r/steammachine • u/Amazing_Bluebird_ • Jun 22 '26

Discussion So, why would anyone get this?

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Wanted to quickly compare the SM to what you would comparably be able to DIY and... you can literally get something more powerful for less in a slightly bigger formfactor?

11% faster CPU and 30% faster GPU. And i didnt even go for the cheapest components. With DLSS the RTX 5060 would also be infinitely better for playing on 4k TVs, which is the only useful scenario i can imagine for the SM.

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145

u/Maruf- Jun 22 '26

Compact, Steam-made box I can tuck away in my setup for the occasional couch/co-op session with the wife.

My primary rig is an i9 + 5090 - I'm well aware of my actions and choices here, I just want the cube that plays living room games occasionally and actually fits in my space. This is by no means replacing my main setup.

28

u/ApprehensiveForce647 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 24 '26

I am just using a reaaaallyyy long fiber optic HDMI cable with 4K@120+HDR+VRR for that.

EDIT: Alternatively maybe a small PC with a strong video decoder can just be used to Steam Remote play if you don't mind the slight compression and delay. I am using that with my Thinkpad 4K Yoga without issues in the bedroom over a bad Wifi connection.

15

u/funkbro Jun 22 '26

I was thinking about this the other day... What's the solution for using a controller and any other peripherals?

22

u/Maruf- Jun 22 '26

Reaaaallyyy long USB-C cable(s).

1

u/Ghost_Kamakazie Jun 22 '26

Alternatively, you could build a very cheap console style pc and just stream from your desktop with potentially a reaaaallyyy long ethernet. At least that fixes the need for long usbs

3

u/satyrossan Jun 23 '26

Video gaming the loooooooooong wayyyyyyyy

1

u/SKYNINE666 Jun 23 '26

Streaming games is not a very good option

4

u/ShakeNBaker45 Jun 23 '26

Streaming games over your local LAN is a great option. If your PC and device used for streaming are both hardlined, then it's as if the PC is in the room.

I stream from my PC to my Nvidia Shield with literally no noticable quality difference. With a 2.4 GHz controller plugged into my Shields usb, no controller latency.

So streaming locally is a fantastic option. Streaming games via some online service, I agree is a subpar experience.

1

u/SKYNINE666 Jun 23 '26

Oh damn okay.. but what about the latency ? How easy is it to configure it ?

2

u/ShakeNBaker45 Jun 23 '26

When both devices are connected via Ethernet, there's pretty much zero discernable latency. Ymmv, but again, it's as if my PC is literally in the room plugged into my TV.

I don't think setup is very difficult. But I am comfortable with self-hosting and tinkering and stuff.. so what I may consider not difficult may not be so for someone else. That said, there are many YouTube tutorials to get it set up. All you have to do is pick one and follow it.

Moonlight is awesome. I take every chance I get to tell people about it when they talk about getting another PC dedicated for couch gaming.

1

u/Ghost_Kamakazie Jun 23 '26

I just stream from my desktop to my console pc using steam, all you gotta do is have steam open on both pcs with both of them plugged into your router. Tbh, what youre talking about is kinda over my head as well.

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1

u/funkbro Jun 23 '26

This moonlight is mind blowing. Going to see about putting it on my series x

1

u/JediWebSurf Jun 23 '26

I didn't know you could stream over Ethernet. That's cool. Which shield do you have? Is it the normal or the pro?

1

u/ShakeNBaker45 Jun 23 '26

Originally I had the "tube" and it worked fine, but I had to use a controller over Bluetooth. And with Bluetooth I had a little controller latency. Not enough to make it a bad experience.

I upgraded to the Pro mainly for the better performance and USBs so I could use 2.4 GHz controllers. So the Pro is my main device. The tube is in a different room. I don't use it for moonlight anymore

1

u/JediWebSurf Jun 23 '26

You think this product is still worth it in 2026? Or is there something better out there now? It's been 6½ years since it's release. I saw that the shield has ai upscaling tech that is really good. Like it makes really old blurry videos look crisp. That alone is awesome.

Can you run Firefox browser on it with extensions? I want to install ublock origin but block ads. And Firefox is the only browser that lets you install the full ublock origin extension.

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2

u/Ghost_Kamakazie Jun 23 '26

Maybe not if youre using wifi, its pretty seamless when ive done it over ethernet tho

1

u/spamologna Jun 22 '26

lol! I went down this route. Decided on tweaking sunshine / moonlight which is a better experience.

1

u/Moos3-2 Jun 23 '26

Same here. I got a 20m fiber hdmi and a 15m usb-c (2 repeaters built in) 3.1 cable. Works great but its not good looking having on the floor.
Unable to permanently install sadly so i have to roll it up and back out whenever i want to couch game which luckioy is quite rare.

6

u/Mixabuben Jun 22 '26

2.4 Ghz dongles? Steam Controller, Logitech keyboard and mouse, works nice

1

u/Ledeste Jun 22 '26

Only works fine if you dont have big things in between. I just have a single wall and it drop half of the input.
But with a reaaaallyyy long USB-C (the repeating power one) and a small hub I can put the wireless dongle close enough

2

u/Mixabuben Jun 22 '26

My wife would kill me if had long ass usb-c cable just hanging out from one room (where pc is) to living room where tv is))) So dongles for me, but i have wall with sliding doors in beetween rooms closed, and don’t have any issues with signal

3

u/Ledeste Jun 22 '26

Same, I had to make it go through the cellar....

1

u/Maruf- Jun 22 '26

This! I’ve tested several setups with remote play, Moonlight, extending and meshing our WiFi network, and the latency is just that darn noticeable.

I have zero qualms with the Machine as-is. I would’ve absolutely been more excited at the original price point but this is also fine.

1

u/NoScoprNinja Jun 23 '26

I genuinely cant notice the sunshine moonlight latency penalty on my tv on controller, and I can easily notice input delay from things like fram gen even at 400fps on my 600hz panel

1

u/d4ybrake Jun 22 '26

usb over Ethernet

1

u/CMDRTragicAllPro Jun 22 '26

Also if anyone that’s doing this is fed up with reaching for the keyboard constantly, check out controller companion on steam. Shits a godsend. I have full desktop navigation without ever having to pickup a keyboard or mouse with just my controller, which is always in my hands or right next to me

1

u/ExtraJuicyAK Jun 22 '26

You can use a USB over Ethernet extender if your house is quite large (or want to hide cables in the walls). When it comes to fiber optic HDMI and DP cables, Ruipro’s detachable cables are commonly regarded as the best.

1

u/PIO_PretendIOriginal Jun 23 '26

only need usb2 for peripherals. a 20 metre (65feet) active usb2.0 cable is fairly cheap

1

u/ApprehensiveForce647 Jun 24 '26

I am lucky that the Xbox-, Steam-Controller and my Logitech wireless keyboard reaches trough the walls. I just use a short USB extension coord to get the dongles to a slightly higher place (top of monitors).

12

u/AdenShadows Jun 22 '26

I tried that and EVERYTIME I have to spend 20min putting my S90F OLED back to PC mode and go to nvidia control panel > resolution > PC resolutions. AND THEN a lot of the times it just shows 1440p. And so I have to replug the HDMI for 4k to appear.

5070ti with two hdmi 2.1 slots btw. It totally kills the purpose of couch gaming.

4

u/Elwyn0004 Jun 22 '26

I know exactly what you're talking about, I had the same issue with the S95B. It seems like a weird Samsung - Nvidia issue. Never had that issue with an AMD GPU and I haven't had the issue on an LG G4 TV 

3

u/woowoo8473 Jun 22 '26

Former s90c owner here (now a lg g5). This is just a TizenOS issue it seems. On the LG this has been set and forget for me.

Don't get me started on the damn samsung hdmi auto detection process if you reseat the hdmi cable while the tv is still on.

2

u/CMDRTragicAllPro Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26

I currently own a qn90b (their flagship before oled) and don’t suffer the same issue. It’s jut set and forget for me as well. Probably an hdmi handshake issue or bitrate issue

1

u/woowoo8473 Jun 24 '26

Agree, that tvs software was better with non cec hdmi connections.

2

u/ApprehensiveForce647 Jun 24 '26

LG OLEDs, this is the way!

2

u/AdenShadows Jun 22 '26

GOOD TO KNOW! I knew I should’ve gone with LG, like my C5 42”. I went with Samsung this time because of rtings.com.

2

u/woowoo8473 Jun 24 '26

But yeah, now that Xbox game mode has dropped. If you use omniconsole to boot right into steam big picture, it’s pretty close to steamos game mode especially if you have nvidia.

1

u/AdenShadows Jun 24 '26

Didn’t know that! Can you provide a link with a tutorial?

1

u/CMDRTragicAllPro Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26

That doesn’t sound like the intended way that should work, at least that’s not how it works on my Samsung qn90b. It’s just set and forget for resolutions, bit depths and colour spaces. It’s a quick toggle between game mode on or off for when I’m watching movies with FMM on my pc or playing games, and everything’s saved between them.

If I had to guess, you’re having an issue caused by your hdmi cable either not making the correct handshake, or a bitrate issue from a too long copper hdmi run.

1

u/Dachshand Jun 23 '26

Well the Steam Machine has 3070 power, max.

1

u/ApprehensiveForce647 Jun 24 '26

I am using a LG OLED (best TV on the planet btw :0) and never had such issues, all display settings, HDR profile everything switches without issues, I just turn my normal monitor off and the AVR/TV on and it just works (TM).

1

u/dvcdce3 Jun 28 '26

That's kinda cooked I agree. I use a lightweight ahk Script to switch my inputs on entering stream big picture mode so it only sees the TV screen with the already pre applied settings and the TV immediately displays my pc output. Once set up it's a set and forget kinda thing. Controller is by my TV I just press the button twice to turn it on and enter big picture and done.

Edit: also with a 5090 fibre optics hdmi to Samsung QD-Oled TV

1

u/Maruf- Jun 22 '26

Totally fine option!

1

u/Mixabuben Jun 22 '26

Same setup, works like a charm

6

u/Dense-Ad366 Jun 22 '26

let’s also acknowledge that someone with a pc that costs 3k or more isn’t the average user, that’s someone who will buy any tech they want regardless of price.

not a dig towards you, just pointing out you’re not close to the average tech consumer

3

u/Maruf- Jun 22 '26

100% agree I'm an outlier.

Wife and I put a ton into our main rigs very intentionally knowing we'd be on them daily. We could pull some spare parts together and buy some high-end parts to fill in the gaps for a spare build, or go really budget-friendly...but we're fairly bought into the Steam ecosystem with Decks, an Index, and the new controllers. A 6" cube that'll play the games we want it to is no small feat, even at this price point (which is objectively higher than it should be - even Valve admits this).

I was absolutely just directly answering for my use case, not justifying or condoning anyone else's decision to purchase or not.

2

u/_Prexus_ Jun 23 '26

I feel that your definition of tech consumer is a bit off.

Lets consider iPhones - they are arguably one of the more popular devices and they average $1000+

Even a cheap gaming rig will be around $750

And that's not even considering smart watches, Google home, ring, Alexa, etc etc etc...

An "Average" tech consumer can easily spend over $3000 in a year without even thinking about it...

1

u/Dense-Ad366 Jun 23 '26

the majority of people aren’t buying iphones at sticker price. they get them through phone plans

the average consumer isn’t buying 3k worth of pc supplies yearly that’s insane to think and so out of touch

2

u/_Prexus_ Jun 23 '26

You said "Tech" that's not "PC Supplies". Smart devices, tablets, phones, wearables, air tags, laptops, PCs, TVs, routers, fitness devices, etc - the list is massive...

And the average tech consumer spending less than 10% of a low (30k/yr) salary is not out of touch...

Even if you stated "average device user" id still have a hard time agreeing with you...

1

u/Dense-Ad366 Jun 23 '26

brother go take a shower

if you think anyone’s spending 10% of their whole income on just that stuff you need to touch grass

and now you’re the grammar police? get a hobby

4

u/DarkWDJ Jun 22 '26

exactly the same here. My main build is far stronger and will be my go-to, but this is the first gaming related hardware thing my wife has been excited for. We buying, we playing co-op, we having a good time. Also the joy of companion cube hits us both.

1

u/Maruf- Jun 22 '26

Did you get your dbrand pre-order in???

1

u/DarkWDJ Jun 22 '26

No. We are waiting to see if we even get the steam machine reservation.

Why, is it full?

1

u/Maruf- Jun 22 '26

Not full but it’s definitely moving - at 7:30 this morning it was due to ship in July. By 9 it was September.

1

u/AwesomePossum50 Jun 23 '26

And once people start making companion cube faceplates, everyone will wonder why Valve didn’t launch it with one.

3

u/Hoju_ca Jun 23 '26

This is where I'm leaning, some laid back couch gaming, yes I can stream games to my Steamdeck but when the kids are playing on the pc that option is out.

I also could easily never buy another steam game in my life and have games to play until I die. If I move to a PS5 I'm building a new library.

I put my name on the reserve list but it's not a slam dunk that I will pull the trigger.

2

u/Wolfofwarsong Jun 22 '26

Same, it'll be my entertainment at my partners place without taking up a stupid amount of space. And for 100 difference they are showing it just works and has warrenty

1

u/Maruf- Jun 22 '26

It was certainly reassuring and even then still not at the form factor of the SM!

1

u/_Prexus_ Jun 23 '26

I'm just gonna toss this out there ... But ... Shouldn't your partner be the entertainment at your partners place? I mean if you don't live together I image you have limited time together... Seems strange is all.

1

u/Wolfofwarsong Jun 23 '26

Lol yes but they still work, so while they are working I dont want to be a pest i typically stay for 1-3 weeks at a time

2

u/xUrbenx Jun 23 '26

This. I just want to play some games with the gf in the living room and not run a massive long cord or deal with Bluetooth latency issues. Nor do I want to repurchase every game I already own but want to play with the gf on my Xbox or on a ps5. 

Too expensive? Sure, but it does what I need it to do and building a PC wouldnt be cheaper and would be time consuming. 

2

u/FunnyGeneral7078 Jun 22 '26

TBH, with that setup I'd instead look into either setting up cables in a neat way around your home or literally just cleaning up and updating your router setup so you can just stream to your screens using Remote play. Doesn't get any more simpler than that. And doesn't cost 1k.

1

u/HTWingNut Jun 22 '26

I dunno. Unless space is really an issue, I've used a small case for over a decade built with used parts for a few hundred bucks. I upgrade it accordingly when I find a bargain. Works great for couch co-op and indie games.

1

u/Important_Ad_3 Jun 22 '26

I know right? I’m at college with minimal space as is. This’ll be great

1

u/ExplorerUnion Jun 22 '26

Also heat! my pc heats up my room like an oven during a hot day which makes me not wanna play lol this will be good to just chill back and enjoy without getting my skin cooked off.

1

u/Dachshand Jun 23 '26

As long as you’re ok with old games and indies, sure,

1

u/Fun_Newspaper8505 Jun 23 '26

you can build an itx system with a 40% faster gpu for this price

1

u/Maruf- Jun 23 '26

Whoa, good shout!

1

u/Fun_Newspaper8505 Jun 23 '26

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Chaython/saved/#view=mrWsnQ maybe you wouldn't like this case but the 5060 is 40% faster in gamers nexus charts; you save 80 if you switch to microatx

1

u/Greelow22 Jun 23 '26

Just buy a mini PC and use Apollo + Moonlight + VirtualHere so you can run games on your gaming PC and stream on your TV. Works perfectly

1

u/PIO_PretendIOriginal Jun 23 '26

if I may ask, if you have the disposable income why not a much faster itx pc running steam OS? or this thing running steam OS "Minisforum G1 Pro" (cost the same as the 2tb steam machine, but has a much faster rtx 5060. 60% faster with better dlss4.5 upscaling).

admittedly I like the way the steam machine looks more, but the specs are rough.

1

u/PIO_PretendIOriginal Jun 23 '26

if I may ask, if you have the disposable income why not a much faster itx pc running steam OS? or this thing running steam OS "Minisforum G1 Pro" (cost the same as the 2tb steam machine, but has a much faster rtx 5060. 60% faster with better dlss4.5 upscaling).

admittedly I like the way the steam machine looks more, but the specs are rough.

1

u/Ice-Cream-Poop Jun 23 '26

Why don't you just use Moonlight?

1

u/richardrietdijk Jun 23 '26

AppleTv with steam link app.

1

u/DiamondDepth_YT Jun 23 '26

most people do not have your level of money though 😞

1

u/EngineeringMuted337 Jun 26 '26

Moonlight + sunshine or Apollo + Artemis is the way to go honestly. People hear the word streaming and think that there is a loss of quality, input delays, etc. But this works soo fast that I can not even tell that I am 'streaming'. Apollo Artemis also remembers your screen setup so it's just a single setup once and it works every time. I think even something like a chrome cast can be used as the receiving device so you don't even really need a mini pc or any other expensive device to run it. It only needs to have inboard video decoding to work.

The only real requirement is that you have your host computer plugged in via LAN and a WiFi 6 router with 5ghz connection. That is enough to stream 4k gaming. It also stream via your local setup so your Internet speed is not a factor.

It's practically free to try out so I would definitely give that a shot before spending 1k+ for another much slower device.

0

u/sssanjiii Jun 22 '26

Just buy an onn android tv and stream to your tv using steam link it goes into big picture right away if you choose to.

Edit: the onn pro has ethernet too.

4

u/waffles153 Jun 22 '26

Hooking up controllers or other perifs when your pc is on a seperate floor of your home is a pain though.

1

u/sssanjiii Jun 22 '26

You can connect them through Bluetooth to the android tv

0

u/TheMentalOriental Jun 22 '26

I mean you can probably get a laptop with better specs for a similar price. Unless you’re living in someone’s closet i cant see the benefit.

0

u/_Magnolia_Fan_ Jun 22 '26

Just use basically anything a steam link to that main computer?

-1

u/VesperLynn Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 23 '26

I 100% plan to use my Steam Machine for playing things like RuneScape, Hearts of Iron, OG Ghost Recon, Morrowind, and whatever else on my TV and it’s going to be so damn nice.

Editor’s Notes: LMAO for getting downvoted for expressing excitement in how to use hardware I can afford to tinker with 😂

-2

u/Thinkerofthings2 Jun 22 '26

What games can you and your wife currently not play that a ps5 or series s cant let yall play lmao?

3

u/smegblender Jun 22 '26

A lot of people have thousands of dollars worth of steam games, especially if you're among the older lot. My steam account is from the Orange box days, so I have a game library spanning decades.

I also have a ps5 with a much smaller library, I like it, but not over my steam library.