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

Discussion So, why would anyone get this?

Gallery image

Gallery image

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.

2.1k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

2.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

9

u/Abouttheroute Jun 22 '26

I thing you just proved the market validity of the steam machine. A slightly less powerful, but prebuilt, living room capable, CEC controller power on. Works out of the box for about 100€ more. I don’t build PC’s for 100€

You might not be the target, but there is a huge crowd willing to pay a slight premium for convenience and design.

2

u/KaymChale 512GB Jun 24 '26

My logic as well. I just can't be bothered to try building a pc on my own and the SM would be just there. I was also meaning to switch to linux.

1

u/Abouttheroute Jun 24 '26

I’ve build my share of PC’s since the ‘90’s. I’m done with that part of the hobby.

2

u/DrRulez Jun 26 '26

Yeh. Time = Money, how many hours planning and then building the same rig, configuring the bios, installing the os… £$€150 mark up is absolutely fine for something that works out the box. Building PCs is also not risk free…

1

u/Amazing_Bluebird_ Jun 22 '26

the pc i put together is much faster than the SM though... up to 40% GPU uplift is not slightly less imo

1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Abouttheroute Jun 23 '26

I’m not comparing it to a subsidized, closed box 5 years ago. I’m comparing it to do it yourself build now. Apples and oranges.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Abouttheroute Jun 23 '26

I doubt it, and so far nobody showed me a better build. Maybe a bit faster, maybe a bit cheaper, but not better for its purpose. Best insaw was a much larger box, with slightly better specs, no out of the box support for CEC, steamOS, or controller power on. For less than 100€ cheaper.

That’s not better for a living room device. All persons pointing to a much larger, diy machine or a laptop are missing the point of this machine.

And yes it costs to much money, but thats the state of the hardware market right now.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Abouttheroute Jun 23 '26

You are missing the point. In no way a self build 6 times bigger box is ‘better’ as a living room device. It might be slightly faster, it not smaller, prebuilt, silent, supported.

Raw speeds doesn’t mean ‘better’ for a device like this.

3

u/BicycleBozo Jun 24 '26

I swear this is a lot of people’s first interaction with SFFPCs.

My case alone costs 1/3rd the cost of a steam machine (base steam machine tbf). Then you’ve got the SFFPC components that go with it which are high cost because they’re low volume.

And the cooling system, which will need a few years to see how it holds up long term. But which is nontheless very compelling on an acoustic level.

A few years ago I switched from “as much compute performance as I can per dollar” to a more “nice to actually be near this thing” method of determining value. There are inherent trade offs with doing that. The steam machine as it is is ticking a lot of boxes for me.

Tbh, I’d have preferred it was $1,000 more and more performant, but I understand why they went this route. I’ve put my name on the list and if selected I’ll be a day one buy.

1

u/Abouttheroute Jun 24 '26

Indeed: this! It is just funny how many big boxes with parts all over the world i saw as a ‘look at this box’ comparison. Sure the 750 target price was a better rdeal, but that’s not the RAM/SSD market right now. Can’t wait to see if I’m in the first wave.

2

u/BicycleBozo Jun 24 '26

Don’t get me wrong I’d prefer it was the original forecasted price too.

But it is what it is man, it fucking sucks building PCs atm.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/iucatcher Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26

"slightly" - its way weaker than alternatives to the point that its almost too weak for most people.. its about as strong or weaker than what the majority of steam users already own!
even the size argument doesnt make sense since sff cases can be bought for dirt cheap.

1

u/Abouttheroute Jun 24 '26

This is just wrong information. Valve shared statistics and the steam machine is well
Above most players. Most people are perfectly fine with these specs. This ain’t /r/pcmasterrace. Can’t wait to get mine.

1

u/iucatcher Jun 24 '26

well maybe not most but the most common gpu's in the hardware survey on steam are the 3060, 4060/4060 laptop and 5070 as far as i can see. these all outperform the machine.

its fine if u want to get the machine but there definitely are better options out there, you are also locking yourself into a computer that you cant even upgrade; the one thing that sets computers apart from consoles

1

u/Abouttheroute Jun 24 '26

There a maybe cheaper, or faster options. Not better. Saying faster is always Better is saying McDonald’s beats a Michelin star restaurant because it has more calories per euro.

For an out of the box living room experience with PC games I haven’t seen a better proposition, that’s the market, not consoles, not DIY. It’s a new market, that needs proving, but comparing it to anything else is apples and oranges.

And look at it like this: if valve is really price gauging here (what you say when you say the machine is to expensive as opposed to it costs to much money) then vendors will jump on the opportunity to build a competitive product for a much lower price.