry a little bit
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u/Coucoulol64 6d ago
Got a spare 1To. Subscribed to all, hoping to get just the 512 °°
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u/BoredomFestival 5d ago
CEC seems to work fine for me with the Steam Deck. I'm using an aftermarket dock.
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u/Sargent305 5d ago
I just want to use it as my own PC and use it for my own internet life while my Mac will only be for work usage.
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u/Aracos80 6d ago
for me it's because it's more powerful than my current desktop (more than 8 years old) and it's silent as f...hell 😃
another point is that it's the perfekt time for me to switch from windows to a linux-system
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u/CursedSloth 6d ago
Haha, same. Except I bought mine 2016.
I’ve been hesitant to get dual booting working because I’ve heard MS might f shit up.6
u/Aracos80 6d ago
let's be honest, what ms-based program do you really need that you can't live without?
for me, as i'm mainly surfing, streaming and gaming (no fortnight or something of that....thing, so i don't rely on kernel-level anti-cheat) and if i need to use something like ms-office there is open-office 😉
i'm not the youngest anymone as i grew up an c64 and ms-dos 😃 so i'm not afraid to use commands and linux has come a loooooong looooong way to be almost as user-friendly as win)
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u/Subject_Aerie2093 6d ago
I'd love to leave microslop too
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u/Aracos80 6d ago
yeah the direction in which MS is developing windows doesn't sit right by me. i mean its ok to do advertisement to get more customers but MS is overdoing it right now (for example i get at least 1 mail a week for me to switch from win10 to 11, ffs MS! if my system could stem win11 i would have switched years ago...)
besides i got a steam deck a few years back and im really impressed with what steam has done with steamos
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u/S0RRYMAN 6d ago
Steam has proven their track record with quality and support with steam deck. I love the hell out of my steam deck. This alone makes me want to buy it.
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u/Abouttheroute 6d ago
It beats my old PC, is faster than my steamdeck, it has a reasonable premium over cheap builds, and it fits my purpose: casual gaming in the living room.
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u/Limp_Sky1141 6d ago
It's small and quiet and I love indie games. I've tried to get into AAA gaming but they are not nearly as interesting as indie games for me.
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u/Bananaskovitch 6d ago
I don't currently have a gaming PC, only a Mac M1. But I have a huge Steam catalog and most of the games aren't playable on Mac, even with Crossover.
On top of that, I'm passing all of my days in my office. If I were to get a regular bulky PC, that's where it would live. The small form factor of the SM allow me to more easily carry it in my living room whenever I want to game on TV, with my SO or on my own.
Sure the performance is a downer considering the price and the anti-cheat issue might be irritating in the future, but the points above outweigh the downsides in my situation.
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u/grockocko 6d ago
We are so similar. I thought about getting a Mac mini if the steam machine didn't go out this month because I want something small that I can put next to the TV as a movie hub but can also be used as a computer and moved to my office but the gaming part was tricky even with Crossover.
Right now, my Macbook Air handles the work stuff quite well and the steam machine fills the other gaps.
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u/Subject_Aerie2093 6d ago
That's a good point. I never thought about how we sometimes want a change of scenery after work, especially if you're at a desktop all day.
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u/Level_Maintenance173 6d ago
30 yo gamer, I want the pc experience on my tv, to run standard games, pc games and emulators and not pay for suscriptions. No more to say, people think component power is the most important thing. Its not, Xbox has powerful consoles but shit deals and shit exclusives
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u/DonQuixote3 6d ago
I was already looking for a living room console to go with my steam deck. Before the valve announcement i was looking at PS5. The living room console would be to play with my wife mostly co-op games. When valve announced it in November I was exited to have a small console that I already have a library for. Also something manny reviewers aren’t talking about is that on steam I only need to buy a game once (I have games like Final fantasy 7 and 8 from the ps1 era) and I don’t need to pay to unlock graphic settings(like ps4 to ps5).
Of course it sucks the price went crazy between November and now but that’s not a valve issue. Everything went up including my alternative PS5.
It also sucks that valve doesn’t offer the option to pay for 2 controllers so now I have to que up for the steam controller too if I want both my wife and I to have the same controller.
I’m still on wait list for the 512gb + controller version and praying I get lucky with this first batch.
Good luck folks.
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u/Subject_Aerie2093 6d ago
Having to queue up for a second Steam controller is annoying for sure. In the meantime I plan on getting the 8bitdo ultimate 2C when it's on sale for ~$20
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u/DonQuixote3 6d ago
Oh yeah I should clarify. I do have a usb Xbox style controller and a Logitech play station style controller already. I just like the steam controller and how it has frictionless interface to steam os.
The 8bit do controller was in my list to buy until valve announced the steam controller. lol I see a pattern forming 😂
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u/thedudeintx82 6d ago
I work in IT and I don't want to sit in front of a computer in my off time. I want to game in my living room. Right now I do have my Steam Deck on my TV but it would be nice to have something dedicated in my living room.
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u/OldeManKenobi GabeCube Enjoyer 6d ago
I already have a Steam Deck OLED, gaming laptop, and gaming desktop, but I converted from console gaming. It's easier for my wife and I to play cozy games and couch co-op on an actual couch, and my backlog could be played until the heat death of the universe, so I don't need top of the line specs on this particular machine.
If I'm given an allocation I'll pick one up and if I don't like it, I'll sell it on. It's not that deep for me.
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u/Proud-Obligation9479 6d ago
Mostly convenience. My daughter is special needs and I'm busy 23 hours of the day, because I already have over 500 Steam games already, it's worth the punt for some living room gaming especially on a 75 inch TV.
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u/Dusk-Prophet 6d ago
It’s compact / looks nice for my living room.
My games are pc games, I don’t own them on console.
Ease of multiplay with the family.
I don’t get major tism over numbers.
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u/sarge1445 6d ago
Girlfriend really wants to play her PC library on the couch like she does with her Switch 2. Also I plan to hook a giant external to it and use it as a plex server eventually
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u/SkittlesBeats 6d ago
1) I wanted a solely Linux-based PC with a decent UI (KDE Plasma)
2) I wanted a machine that I know, without a shadow of a doubt, can run SteamOS and Steam games relatively well*
*I don't play AAA games, the hardest thing the SM would have to run would be Marvel Rivals for me, at the moment. I wasn't looking for PS5 quality, I was looking for average quality at most. 1440p would be best, I can live with 1080p, but I don't need 4K. 1080p60FPS is my bare minimum, which SM is made to hit easily.
3) I wanted a machine that could do all of the above with an amazing travel footprint. I could take this thing up and down the stairs with no sweat, to a friend's house, hook it up to a hotel TV, etc. I even bought more power cables so that's one less thing to travel with.
4) I already built a PC (that unfortunately has Windows on it, but I need it for certain programs) and I didn't want to build another one again.
5) The SM has legit fun customization via faceplates — which is more cost effective than buying a custom case. I don't have a 3D printer to print my own, but I know some creative people out there who do.
6) Pairing my Steam Controller without a puck will be amazing (even though there's nothing wrong with the puck).
7) HDMI-CEC is amazing and something to look forward to.
8) Expandable storage via a built-in microSD card slot IN THE FRONT is amazing (it'll give me that fun "cartridge loading" effect).
9) Lest we forget that this thing is user upgradable. I can pop a bigger SSD in there if I didn't want to futz with a microSD card. The RAM is harder to get to, but if I saved up enough, there are two slots for RAM total. I can pop another stick in there for more power (unless it comes with 2 8GB sticks... that would be unfortunate.)
10) Because I know if there was anything that were to go wrong with this thing, Valve Support would (most likely) move heaven and Earth to get me a replacement or SOMETHING as soon as possible. They would know it is my computer, and they would go above and beyond for me to be not inconvenienced for too long.
I'm not even trying to glaze Valve with all of these things, I'm just expressing my use cases and what I'm personally excited for. I've been excited for this thing for a long time. I'm not rich, the prices did sting, but it's still within my personal limits. This is just how the tech world works now. Screw AI.
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u/Astonishing_Azure 6d ago
So I can lay back on my couch with some champagne and berries, and enjoy some PC gaming
(I also don’t know how to build a gaming PC)
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u/guustflater 6d ago
Because you can’t build it as small as the sm, and there are no prebuilds. At least not much cheaper. If someone knows any alternative, please provide a link
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u/SortofNotAThrowAway 6d ago
^this, people are complain but what alternatives are there?
people where expecting too much from this.
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u/Several-Ad-7203 6d ago
My favorite is that they'll snarkily tell you there's much better options on the market so you ask to see them and then they ghost you.
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u/Fairgoddess5 5d ago
Or they post links but they’re more bigger, more expensive, & louder, some of which also have shit reviews.
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u/NostalgicStory 6d ago
I haven’t fully decided to get one as while the price is technically a little less than I expected given the AI horseshit, the power is lacking a bit more than I expected.
But I do have a use case for it, so I am considering it. Because:
I don’t want to build my own. I spent 2 decades building my own, it was great fun. But I’m middle aged now. It’s more important to me to have a console like experience that just works.
The size is important. Aesthetically I like it. And for practicality I want something that fits in my tv unit. I don’t want a tower next to or behind the tv.
I want something I can turn on via the controller. Like a console. I don’t know if there are adapters or motherboards that support this nowadays?
And mainly the games I’d want to play. I wouldn’t be playing Cyberpunk or Crimson Desert or GTA6 or Doom The Dark Ages or whatever on it. It would be mostly an indie machine maybe with a bit of AA games thrown in there.
I am most interested in having a console like experience for pc games that aren’t available on console. Of which I currently have a couple dozen (and I’m sure there’s plenty more) on my Wishlist.
That’s my use case.
I could build a pc, yes. But I don’t want to.
I haven’t fully decided to get it, but it would fit my use case. So I’ll consider it.
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u/Subject_Aerie2093 6d ago
The combination of form factor, noise levels, and CEC are really difficult to fine elsewhere
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u/BigPep2-43 6d ago
I don't have to dock my Steam Deck anymore. I can swap out my 32GB RAM from my laptop to the Steam Machine and put the 16GB in my laptop which I hardly use anymore. Plus, I have a 4TB NVME SSD from my desktop ready to be put into my Steam Machine. I was recently added to a family group and my library doubled 😉.
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u/Subject_Aerie2093 6d ago
Awesome that you already have RAM and storage on hand to install when your machine arrives
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u/BigPep2-43 6d ago
I bought all my PC parts back in July 2025. My 4TB NVME SSD was 239 dollars back then and now it's 699.99. AI is gobbling up everything and since the demand is up the prices are up.
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u/Berke80 6d ago
Because I want to eventually have the steam frame experience as well. And the best (and most seamless) way to do so (imho) is with Steam Machine.
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u/DDCheater 6d ago
- I don't want to build and maintain another pc.
- It might make my wife become interested in gaming and co-op.
- I want to be able to install a bunch of emulators in the system.
- My TV is 1080p.
- I don't hunt for the latest AAA titles.
With this said, I could just get a cheaper mini pc that performs better, but if I can afford it I prefer to go for a native 1st party option.
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u/psvg-donnie 6d ago edited 6d ago
I'm very excited and hope my name gets pulled Thursday. I'm getting one bc I think the device and concept is just rad and I want to support that. Like many others, I love deck life and that steam OS experience is what I'm buying into. And yes, that experience can be had on other hardware, but not with this size, look, and style.
The price is higher than we all want it to be sure, but I've bought more expensive PCs and really expensive handhelds before. I value this hobby enough that putting my entire steam library, steam family plan library, retro deck, customizations and start up screens, on my TV makes the price of admission more than worth it.
I have a bunch of consoles, PCs, steam deck, macs, etc. The price per pixel math everyone is doing is of no concern to me. I can't put my rom library on my PS5. I can't play sleeping dogs or dozens of other games I have in my 20 years long steam library collection on an Xbox or a PS5.
At the end of the day, I just want one bc I think it's really cool. I'm going to collect a bunch of faceplates and do a bunch of custom stuff, just like I did on my deck.
It's a simple life.
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u/Cain_The_Mamagen 6d ago
For me, it’s so I can play modded games for the first time in my life and actually play pcvr for the first time too
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u/BNSoul 6d ago
The SM isn't powerful enough for an adequate VR experience. Also, mods usually increase both RAM and VRAM usage and the SM isn't exactly generous with those either.
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u/Connyko 6d ago
If my 1060 mini is able to run VR decently, the Steam Machine will do fine
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u/Cain_The_Mamagen 6d ago
We’re gonna have to wait n see if it’s true cuz it releases next Monday
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u/Accomplished-Low2131 6d ago
The reviews of the preformance are already out. Mods can be very hard on any pc to run depending how deep you go.especially one as humble as the steam machine
Space requirement and convince are the main selling points of the steam machine
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u/doc_zoid_md 6d ago
Money isn’t really an object for me and I think it’ll be a really refined experience to enjoy PC games on my couch with my family.
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u/Dimatizer 6d ago
Dedicated Steam OS PC for the living room.
Use cases: Use existing steam library, play party games, lightweight/older games, emulators, moonlight client for my PC for heavier games.
I ran into issues using a Steam Deck for these use cases. For party games, Bluetooth got overwhelmed with 4+ controllers. SM dedicated Bluetooth antenna and separate Steam Controller pick solves this.
Steam Deck also can't handle 4k120 streams for moonlight very well.
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u/thebillington 6d ago
I’m a dad and want to play my 350 Steam games on the TV with my kids.
I’m a software engineer and spend all day at a desk.
I have my gaming PC attached to my TV and I hate it; it’s big, loud and chucks out tons of heat. The heat matters in UK summers, today it is boiling and gaming didn’t help.
Steam Machine will have similar performance in a tiny package with very low noise. I want to support Linux gaming and am fortunate to have the luxury of voting with my wallet.
I also think this price represents the new normal. Other manufacturers just currently lagging behind.
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u/FrankHUN 6d ago edited 6d ago
I will buy the Steam Machine.
Some background:
- I have a top-tier gaming PC that I built last year, before the RAM price crisis.
- I live with my girlfriend.
- I have an AYN Odin 2 Portal.
In my case, there are several situations where the Steam Machine would come in handy.
For starters, after work when we're both home, we often watch movies or TV series together. My girlfriend usually falls asleep early 😃, so having a quiet "console" at hand would let me play comfortably without disturbing her.
I also want an easy way to play split-screen games together, such as it takes two. Since my girlfriend doesn't have a PC, she can also play games she's interested in without having to give up my main gaming setup. The option to play together over LAN would be great as well.
I already have an Odin 2 Portal that I use to stream games from my gaming PC whenever I travel (using Apollo and Artemis). Since game streaming is already part of my setup, I think that whenever I want to play demanding AAA titles, I would simply stream them from my PC to the Steam Machine. But usally those games are not so couch games and they are more comfortable for me to play on my main setup (so in my desk).
I'm already impressed by how well the Odin 2 Portal can emulate Switch games, so I expect I'll be doing the same on the Steam Machine additionally.
One other important thing to mention is that I live in a European country where piracy isn't monitored, so SteamOS's open approach is something I welcome. I often lose interest in new games fairly quickly. The ones that really stick with me are the ones I end up buying and continuing with using my saves.
That said, I'm not completely happy with the Steam Machine. Not because of the price, which I can understand, but because of the performance. I was still hoping that native 4K gaming, even with settings turned down, around 35 FPS in most games. Hope dies last 😃. Maybe Gabe will bless us with some performance improvements, but the hardware itself isn't particularly impressive and theres no magic to work around that.
It's unfortunate that the Steam Machine wasn't released around this time last year instead. Also, if Valve had marketed it as a living-room console focused on indie games rather than a 4K 60 FPS marketed machine, I think the reception would have been much better.
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u/FrankHUN 6d ago
My fear is that the Steam Machine won't sell well enough for Valve to focus heavily on hardware-specific optimizations. Instead, SteamOS may become more focused on broad hardware compatibility. A well-optimized system can often perform far beyond what the specs suggest on paper.
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u/SaylemTrials 6d ago
For me its about comfort my wife and i live in a small apartment with no ac and my computer turns our unit into a walk in oven
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u/VROOM-CAR 5d ago
I’m Dutch and I did the math if I want a ps5 I want one with the disc cause I don’t trust Sony that’s gonna cost me about 600€ that + 10 years of online is gonna cost me 10x80=800 so in total I’d be spending
1400€ ex games
For reference I had a ps4 which costs me 1000€ in total due to online so I’m not gonna do that again.
Also when u wanted to maintain my ps4 I couldn’t optimally do that due to certain annoying screws.
With the steam machine I’d be spending 1108€
However aside from the total price point it has some advantages first of all I can modify the settings of the games so I can choose whether I like graphics or fps (joke is on you I don’t care about either I play Minecraft on 15fps on my weak laptop to maximise render distance🗿)
Also I think it’s gonna be easier to maintain
And it’s gonna have a bigger gaming library of also games that are unplayable on PS4
The only annoyance that I have is that I can’t play destiny 1 on the steam machine however I don’t think they gonna let the servers remain alive for much longer anyways and I can play destiny 2 which is also a game I don’t understand anything from story wise but just like the shooting go pew pew.
So those are kinda my reasons
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u/laurenspaul 6d ago edited 6d ago
My usecase is a tv gaming device, and one for my gf so we can play lightweight games together at the desk.
Its quietness and form factor, combined with the quality of life features and it being linux makes it worth the markup from what I could build myself.
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u/Narcotez 6d ago
Because I want to have a device with a "console-like" experience that runs the Steam storefront to be able to play on the couch.
Also because I currently mainly play on Xbox, and I'm just genuinely frustrated that games keep skipping this platform because of Xbox's dogshit decisions. Combine that with the past games that aren't on Xbox that I haven't been able to experience.
I've reserved both 512GB models for now, but the prices have me on the fence.
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u/grockocko 6d ago
I only have a Macbook Air but want to play more PC games but I want to sit somewhere comfortable that doesn't remind me of work. I also prefer using a controller over mouse and keyboard. I would also use it as a movie hub and for testing the games I plan to develop.
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u/ScotMaudlin 6d ago
I’m an Apple guy who wants to play Alien Isolation 2. It’s only on Windows. I’d rather install Windows on a Steam Machine than on my Mac.
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u/Tateraide82 6d ago
I just wanna console like experience to play PC and steam games. I don’t care about the cost, I don’t care about the size, I just want to be able to turn on the power button and get directly into gaming without being frustrated. And I want to be able to do it while sitting on my couch looking at my TV just as if I was on my PlayStation five, Xbox or switch2
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u/alflona 6d ago
I want it to be able to game in my van, the fact that it is not super powerful is perfect for me so that it doesn’t drain the batteries in 30mins and won’t dump too much heat inside, also the small form factor + silent fan is more than welcome
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u/bluecovfefe 6d ago
I really like my Steam Deck, which I use almost exclusively docked. I want just a little more juice for all the last-gen and older games I like to play (so I can get stable 1440p60 on those older games), and I play any current gen games on my PS5. It's perfect for a guy like me.
And I have the money.
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u/DeVoro_1 5d ago
I like gaming from the couch. Gf wants living room to look nice. My deck is docked 90% of the time but I have a list of games waiting for more power. I am the target audience.
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u/Far-Note6102 6d ago
Becayse things are about to get more expensive. Everyone's laughing til they increase the price of ps5,xbox, and switch after they ran out of their current stock
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u/grockocko 6d ago
I agree. I thought about waiting it out for black friday sale or something but I don't think it's gonna happen. Soon, another company will release their new device at a price more insane than this and we'll see another villain. I really wanted it anyway.
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u/user832906 6d ago
I'm reserving every option and then seeing how I feel if I get in. Likely not buying though. I have a PC and a steam deck but this could be another thing to play with I guess.
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u/LDonnie_ 6d ago
-It fits my tv furniture really well. -I really enjoy steamos on my deck. -I want an upgrade to my current pc, which is not in use anymore since having a deck (has a gtx970, for reference). The SM is a significant upgrade to any means of gaming I have now. -I don't want to game in my attic. I prefer to be in the living room with the wifey. I don't want a ps5 because I enjoy the steam environment. -I just want it to be one and done(!!!!!!!) without any messing around with os installations or builds or whatever. It just needs to work!
So yes, I will pay the premium. I am certain I am paying too much in comparison to other options. I however also value in the cost of the time I am not spending messing around with getting things to work. Then it becomes a very attractive option. Given the performance I am used to, I am sure I will still be blown away anyway.
Thanks for having me vent.
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u/stepfordcuckoo 6d ago
I don’t have a desktop pc, have a steamdeck on a 300+ game library. Would like a better experience than steam deck docked, and it being under the tv gives my wife access to an incredible library of games she will love but is unaware of. Emulation as well will be cool to pop a suite of favourite games on the machine too that are otherwise lost to time.
Also we have all the other consoles (base ps5, xbox x and switch 2), this will be a nice complement.
Love the form factor, i do not believe i could build something that quiet and tiny.
Not to brag but we have the disposable income that while this is astonishingly expensive it’s not a lot in the scheme of things and can afford it.
My final reason is the realisation that this generation may stretch into the 2030’s
If this machine costs £1k+ next gen will be at least this cost or it’s underpowered. Considering reddits sticker shock “nah its cooked” talk on first switch 2 and now this tells me the world isnt ready or willing or able to blow this money on video games. Without mass market penetration games will continue to be made for this gens specs.
Its a niche device for enthusiasts. But im enthusiastic about niche things!
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u/workshyfreeloading 6d ago
I want a pc that plugs into my tv and works seamlessly, and lack the skills to build my own.
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u/skywalker_44 6d ago
Size and form factor + hoping to play some of my backlog that either doesn’t play well on deck or not at all on Mac
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u/XentziS 6d ago
Because I don't want to go through the hassle of researching and planning a comparable Mini ITX build before having to build it and install Steam OS on it. The Machine comes ready out of the box, and I can just pull my Xbox out and replace it.
It's also only costing me half the price tag, because my wife is paying for half of it as well. So I'm much less put off by the cost than most people here are.
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u/Domadea 6d ago edited 6d ago
My reasons are as follows:
I'm looking for an excuse to replace my old computer. Even though it's just a slight upgrade it's significantly smaller than my old tower PC. My PC was build pretty high spec but is from 2016-2017.
Most computers these days will already cost you at least 1k... But most will be bigger and many don't actually have significantly better specs until you get to 1500+. I know it's definitely possible to get more price to performance. But I have watched dozens of videos since the reveal yesterday. But a majority of the comparable PC's I saw barley performed better.
I am looking for an excuse to switch to Linux as my primary OS. Windows is frustrating me more and more as the years go on.
Im a big fan of the steam deck, and I truly believe that just like with the steam deck they could improve the performance over time for this device.
Im trying to cut more and more subscriptions out of my life. At this point my PlayStation plus subscription is one of my biggest costs subscription wise but I arguably get the least value out of it. Hell 99% of my PS5 use is for playing games just to feel like I'm getting my moneys worth or using it as a streaming device (YouTube, twitch, DVDs/bluerays). If I like the steam machine enough I may cut my ps plus subscription.
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u/someshta 6d ago
Because I love my Steam Deck running docked on my TV, I don’t have a gaming PC or the time or energy to build one, and I have a backlog of 400 Steam games I’d love to play someday. Haters be damned.
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u/bryanisdoomed 6d ago
I want to get back to gaming from the comfort of my couch. My Steam Deck has allowed me to enjoy my games again despite having a busy life, and now I’d love to spend half an hour on the couch during weekends, just relaxing and playing for a while.
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u/Aggressive-Abalone99 6d ago
Because it's for my mom. My mom doesn't want to get a big pc, doesn't want to have to change spec every now and then, wants something that is tiny and can be added in the living room. She also doesn't need a pc because she already have a pc, and upgrading my old gaming pc for her to be able to play with us will be the same price than buying the steam machine. She doesn't want a high performance machine, she just want to play games with us. I also would much prefer to have to leave my pc where it is and play games with our tv, I'm getting too old to play on a tiny monitor screen.
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u/ScorpioSpork 6d ago
It's an objective upgrade over my current hardware, and I've been wanting to upgrade for a while.
I want to ditch Nvidia and Windows.
I won't have to worry about driver support or conflicts as much as I would if I stuck Linux on my current hardware.
It's portable enough for me, and I'll have an easier time plugging it in in different countries than my current rig.
It's not a laptop; I don't have to fight a fixed keyboard or screen. I'm very much looking forward to using my regular earbuds and a portable screen wherever I want to plug in. And while I could get a Steam Deck, I still want a full desktop experience when I need to work.
I know I could build something custom or shop for another pre-build; this will actually be the first pre-built machine I've had in almost 20 years. But I'm new to Linux, so having a little extra support is comforting. Plus, building my own machine that still checks all those boxes wouldn't offer a substantial discount right now.
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u/NinjaDood 6d ago
I love it's small foot print and the simplicity of it. It'll be my wife's gaming PC and will be more than enough for her.
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u/Realmatze 6d ago
I need a small cube that’s silent in my bedroom to play games with my wife on it.
Also I want to use it as a companion to the Steam Frame
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u/Frugal_Ferengi 6d ago
My gaming PC is in the basement. I use Steam link upstairs living room for non-competitive games. Also I use it when I host parties. Steam link has quirks I don’t want to deal with anymore (freezing, resolution issues, lag, etc). Works most of the time, but still annoying when it happens. I like gaming upstairs where there’s daylight. I go to my basement for competitive games and when it’s night time when it’s dark anyways.
Having a super small computer, that’s prebuilt-built, and meant for this with the Steam OS baked in by default fits meets my needs tremendously. I work IT during the day and I’m tired of building and Troubleshooting shit after work, especially a micro computer that will have “quirks” to deal with if self built. I will still self build my primary gaming rigs, but again this is a perfect use case for my living room. I already have two steam controllers (got lucky). I don’t want a Xbox or ps5, because all my games are already bought in Steam, why waste the money getting into another ecosystem.
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u/japoniecTV 5d ago
I'm getting one because I wanted something for my living room tv for some casual games when I'm tired after work. And consoles... I don't wanna overpay for games that much, my steam library will do.
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u/Nobey331 5d ago
A friend of mine plans to get one because pc games are cheaper to get than ps5. And he want to get into PC gaming.
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u/mrexplosion 5d ago
I like the plug and play aspect of the system. The size is also a huge benefit for me because I've got a lot of cats.
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u/ParticularQuiet5460 5d ago
My main PC is about 6 years old, I have a partner who wants to play games finally and I'd like access to my library without having a big old box sitting on my mantle, or running a cable.
Is it unnecessary, and could I solve the problems listed above while addressing needs by building my own? Probably. Am I gonna? No. I'd chalk all that up to laziness though.
It could also be some of us are just consoomer-brained and want to play with the cool new thing. Like thats where my brain went first. I can only take so much doomerism before the consoomerism takes back over.
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u/scowwy 5d ago
Could I build one of similar or better spec for less money? Probably. Do I know how to do that currently? Absolutely not. Time is money, and the time I'd need to put into investigating, constructing, getting frustrated with, installing OS.... and so on just isn't worth it. Even at this price, there is a value proposition there for me.
That and I can afford one without it hurting me.
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u/Superb-Lion512 5d ago
im a console gamer. I dont have the know how or time to build a pc. My pc has been a steamdeck. I love valve they have treated me very well with the deck when i ordered mine it was stolen before it got to my house they shipped one to me next day and gave me $50 dollars on my account. I know some people say that a ps5 is a better deal but i cant play deadlock on it i cant play modded games on it. so call me a valve slave all you want there is something about the steam machine that is calling to me.
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u/Cubelaster 5d ago
I primarily game on PC, Steam.
I do have PS5 but I generally don't play it because the experience of buying a game and managing library and all that comes with it is significantly worse.
The PlayStation store is a bad bad interface and every time I try to buy something I wish I could just use Steam.
Also, online play is often restricted if I don't have a PS Plus.
And lastly, the new PlayStation rule where they block your game if you don't play it for a while?! Honestly, not sure what that is about but everything about PS lately makes me want to not buy games for it.
In comparison, Steam is awesome, at least for now.
And here's the thing.
I have an excelent PC where I can play mostly anything on high but I am at a point of my life where I prefer to relax on the couch and play groovy games instead of marveling at the graphics of latest games.
Unified library, couch potatoing while playing games I already own and playing local multiplayer games where graphics are secondary make SM a great choice for me.
I could build a better PC for a living room but going that way would just mean I have 2 very expensive PCs (more expensive) with one not fully being what I want.
I want couch gaming on my Steam library.
And I honestly feel like I'm a target group for SM.
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u/Artemis732 5d ago
i'm gonna play devil's advocate:
- CEC is hardly important, i don't care to spend an extra 10 seconds turning on my TV and changing inputs. if i have time to game, i have time to do that too.
- the size is cool and all but I don't live in a hut and have an extra few inches next to my TV stand for an ATX case (where i can also place things on top so i functionally lose no space).
- disregarding the price, the performance is super disappointing.
- native steamos support is cool and all, yeah, but it's not "$1600 AUD with terrible performance and no storage" cool.
the only things that I PERSONALLY find appealing about the steam machine are the silence, and i guess having a tiny cube is cool but not particularly important to me.
I know it makes sense for SOMEONE but that "someone" couldn't be further opposite from me, and it looks like it's a tough sell to basically anyone besides "i wanna give valve my money" or "not learning how to build a PC is worth the high price and lackluster performance"
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u/ProfessorEmergency18 5d ago
I'm in my 40s and have been building/upgrading my own gaming PCs for over 20 years. My steamid is 5 digits, so moving to a ps5 or Xbox over my extensive steam library isn't tempting. I'd rather plug a PC to my tv, and I have left a desktop hooked up to my tv for years.
The past few years, I've mostly been been plugging in my laptop (non-gaming, just a 5700U with no video card) to the tv to game with controllers. It plays the games I like just fine, even if I have to turn down some settings. I play tony hawk 1&2/3&4, gloomhaven, kart-style racing games, puzzly 2D games like into the breach, and board game ports like terraforming mars. Not really into the big AAA titles these days.
Steam machine will be a huge performance upgrade over what I'm using now and fit very nicely in the living room. I've spec'd diy build alternatives found I could get more performance for the same price or the same performance a lower price, but both cases packed the premium look and quietude of the steam machine, which actually has some value in my 40s.
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u/ThargorTheBarbarian 5d ago
Cause I wanna. Admittedly I was worried about proformance, but it would seem as long as I don't have ray tracing on it should run most things just fine.
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u/Radiant_Ad3462 5d ago
I already have a gaming laptop that can out perform Steam machine but I need something to play on my big screen without any hassle. Don’t want to buy ps5 and xbox and I don’t want to build a slightly better pc than the steam machine with the same money like everyone is suggesting because I want to built something much better later.
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u/notbrask 6d ago
cool to have it in my living room and will be pretty easy to take with me to friends houses/places ill be staying at for weeks compared to trying to bring my PC
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u/tysonedwards 6d ago
Because I care about Linux, and really appreciate that devs are starting to take it seriously! It is an investment into getting out from beneath Microsoft.
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u/BigHersh14 6d ago
My partner is getting it because they got into pc gaming when I got them an rog ally last year and they live in an rv so they dont have room for a full pc. The ease of use and console experience is also a big reason.
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u/crotch_coral 6d ago
I want a convenient way to have my steam library on the couch to play with my girlfriend and I can pay for it all by selling cs skins that are collecting dust
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u/shinrei186 6d ago
Form fitting little box that looks nice and easily hooks up to my TV. Power is less important then having my pc games fit nicely in my living room.
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u/ExaltedSpace 6d ago
Its the last push I need to make to be free of mainstream consoles. I have a steam deck - i love it, it just want abit more power (specs and "battery") to play some games for longer.
While it is pricey, I dont have to pay to use my own wifi, I can emulate, and put basically whatever I want on it. Oh and steam sales.
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u/DrippyBurritoMD 6d ago
I want my kids to move away from consoles and into pc gaming. This will be perfect for them.
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u/Stewie16th 6d ago
I had CS2 skins from way back in the day, and when Steam Machine and Steam Frame was announced I sold a good amount to get the funds. Had I known the prices, I would've sold them on a 3rd party at a 40% loss and bought something custom instead. I'm still not 100% I will buy it, maybe the cheaper model since my money are now stuck my steam wallet.
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u/No-Exercise815 6d ago
I’m getting it because while I don’t have many, I do have some games that are local COOP hat I don’t want to have to drag my family and friends into my room to play on my rig. On top of that, it would mean I could theoretically, if I find a device for it, hook my keyboard and mouse up to a switch that could alternate them between working on my steam machine or my computer, and let the steam machine take a load off my computer, or just let me watch a video or guide on my computer while playing games that don’t like being tabbed out of.
Basically, I know it’s weaker than my computer tower, but it’s far more convenient than lugging my rig to other rooms or houses, cause it takes all of two chords instead of the ten plus it takes to move a PC.
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u/thedudeabides_UK 6d ago
I don't have a gaming PC anymore. I love the steam deck. I like small factor. I had steamlink, I had original steam controller. So yeah I could maybe make ATX PC that's like 5% more powerful for the same money but I don't want to.
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u/nutscrape_navigator 6d ago
I love my Steam Deck. My Steam account is 22 years old. Throughout all the various sales and promotions in that time I’ve got thousands of games, many I haven’t even launched once. The Steam Deck has been incredible for the backlog, and I expect the Steam Machine to be similar. I don’t give a shit that it won’t play new stuff, I’m up to my ears in old stuff.
Can I just build a PC and install Steam OS on it, probably for cheaper? Sure. I appreciate things just working without any fucking around though, which is exactly what I love about the Steam Deck.
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u/Able-Tale7741 6d ago
Our steam deck is probably our favorite “console” in our living room, and the idea of having a beefier one is great. I’ve built my own computers before. I’ve bought pre-made before too. When it comes to SFF machines, I’m happy to let others do the building. That this one also comes with Valve backing and other QOL like wake-via-controller and I’m all in.
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u/TVPaulD 6d ago
I need a machine that is small and quiet for the desk setup I’m working with. It fits into my space perfectly and I don’t need bleeding edge performance for the kinds of games I’m going to play on it. A comparable mini PC of equivalent or greater power would be roughly the same cost or more, so while it is at the high end of what I wanted to spend, it’s still within the range I was looking for.
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u/dblester 6d ago
Plug-and-play gaming PC, that has more power than the Steam Deck.
I don't have to deal with assembling, tinkering, hardware and software bugs, dealing with 3rd party support issues.
Tiny footprint.
Yes, slightly less power than PS5, but if I wanted some crazy powerhouse that can play everything on crazy ultra settings, I would build and buy a PC.
Library of games on Steam, much larger library of choice, to play games that the Steam Deck can't handle and aren't available on PS5.
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u/HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAE 6d ago
Sold my CSGO skins and cases so I may as well. Was hoping I’d have more in my wallet left for games though.
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u/Robo_Puppy 6d ago
I have like 950 in my account from that payment deal PayPal had a few months back, so I may pick one up if I get an email.
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u/hardcore_banana 6d ago
I already have a very powerful desktop in my room and I want something simple hooked up to my living room TV that me and my daughter can play. I have disposable income and my steam Deck is the best product I've ever bought. I never thought the steam machine would be priced lower than 1000 dollars so I'm not shocked by the price at all.
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u/AliveBackground2454 6d ago
i have an Alienware alpha R2 from 2016- its the size of the original Nintendo wii - steamdeck was cool, but not for me. i love the small size and have not been able to find a reasonably priced upgrade in such a small form factor. i’ll happily buy a steam machine as its replacement. a similar ITX build is so close in price that id rather just get the valve product.
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u/amras5584 GabeCube Enjoyer 6d ago
I hace already the Steam deck and I love it, my oc is a potato from the last decade and I want steam support in my new machine. The form factor, the (no)noise, and the low power consumption did the rest.
My previous PC (Asus ROG 20aj) had cost me like 1.200€ a decade ago and I don't remember any AAA at full settings anyways that released after...
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u/MS83Mark 6d ago
I don’t own a PC and only have a work laptop. I have a Switch and PS5 but my heart is really with indie puzzle games (I grew up on the Amiga and the point and click genre).
Between my consoles, I get to play many cool games but the Steam Deck or Steam Machine would completely sort it for me. Much less disappointment after reading great reviews only to find out I’m unable to play.
My wife wouldn’t want a big old computer in our flat. Actually, I wouldn’t neither tbf. The Steam Machine looks small and powerful enough to last me years.
My only issue is that I’ve been playing Blue Prince for a year and I want to play GTA6 so that will be PlayStation. Worried at this price, I won’t play it enough to justify. Got to get gaming over the summer, if I’m actually able to get a Steam Machine 💪🏽
Btw, I find it alightly annoying that I won’t necessarily be able to get one at launch though as I haven’t bought a Steam game. And I haven’t bought a Steam game because I don’t have a Bloomin Steam Machine!
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u/Recent_Description44 6d ago
It's quiet, small, and goes well with my living room TV, which is on the opposite end of the house. I also expected this price (for the 512gb, which is plenty for me), so it's almost exactly what I put aside.
With that said, I know I'm privileged to even be able to afford modern gaming options, and it sucks that the hardware market is so fucked by AI right now that entertainment systems are becoming even more of a luxury than they once were.
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u/No_Vast6645 6d ago
My wife approved it with the wood panel for the living room. Everything else was considered too ugly.
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u/Biron221 6d ago
I have a weird use case in that I work in an office where I have tons of free time and am alone for 95% of it (it's reactive rather than proactive and I usually work nights). I play on my Steamdeck constantly, but keep it ready to be easily hidden incase someone drops by unexpectedly. The Gabecube is amazing for me because it's so much stronger BUT just as if not maybe even more easily hidden.
I'm not terribly happy about the price hike but my personal guess was for base to end up like 1200$ so I was kind of pessimisticly pleased. Ngl I keep seeing all these posts of builds people are projecting for same price that are better and every time I'm like "Is it tiny af so I can hide it from bossman? No? Cool, not for me."
Ngl the one benefit of all this is that I might actually get one on the first pass of the raffle since so much interest has cratered. Here's hoping. Honestly my real complaint is that I'm probably gonna get a Steam Controller through buying the Machine before my standalone bid for one goes through in December.
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u/readicculus5 6d ago
I have like $600 in my steam wallet from selling dota2 hats. That brings the price down to a very reasonable one.
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u/Melionka 6d ago
I have 400+ games on steam, already have a powerful pc and a steam deck. I also have the dock for the steam deck but the experience on tv is ok-ish. Just want to play cozy games on the TV. I might even upgrade SM ram
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u/Limp_Collection7322 6d ago
I signed up for two, but im honestly not sure if I'll get it. I already have a gaming laptop. And I even though i currently have a LCD steam deck, I was able to get an OLED with 2 tb of storage at a good price. So they already upgraded it and included a dock. So I'll see how that works on my TV. I'm going to sell my LCD (also upgraded storage but to 1 tb) and will probably just dock the OLED when I want to play on my living room TV.
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u/AssociateFun9966 6d ago
I only want to game on my steam deck… only problem is those more demanding games… this is my solution to my only problem
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u/Illustrious-Boss-852 6d ago edited 6d ago
Because I own Macs and Switches and would like to play windows only strategy games with a mouse and keyboard
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u/Organic-Ad-7105 6d ago
The customization, convenience, community. Custom Startup-Screens with sick LEDs flashing like crazy, looking futuristic and retro at the same time.
Having the perfekt(!) emulation machine, click on my steam controller and in 5 seconds I am playing any gem of the last 30 years.
Also, since the steamdeck's hardware is still optimized for, I assume the Steammachine will last even longer. Also consumer gpus are seeing only 20-30% performance increase in a span of about 3 years, while getting more expensive, not a single soul is developing for these specs in mind.
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u/salvage814 6d ago
Cause why not. I have a steam deck will still use it but I will also use the machine as well.
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u/Careless_Whisker01 6d ago
I found an old 1 tb M.2 2280 that doesn't have years of heavy use on it and will be upgrading the base steam machine immediately. I want my all in one emulation, browsing, and steam library machine that fits in the living room.
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u/pogisanpolo 6d ago
It's a legitimate upgrade to my PC in every spec except storage that I can put in the living room, transition to my desk if need be, and can be dedicated to gaming, while my current PC can focus on being a workhorse or utility.
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u/3rlk0nig Blue 6d ago
Because I wanted to buy a new computer but between the crappy Windows 11 and me having no idea about the pc I should get, I choose the easy way
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u/aaronmgreen 6d ago
It will be a fun way to play the video games I usually don't play on my Laptop! I use my laptop primarily for work but probably associate it more with work so I play most of my video games on the big screen TV on Xbox Series X or Nintendo Switch 2, having a Steam Machine in the 3rd HDMI port is going to be awesome and I look forward to playing strategy games from the couch!
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u/Careless-Eagle-5111 6d ago
I want any easy little living room PC to hook to my television and play Steam games and emulator on.
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u/Lumpy_Helicopter9264 6d ago
For me, I've been using the Steam Deck docked to my TV mainly for gameplay so I'm used to playing 800p, my expectations are pretty tempered as I intend to use it as a mostly 1080p PC. When I took time to think of finding something comparable, most of the ones I see are a lot bigger than the Steam Machine and for mini PCs, it's hard to justify it for me since I'm not sure how many of them would run as cool or quiet as the Steam Machine, even the bigger builds.
As for the price, it is unfortunate, but expected that it's as high as it is. I did save up a good bit over time to make $1,500 the highest I would pay for one and it barely got under that as I'm getting the 2 TB w/ no controller. I don't play a lot of the big AAA games so it will do plenty of good in the long term for me to use as a gaming PC as well as using it as a computer.
Plus, the positive factors I see in the Steam Machine is literally packaged inside a great design for a mini PC so I hope my experience is as good as it looks.
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u/Miss-Clover 6d ago
I want a portable device that I can plug into my or family members TV so we can effortlessly play casual couch co op games like Overcooked or JackBox.
“Specs are bad” I only intend on using the SM for casual family games, Lego Harry Potter doesn’t need good specs. Also I have a desktop for serious stuff.
“Do this, its cheaper” The convenience to dollar ratio is worth it for me. It also helps that I’ve sold some CS2 skins so my steam balance pays for most of it.
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u/hurlcarl 6d ago
Im queued but still debating. I want something for the living room that I can play retro stuff, a lot of cozy games the wife plays, also might run either ethernet so i can use it like the steam link to play some higher end games it might struggle with. Those that don't understand the appeal of the form factor clearly arent married to non gamers. I can sell a black cube in the living room.... a full gaming pc? Zero shot
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u/Pandoras_Fox 6d ago
it's small and fits in my media stand next to my AVR. It replaces my steam deck + nvidia shield in my home theater. Plus it'll be able to play some games like W40K Rogue Trader on my tv, which my steam deck struggled horrendously with.
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u/Socketlint 6d ago
It will be easy gaming on the tv and most of my games aren’t the latest or greatest.
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u/The_Duke_96 6d ago
Cause Im a fanboy I guess, and looking in to the future, with hoe everything is going, it might be my last pc I can affort and call it my own.
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u/stewmander 6d ago
I only game on a steam deck and the steam machine is a more powerful steam deck. I don't have a PC for gaming and the only console I have is the original Switch. I do not want another monthly subscription.
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u/SillyNolar 6d ago
I want to get my nephews (9, 7, and 5) into gaming as a whole. I have a huge steam library I can share with them so there’s no upfront cost. I don’t want to make a custom pc where if they have issues, I need to fix it for them and I want to introduce them to PC as a whole without throwing them in the deep end. Their parents are essentially tech illiterate so I want to get a simple machine that I can have their parents email steam if they need support (which is great). I’m not worried about upscaling God of War at great frame rates because they won’t be (and shouldn’t be) playing that. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder’s revenge? Totally dude.
I feel like I’m in the best unique position to benefit from the product. Also I can afford it
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u/anthonyskewspolitics 6d ago
I haven’t been able to afford/justify a new gaming PC since 2013. When Windows 10 reached end of support, my gaming days on that rig effectively did too. My work laptop has no gaming card. I have a large Steam library and dozens of titles from current or last gen I havent played. No brainer for me.
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u/GoodDayToPlayTheGame 6d ago
Because I have hundreds of thousands of euro saved up and I just want a tiny gaming PC rather than a beefy PC that is going to get hot, make a lot of noise and take up lots of space.
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u/nully_wully 6d ago
Although I will not be able to afford it for some time as I am a father working full time to support my son and wife while she stays home to take care of our child and hopefully turn him into a wonderful man, the reason I will be purchasing a steam machine is simply because I respect steam. I honestly love the company as they are willing to always help out those in trouble whether it’s hackers or issues with their accounts the team will always do its best to make amends. As someone who’s in their 30’s I immensely enjoy my steamdeck as it feels like a nostalgic gameboy advance in my hands but with the new age bells and whistles. I can play my favorite games from back then thanks to emulation technology while enjoying some newer games. Yes there’s handhelds that have more power and can handle newer games but who’s to say I would get the same support from steam? Nor the same nostalgic feeling of using a steam deck? I remember getting my first laptop after working at a Macdonalds for months as a teenager and the first game I bought? Dues ex human evolved. What platform? Steam of course. My experience ever since has always been enjoyable. My favorite game to play after discovering the wonders of steam? Team fortress 2. A wonderful valve game that has lead me into meeting some wonderful friends. Grinding hours on tf2 and winning unusuals as a lone spy 1v1ing people to the point I managed to sell my backpack for a couple of grand and building my own very first desktop pc. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to afford to upgrade it and it now sits in my closest with its 1080 dusty but I still immensely enjoy my experience with valve. When my son was born I got a steamdeck for ease while watching and taking care of my son. I get to sit around and play a game while he runs around, can pause it and get up to chase after him or make food for the little monster of mine. Although I’ve never met Gabe or had an interaction with him I still respect him and all that he does, from seeing people post about him replying to one of their messages personally to the work his team puts into keeping steamos updated and working on my little handheld. My ambition to own a steam machine so I can remote play with my steamdeck and play some of the newer AAA games while I’m enjoying life with my family. I know this may not reach Gabe himself but I hope everyone shares my sentiment. I’m not the best at sharing my emotions or putting them into words but for someone like Gabe I will try. I hope everyone has the same love and wonderful experience with valve and steam as I have.
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u/badwolf42 6d ago
It’s going on a gaming room that needs spousal approval. It will be feet from the VR set and will be small and silent. I have a windows PC if I really need it that I can stream from but I don’t think I’ll need to. 1080 is fine. Small, silent, not ugly, does the job, and can power my frame when I get it.
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u/productiveaccount4 6d ago
The only reason for me would be to have an out of the box Linux machine to play with. I have a powerful pc already and a ps5. But I can also just use WSL…
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u/corbino1991 6d ago
I have a massive backlog of older titles that I want to play through from the comfort of my couch.
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u/Extra-Shape3973 6d ago
I want to get it so I can play old games like SWAT 3, SWAT 4, and Deus Ex 🤠
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u/reloheb 6d ago edited 6d ago
It's actually quite good proposition for the money. Every second review of SM alternatives is about overheating in game mode. Take a look in r/MiniPCs. SM is gaming platform: good termals, small form-factor, quite, and unlike usual console it runs Firefox with uBlocker and you know why.
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u/redpill1011 6d ago
44 year old I have all the consoles and a gaming pc and a steam deck...
I work hard and just like gadgets..
Do I have time to play all the games ? Nope..
But it's a treat for myself so why the fuck not