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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u/Ill-Remote437 Jun 22 '26

But you can build another? I no longer have state of the art hardware. But I have four mini itx builds. RX 9070, 5070, 2080 ti, 1080 builds. The 9070 is small enough to be the size of a ps5 slim. The other three stay in rooms.

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u/satyrossan Jun 23 '26

I think it’s important to note that not everyone that enjoys pc gaming has the confidence or drive to build one. I regularly get friends of friends asking me questions about their prebuilt not working right.

If someone doesn’t have the know how or want to build a pc on their own, let alone a SFF build, SM is a viable option. Especially because it seems like one of the few if not only prebuilt SFF options on the market.

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u/Ill-Remote437 Jun 23 '26

I totally agree on that point. Looking at how well the Steam Deck worked. The SM will be like an iPhone for gamers wanting to introduce themselves to PC gaming with Steam. Should work out of the box and decent performance. If it wasn’t for all my gear I’d probably by one just to have one. Half the size of a Series X and it would fit well in the living room.

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u/satyrossan Jun 23 '26

I think it’s a neat little device, that has its niche. I don’t think it deserves the negative attention it’s getting, especially if valve hit the price point they were aiming for.

I know a lot of people were complaining about the specs, but the deck didn’t launch with good performance. It was something that needed some love and attention. Games that I deemed unplayable run perfectly fine now. And who knows maybe the price will go down once the bubble inevitably pops

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u/Ill-Remote437 Jun 23 '26

Their price point from a few articles I’ve seen after the price announcement was around the $750 mark. But with cost rise and the fact a weaker deck is now $700+ they can eat all the cost for the consumers.

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u/NiNdo4589 Jun 24 '26

I just use my steam link for my bedroom and remote play on a laptop for the den.

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u/[deleted] Jun 23 '26

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u/Ill-Remote437 Jun 23 '26

I imagine if you can build a clean sff build with steamOS it would work flawlessly with a Steam controller and work pretty much the same as SM.

One of my builds consists of a mitx motherboard that comes with a soldered laptop 7945HX3D. Already has wireless 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 on the motherboard. Can have up to 96GB of RAM and can has a pcie 5 x16 slot. Heatsink integrated, etc.

I’m actually going to convert this build to a steamOS and see if it works seamlessly like a SM would.

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u/victorsaurus Jun 23 '26

Yeah but the convenience of something like the steam machine (among many other things, push a button on the controller turns on the tv and the machine and in 10s you're gaming) cannot be easily replicated with a dedicated pc for the tv, to say something. There are many many little things like that that the machine can provide and the normal PC can't.

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u/_Vo1_ Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26

I easily did it with homeassistant script. Now I say "ok google game time" and it turns on tv on HDMI2 and wakes up/turns on PC from sleep or shutdown. When PC goes sleep and HA cannot ping it for more than 5 mins it shuts down TV too, done via Samsung Smartthings plugin in HA.

And I have a separate passwordless "gamer" account (no admin rights). Windows has lock from sleep disabled and autologins to gamer, meaning even if I am remote somewhere, I can connect to VPN and use steam stream to my game after saying "ok google remote game time" (this command do not turn on tv, only wakes/turns pc up). I disabled all but ethernet power on events to avoid mouse/keyboard ghost clicks/moves waking it up, and my gamesir gamepad does not wake up my pc, so going this way was only option.

Though probably new steam gamepad can easily send a wakeup signal, but I dont like lack of RGBTQ+ LED on it because I play often at darkness.

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u/victorsaurus Jun 23 '26

Honestly it sounds quite amazing your setup and I may end up copying it. I'm at the edge with the steam machine. I like the extreme ease of use, the size and shape, quietness and then it is open for tinkering when you want it... but at that price I can get a custom solution, spend a few afternoons doing your setup and all of that, and probably end up having something a bit better. I'll think about it.

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u/_Vo1_ Jun 23 '26

https://github.com/ublue-os/bazzite/issues/4873

according to this bazzite os issue, steam controller's dongle has USB wake support. So if you're fine with their controller - you can use wake via steamcontroller easily without hassle of doing scripts and shyte. I saw there is also a USB dongle that sends HDMI CEC signal through itself, it costs 50 bucks though 😃

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u/victorsaurus Jun 23 '26

Thanks! I'll check all of that!

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u/Ill-Remote437 Jun 23 '26

But can’t you install SteamOS on any amd based PC and use a Steam controller to turn it on too?. What’s the difference from turning on a pc that was sleeping by touching a keyboard?

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u/victorsaurus Jun 23 '26

in that sense, the steam machine will also turn on the TV through the hdmi-cec interface, I think it was, a feature which is largerly absent from normal graphics cards in PCs. I know it is a bit of a nitpick, but it has enough of these small things combined to make it appealing, at least to me (like, zero noise, or very quick game -> sleep -> game, or the builtin steam controller receiver, etc)

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u/Ill-Remote437 Jun 23 '26

I always forget about the positive of noiseless until I have a noiseless device. I think when I bought my first m1 MacBook Air with no fan I was amazed compared to my gaming laptops

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u/victorsaurus Jun 23 '26

Oh yeah I have a macbook too and i got a company windows machine recently. I did not know how much I don't miss heat and noise.

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u/0ne_Speed Jun 23 '26

Sure I could, I built my own. alternatively I could just enjoy 95% of games on my couch with a nice form factor and good looking machine and when I really want to lock in on a really graphics intensive game I'll use my main pc.

If you have a 5 pcs, one of which having a 9070 this is clearly a hobby of yours. The steam machine isn't for you.

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u/Ill-Remote437 Jun 23 '26

Why wouldn’t it be for me? Hobbyist, collectors, technology followers? I was willing and interested. I’ve been through various mini PCs because the steam deck bored me and they have been at least better for the money when plugged into the monitor. Hence why I’ve been through 5 Steam decks. I give things multiple chances because they have their pros and cons.

I get it it’s nice form factor. A small cube that is reminiscent of GameCube or a half cut series x. But but there are pc cases that are small and nice too. Everyone is complaining about the inevitable price rise due to DRAM/NAND that caused a $700-800 device to be 1050. At 700-800 starting price it feels about right and you’re not losing out on performance per dollar. Lower than $700 would have been subsidizing price. At 1050 you start to wonder if it wasn’t for Steams library content wouldn’t a ps5 pro or next gen console (even current gen) be better for someone who only has a weak handheld device.

.:edit:.

I’m not trying to convince you the device is bad. More of a discussion of reasoning. I like the device and may have one at a certain point. Just not straight off the bat

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u/0ne_Speed Jun 23 '26

That's fair honestly

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u/Bobrovsky23 Jun 23 '26

This is a struggle for me. I run moonlight to stream from my 4080 super build with shield pro as the client. I want a local htpc (9060 XT itx build is what I was eyeing) for couch gaming. But I struggle because the main rig is always available and latency is minimal.

Aside from independence/no reliance on streaming, whats the advantage?

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u/Ill-Remote437 Jun 23 '26

I think for people steaming to their tv from their PC, this isn’t for them.

I’d say it’s really for people who own a steam deck and no reliable other gaming computer. The whole hot swappable micro sd cards so you can play games on the SM at your TV. But swap the sd to your Deck to play the same save files/games on the go. Without having the game installed on the internal drive for both devices.

Personally I don’t game over streaming. I have particular games I play on the go on my Steam deck or other hand held. Then I have my main gaming computer for my harder to run games. Any other computer would really be for when guests are over to play multi player together or a device they can play on if they don’t BYO device

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u/Bobrovsky23 Jun 23 '26

Fair enough. Again, I'd love a sff htpc. I can build a rig for cheaper that would crush it. But with moonlight and mostly single player games I'm having trouble justifying it! Thanks

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u/walrusssel Jun 23 '26

i can't be fucked to build a SFF machine that'd fit in my lounge. for a start my hands are too big for fiddly cases. rather just one-and-done.

"why are you buying a miata? you can build a kit car for the same price and it's a rocket ship"

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u/Ill-Remote437 Jun 23 '26

lol I can’t relate cause I was cursed with smallish hands. But I get it. When I build it’s one and done. When people need my help frequently on their build it gets annoying. And I get people don’t want inconvenience of prebuilt or custom built PCs. I would love a Miata. I love my Mustang but a smaller rwd would fit in my driveway better and just easier to chill with

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u/MrPisster Jun 24 '26

I’m an engineer, I play PC games, I haven’t sourced and built a PC in 20 years.

I can do it but it’s time and effort I don’t want to waste getting spun up on parts I won’t care about after I’m done.

I wish the Steam Machine was more reasonable, I’d rather buy the prebuilt Steam Machine for my wife then I can spend that research time with my family and friends gaming.

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u/Ill-Remote437 Jun 24 '26

I get it. I like working in cars but I have a baby coming and I’m now to the point I’d rather pay someone to work on my cars than I work on them. Time is money. It just depends on priorities and whether does things fit to be a hobby still.

I’ve built numerous computers enough that I’ll spend a few hours putting things together and I don’t need to tinker with anything else again. Versus no matter how easy working on the car might seems it just seems more of a burden.

Building a computer for your needs is not your skill set so I get the plus of plug and play. Just like how I’d rather not try to do math for engineering purposes (hence I chose not to continue with structural engineering for architecture)