Valve's Steam Machine is here: starts at $1,049 for 512GB or $1,349 for the 2TB version
- Thread starter Julio Franco
- Start date
demonicmaniac
Posts: 39 +67
Valve themselves clearly stated that steamos runs on other hardware and that you don't need to buy a steam machine. They tried to sell this thing for a price comparable to the ps5 pro before the apocalypse hit as a living room couch quasi console experience - they were never trying to corner any large market or sell millions of these things. I certainly would never recommend it to anybody that doesn't just want one for the wow cool factor - that's what it is made for now - people with enough spare cash who want to play with it.
The other Steve interview sheds a lot of light on this. They had bought parts and engineered and then sat on the problem whether to cut their losses and cancel or go ahead selling at cost overpriced now what they have and they went with the latter clearly messaging that steamos runs anywhere else. They could have tied the controller sales to the machine to make more people buy it but they didn't - kudos for that. I'm not a steam/valve fan but in this case I have to commend them for doing the smart thing.
Calling it a pc is not really correct imho because of the soldered gpu and no thunderbolt/usb4 options for an expansion. That was the biggest mistake they did imho and why I was never exited for it compared to anything minisforum with usb4 at least. But Valve is not a hardware company, they don't get to dictate to oems what they want and have to take what they can reasonably get - I'd bet the 7600 were just lots of unsold inventory they got for cheap.
The other Steve interview sheds a lot of light on this. They had bought parts and engineered and then sat on the problem whether to cut their losses and cancel or go ahead selling at cost overpriced now what they have and they went with the latter clearly messaging that steamos runs anywhere else. They could have tied the controller sales to the machine to make more people buy it but they didn't - kudos for that. I'm not a steam/valve fan but in this case I have to commend them for doing the smart thing.
Calling it a pc is not really correct imho because of the soldered gpu and no thunderbolt/usb4 options for an expansion. That was the biggest mistake they did imho and why I was never exited for it compared to anything minisforum with usb4 at least. But Valve is not a hardware company, they don't get to dictate to oems what they want and have to take what they can reasonably get - I'd bet the 7600 were just lots of unsold inventory they got for cheap.
LordVile95
Posts: 442 +277
It’s really not that bad? I don’t know why they used a PS5 Pro as an example as the steam machine is easily slower than a base PS5 and XSX which both are £650 with a disc drive, maybe they got confused.
LordVile95
Posts: 442 +277
Aside from they haven’t released steamos for that, it doesn’t work well on the machine itself and you require a steam controller to use it.
SteamOS will be installable on other PCs when they kill the machine again and can’t make money from it.
OortCloud
Posts: 2,240 +3,247
People that reply with 'buddy' in their answer - shudder.... Lord Vile by name Lord Vile by Nature?
Squid Surprise
Posts: 7,883 +8,181
Why would I want SteamOS on a PC when I could put Windows (and/or Linux) on my own PC and simply install the Steam app to play any games - and now be able to play any non -Steam games as well?
Plus it can be a superior HTPC and run office, etc… this is truly a niche item for those who just want something that “looks cool”…
LordVile95
Posts: 442 +277
Becaure the entire point is a TV friendly OS?
LordVile95
Posts: 442 +277
Whatever you say friend. Guess you don’t have a counter to any point I made if you’re restoring to personal attacks.
Squid Surprise
Posts: 7,883 +8,181
How is it more TV friendly than my normal PC? And “supporting CEC” is not relevant to me…
LordVile95
Posts: 442 +277
Because of the widows UI and need for a keyboard and mouse making it distinctly PC experience and Xbox mode and Steam big picture aren’t reliable enough to be a real solution.
Squid Surprise
Posts: 7,883 +8,181
But keyboard and a mouse are awesome… I have a wireless keyboard/mouse combo that is perfect for playing media from my PC… and I have controllers for when I want to game on my TV with it…
My TV is simply a second monitor and works great… and I can play ALL my PC games, not just Steam ones….
LordVile95
Posts: 442 +277
The entire point is to navigate the entire OS with a controller on a couch and not use it as a PC.
Squid Surprise
Posts: 7,883 +8,181
Which is a dumb point… you still need a remote for the TV…
And the whole point of having the PC connected to the TV is so I CAN use it as a PC! While sitting on my couch and using a giant screen!
LordVile95
Posts: 442 +277
No you don’t? Have you been living under a rock?
Which is a terrible way to use a PC becaure the you have to up the scaling so much the extra screen space is wasted.
Squid Surprise
Posts: 7,883 +8,181
How am I changing channels? Or switching input to my Apple TV (or any of my other devices connected to my AVR)? Not using a controller for all of that…
I’m using my TV as a second monitor for my PC when I use it to game or watch movies from it…
I’m not using excel on it (but I have the option to do so in a pinch if I have to)… I’m also not alone here… plenty of people use a PC connected to their TV and are quite happy…
A steam machine gives me 0 options on the other hand… it’s a terrible console, and a terrible PC… and costs more… why do I want this?
LordVile95
Posts: 442 +277
Why would you change channels on a PC? You are aware that TVs auto switch to the active source now right?
Which is incredibly dumb
The vast majority of people who have PCs cannoned to a TV is as a media PC not to do actual work on.
If it was actually priced well or specced out correctly it’s a console replacement and has been marketed as such. It’s a bad product not a bad idea, the next Xbox is likely to be a similar idea
Squid Surprise
Posts: 7,883 +8,181
I’m not - but I’d need a remote for WHEN I was watching TV… I’m still on the couch when I do either…
No it isn’t - the PC is used for work/gaming primarily in my office (which adjoins my rec room), and I have a long hdmi cable connecting it to my AVR for when I want to watch media from it on my TV…
I don’t work on it on my TV - I just CAN if I need to… like if I’m watching a movie and someone sends me a quick revision… I can pause the movie, open Excel, fix the file, then go back to the movie without having to move…
But it isn’t! That’s my point! It’s an expensive console with no proprietary games… and it’s a crappy PC that can be replaced with better parts for cheaper!
fadingfool
Posts: 464 +626
Shame about the price but that is the way of the world at the moment. Looks like I'll have to stick with my old Steam controller and the 9 foot HDMI cable from my desk to the TV for my couch gaming (or the PS5 - though my library is extremely limited compared with Steam). Do like the look of the GabeCube and if they ever become sensible in price I might reconsider.
LordVile95
Posts: 442 +277
At this rate the never Xbox will be cheaper and have access to steam though
At this price, it would make sense to use a real PC GPU in this machine, and make it upgradeable.
Fine, let the case be a bit longer, but it could fit a range of GPUs such as 9060xt or 5060ti.
In such configuration, it would be more valuable. One way or another, graphics evolve.
They will be getting more realistic: water, shadows, new fabric and face tech.
This box is from 5 years ago. In 2 years, PS6 will come out and will make it
look like a retro machine for 2d games.
Do you guys wonder if it would be better to not release it at all?
Fine, let the case be a bit longer, but it could fit a range of GPUs such as 9060xt or 5060ti.
In such configuration, it would be more valuable. One way or another, graphics evolve.
They will be getting more realistic: water, shadows, new fabric and face tech.
This box is from 5 years ago. In 2 years, PS6 will come out and will make it
look like a retro machine for 2d games.
Do you guys wonder if it would be better to not release it at all?
Burty117
Posts: 5,996 +5,087
Why does everyone think PS6 will come out in 2 years? RAM prices aren't even due to start dropping until the earliest of late 2027 / early 2028.
Why would you want the PS6 to come out then? It'll have the same pricing issues just like the Steam Machine currently has.
From what I saw it seemed the 5050 Mobile was worse. If it is like that, sure buy some of stock that is still available at lower prices.
It is decent performance for what it is. SFF PCs are 2-3x the price. A binned 9060 sure would have been better.
This is still a nice device that gets Valve another base device for developers to target. I'm sure Lenovo and Asus will deliver similar devices that will be more expensive.
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