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[ResurrectedContrarian]

Consoles like PS5 should not be a comparison point, it's a totally different kind of thing.

On PS5 you're at the mercy of the retarded devs and just have to accept whatever fugly women or agendas they put in the games. Oh well.

On a Steam machine, you have mods... so you can load the 'no-alphabet' mod for BG3, or fix the fugly women in any game you want, plus play a ton of custom maps and conversions.

If you like being told what you have to enjoy and zero control over it, stick with your corporate-locked Sony machine. But I've had a (disc version) PS5 since launch, and maybe touch it a few times a year now, just a pointless device to me. Steam is where I already spend 95% of my non-handheld gaming time, despite PS5 already having better graphics compared to my aging setup. Getting to use raytrace mode instead of performance mode or whatever on your games on PS5 is not a worthwhile trade for being locked in MS or Sony-town, not by a mile. At even 3/4 the comparable power, a PC is just infinitely more valuable for gaming.

 

[Minsc]

You can buy a PS5 and a good laptop like the MacBook Neo for about the same amount of money and get a better workstation and video game device.

This thing is just indefensible.

You're absolutely right, but Macbook Neo? C'mon, that's like getting a modern day smartphone with 512MB RAM and 16GB storage and saying it's ok, you have the cloud, and only use your phone for texting.

Neo is like the bottom-est of the bottom barrel laptops you could get.

I feel the Neo is even more a waste of money than the Steam Machine. 8GB of RAM on a PC? What is this, 1992?

 

[diffusionx]

You're absolutely right, but Macbook Neo? C'mon, that's like getting a modern day smartphone with 512MB RAM and 16GB storage and saying it's ok, you have the cloud, and only use your phone for texting.

Neo is like the bottom-est of the bottom barrel laptops you could get.

I feel the Neo is even more a waste of money than the Steam Machine. 8GB of RAM on a PC? What is this, 1992?

You had a PC with 8GB of RAM in 1992? What CIA cutout did you work in?

In any case, you should see the reviews, it's perfectly fine for the sort of productivity tasks you would want a low-end device for, and is even ok at things like music production. Apple is in full control of the product stack there.

It's a better productivity device than installing Windows on the Steam Deck, that's for sure.

 

[Ribi]

This is an underpowered and overpriced proprietary computer.you can spend less on a prebuilt that you can upgrade.

It just fails on every level. Anyone who likes computers would understand this.

But that wasn't the point. You mentioned a PS5... Why mention the non PC ps5

 

[Minsc]

You had a PC with 8GB of RAM in 1992? What CIA cutout did you work in?

In any case, you should see the reviews, it's perfectly fine for the sort of productivity tasks you would want a low-end device for, and is even ok at things like music production. Apple is in full control of the product stack there.

It's a better productivity device than installing Windows on the Steam Deck, that's for sure.

I use laptops for consuming media, they're much more practical than a stationary display, so screen quality and the ability to playback 4k HDR content along with having PIP windows of other media playing, while having multiple apps open in the background including a web browser with 20-50 tabs is the bare minimum. Most likely on top of that I would need another 5+ apps running as well, and hardly none of those things would get closed if I wanted to play anything on it. I already know it is incapable of doing even half of that at once. According to google it cannot even play back two 4k streams in a browser simultaneously.

Neo totally fails for me, and lands as a product I'd have no use for at all. I guess unless you want a device that isn't capable.

 

[MrCunningham]

You're absolutely right, but Macbook Neo? C'mon, that's like getting a modern day smartphone with 512MB RAM and 16GB storage and saying it's ok, you have the cloud, and only use your phone for texting.

Neo is like the bottom-est of the bottom barrel laptops you could get.

I feel the Neo is even more a waste of money than the Steam Machine. 8GB of RAM on a PC? What is this, 1992?

Sadly Smartphones in 2026 are getting scaled down to cope with the 'RAMpacalypse'. Also, the Steam machine has 16GB of DDR5 as well as 8GB of GDDR6 video RAM. There are two SODIMM slots so you can upgrade the main system RAM. I think the system supports up to 64GB's via two 32GB modules.

 

[diffusionx]

I use laptops for consuming media, they're much more practical than a stationary display, so screen quality and the ability to playback 4k HDR content along with having PIP windows of other media playing, while having multiple apps open in the background including a web browser with 20-50 tabs is the bare minimum. Most likely on top of that I would need another 5+ apps running as well, and hardly none of those things would get closed if I wanted to play anything on it. I already know it is incapable of doing even half of that at once. According to google it cannot even play back two 4k streams in a browser simultaneously.

Neo totally fails for me, and lands as a product I'd have no use for at all. I guess unless you want a device that isn't capable.

Okay? There are Windows laptops in that price range too, with more RAM. Maybe those would work better for you. What the fuck do I care?

 

[Minsc]

Sadly Smartphones in 2026 are getting scaled down to cope with the 'RAMpacalypse'. Also, the Steam machine has 16GB of DDR5 as well as 8GB of GDDR6 video RAM. There are two SODIMM slots so you can upgrade the main system RAM. I think the system supports up to 64GB's via two 32GB modules.

In that regard, I guess my Galaxy Ultra 23, which is about 3 1/2 years old now, a bit ancient in smart phone years, much like the PS5, while outdated, still feels perfectly relevant or good enough for me that I'm not dying to upgrade. The price increases (less so for phones), and new models being scaled back as you mention, certainly don't compel me to upgrade any faster.

 

[Minsc]

Okay? There are Windows laptops in that price range too, with more RAM. Maybe those would work better for you. What the fuck do I care?

I dunno, I read your suggestion and felt it was flawed for me, I wasn't sure what use a Neo would have in my workflow, that's all. I get swapping the PS5 in for the gaming side, and getting a laptop, but you're missing some grounds in that equation, if you want to get down to it.

The idea that someone buying the Steam Machine wouldn't care about PC games is a strange one, so to sub in a PS5 + Neo (which can't play PC games) falls short, at least a MBP can game decently, but price is not great there. And getting a laptop that is not great at working with media/content also seems like a poor choice to me. But it's fine if you don't agree, we can both not agree with each other, that's basically the norm for most stuff anyway.

 

[Robot Carnival]

I was never going to get this since I have a better spec PC already. but I do feel this would be great for those who want to get into the Steam ecosystem and not interested in a handheld. that or as a living room couch playing PC. but that is at $750 or maybe even $800. at this current price it's definitely hard to justify buying it. I do understand that it's not really Valav's fault when all things considered so hopefully their next entry would have better luck. thou now I wonder how much the Frame will be since that's the one I'm really interested in.

 

[diffusionx]

I dunno, I read your suggestion and felt it was flawed for me, I wasn't sure what use a Neo would have in my workflow, that's all. I get swapping the PS5 in for the gaming side, and getting a laptop, but you're missing some grounds in that equation, if you want to get down to it.

The idea that someone buying the Steam Machine wouldn't care about PC games is a strange one, so to sub in a PS5 + Neo (which can't play PC games) falls short, at least a MBP can game decently, but price is not great there. And getting a laptop that is not great at working with media/content also seems like a poor choice to me. But it's fine if you don't agree, we can both not agree with each other, that's basically the norm for most stuff anyway.

The broader point here is that no matter what you want, there are better options for cheaper.

 

[MrCunningham]

Sadly Smartphones in 2026 are getting scaled down to cope with the 'RAMpacalypse'. Also, the Steam machine has 16GB of DDR5 as well as 8GB of GDDR6 video RAM. There are two SODIMM slots so you can upgrade the main system RAM. I think the system supports up to 64GB's via two 32GB modules.

Upgrading the machine to 64GB's of RAM would add an additional $900.00 (USD) to the cost.

In Canada this RAM would cost closer to $1,200.00. The Steam machine costs $ 2,038.00 for a deluxe package with a 2TB SSD and a game pad.

 

[Banjo64]

You're absolutely right, but Macbook Neo? C'mon, that's like getting a modern day smartphone with 512MB RAM and 16GB storage and saying it's ok, you have the cloud, and only use your phone for texting.

Neo is like the bottom-est of the bottom barrel laptops you could get.

I feel the Neo is even more a waste of money than the Steam Machine. 8GB of RAM on a PC? What is this, 1992?

The Neo is a great PC for productivity.

Funnily enough just watching this video on my TV in the back ground right now as I opened this thread;

 

[SScorpio]

Upgrading the machine to 64GB's of RAM would add an additional $900.00 (USD) to the cost.

In Canada this RAM would cost closer to $1,200.00. The Steam machine costs $ 2,038.00 for a deluxe package with a 2TB SSD and a game pad.

Just shows how impossible of a situation it is right now. I have a mini PC I run VMs on, so I got 64GB last year.

1TB NVMEs are approaching $200. They were down to ~$50 at one time.

 

[MrCunningham]

Just shows how impossible of a situation it is right now. I have a mini PC I run VMs on, so I got 64GB last year.

1TB NVMEs are approaching $200. They were down to ~$50 at one time.

as the old saying goes: "we don't know how good we had it."

 

[Minsc]

The Neo is a great PC for productivity.

Funnily enough just watching this video on my TV in the back ground right now as I opened this thread;

Technically if you classify the Neo as a great PC for productivity, aren't you inherently setting the bar so low, that you are also classifying every PC currently sold as great for productivity too?

It's like the emulation video (god that Halo section was painful to watch at like 3fps), if you classify gaming as just being able to emulate through N64/PS2 and earlier, well you have like every $100 handheld under the sun running Android passing your test (not to mention your smart phone as well).

I really don't think the Neo can handle any sort of moderate multimedia load, involving higher end 4k content and not run out of memory. I did some googling, and ultimately the machine is just full of compromises compared to MBPs and OLED PCs from Lenovo/Asus/etc which are far, far better at consuming content, which is the main thing I would use a laptop for anyway. Like an enhanced tablet, because tablets fail at multitasking, while they're fine for standard content consumption, try playing two videos with audio on both videos at once in most tablets, and it's game over.

Edit: And I would like to emphasize again, the last time I bought a PC with less than 16GB of RAM standard, I think was back in the early 2000s, no joke. Every PC I've had since Windows 7 has had 16GB or more, I can't even remember owning a non Windows 98/Windows 2000 PC with under 16GB of RAM. My most recent PC had 64GB of RAM, and I was honestly considering the 128GB version (Halo Strix). Previously I had 32GB, which I found perfectly fine, but 16GB gets cramped for me, while it is usable.

It is CRAZY we're releasing a laptop with 8GB of RAM IMO, my smartphone from 2023 has 12GB of RAM (or maybe 16GB).

 

[JORMBO]

 

[//DEVIL//]

I was about to talk shit, but then I watched the video lol.

This whole system is a joke. The only reason one would buy it is if you live in 1x1 meter cube, and you can't find space to put it anywhere but on top of your head.

 

[DarkShadowXI]

The only reason one would buy it is if you live in 1x1 meter cube, and you can't find space to put it anywhere but on top of your head.

I'll be placing mine in my bedroom TV cabinet, but the top of my head is a good alternative.

 

[Dorfdad]

this guy got me cracking up. Love these kind of videos! I love the Mario 64 segment!

 

[//DEVIL//]

I'll be placing mine in my bedroom TV cabinet, but the top of my head is a good alternative.

lol. I really advise you against it. But your money. Do whatever you like with it.

I would try and get a very small mini itx case dyi with 9060 XT in it if it's up to me. Don't care if I am spending a few 100s more if it gives more power for a secondary machine.

The price they are asking is just not logical.

here is a very mini itx that is vastly more powerful for few 100s more

 

[Unfortunatecookie]

People will buy this regardless... and it may help pave the way to helix acceptance. And whatever pc hybrid machine Sony eventually brings to market. Prices be damned.

Uhhh... I don't think the Steam Machine will set the world on fire. I could be wrong, but every early indicator puts it as a tough sell.

 

[DarkShadowXI]

lol. I really advise you against it. But your money. Do whatever you like with it.

I would try and get a very small mini itx case dyi with 9060 XT in it if it's up to me. Don't care if I am spending a few 100s more if it gives more power for a secondary machine.

The price they are asking is just not logical.

here is a very mini itx that is vastly more powerful for few 100s more

Man I really appreciate it, but as small as that build is, it wouldn't fit inside my bedroom cabinet.

The Steam Machine would fit in there with about an inch or two clearance above.

I know it's financially ridiculous, but I already saved up the funds expecting it would cost this much. I'll be gaming at 1080p or 1440p on the 48" OLED from like 8-10 feet away

I'll be playing JRPGs and doing side quests in story games before falling asleep for like 30-60 minutes a night.

 

[//DEVIL//]

Man I really appreciate it, but as small as that build is, it wouldn't fit inside my bedroom cabinet.

The Steam Machine would fit in there with about an inch or two clearance above.

I know it's financially ridiculous, but I already saved up the funds expecting it would cost this much. I'll be gaming at 1080p or 1440p on the 48" OLED from like 8-10 feet away

I'll be playing JRPGs and doing side quests in story games before falling asleep for like 30-60 minutes a night.

Wouldn't an Xbox rog ally x makes more sense if you playing at full HD anyway ? Can connect it to the TV any time you want too and just use your PlayStation / Xbox controller.

But anyway. If you feel this is the best option for you, then more power to you and hope you can get one day one bud

 

[DarkShadowXI]

Wouldn't an Xbox rog ally x makes more sense if you playing at full HD anyway ? Can connect it to the TV any time you want too and just use your PlayStation / Xbox controller.

But anyway. If you feel this is the best option for you, then more power to you and hope you can get one day one bud

Thanks man! I've got a Legion Go S Z1E docked in there (love it) but it's an eye sore for our setup. My wife and I aren't a fan lol

I'm stoked to keep the Steam Controller in the nightstand drawer and simply hop in bed and turn everything on with one button.

I just hope I get a good spot in the lottery.

 

[splattered]

Uhhh... I don't think the Steam Machine will set the world on fire. I could be wrong, but every early indicator puts it as a tough sell.

Yeah the more I hear about it the more I suspect the same. Pretty crazy they would release such an underpowered machine when expectations were so high.

 

[Unfortunatecookie]

Yeah the more I hear about it the more I suspect the same. Pretty crazy they would release such an underpowered machine when expectations were so high.

Yep. The Steam Machine will more than likely flop. It just doesn't have a mass market appeal.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Uhhh... I don't think the Steam Machine will set the world on fire. I could be wrong, but every early indicator puts it as a tough sell.

Valve intentions with their hardware is never the hardware itself, they want to set trends.

If anyone else comes with their own 'steam machine' that does set the world on fire, valve wins - especially if it comes with SteamOS or even just some gaming linux distribution.

 

[Rambone]

WE know it's overpriced and underpowered but those who buy it won't know any better.

I imagine the people who are buying a Steam Machine know damn well what they are buying, if the reviews and forum shit storms haven't made that clear already.

 

[AmuroChan]

IGN gave it an 8

IGN is basically just trolling with their reviews at this point since they know no one's going to read them otherwise.

 

[Witvow]

Well.. it was between the Steam Machine and Helix and Steam just made my decision a hell of a lot easier. Even if the Helix is $1k it will be stronger, faster, have more storage and come with a controller. I plan on buying a Steam Controller either way, so I could always still just play Steam games on the Helix with it either way.. it's not like I need the Steam Machine. My ROG Ally extreme will hold me over for a while longer.

 

[MrCunningham]

GamersNexus's tear down of the machine... and again Steve is impressed with the ease of access and well documented internals. Valve really made sure to make these easy to tear apart and repair. Yeah, over expensive. But, well engineered. .

 

[Sakura]

According to the GamersNexus review the price isn't actually THAT uncompetitive compared to DIY.
If this came out a couple years ago it could actually be a good alternative for people who don't really like DIY and just want a pre-built PC that just works out of the box and behaves similarly to a console.
But yeah, in today's market it's way too expensive, I still think it's going to sell out but not because it'll sell like hot cake but because the stock will probably be very limited...
Good on Gaben and co for trying, bad timing and luck killed this before it could even take off.

Yes but look at the note at the bottom of the image. If you are only comparing spec sheets then yes the price isn't much higher than just buying those parts and building your own.
But you aren't actually getting the same performance, because of the throttling.
A better comparison would be what parts you would buy to get the same performance as the Steam Machine.

 

[Unfortunatecookie]

Valve intentions with their hardware is never the hardware itself, they want to set trends.

If anyone else comes with their own 'steam machine' that does set the world on fire, valve wins - especially if it comes with SteamOS or even just some gaming linux distribution.

How will they set trends when their hardware is a tough sell?

 

[Guilty_AI]

How will they set trends when their hardware is a tough sell?

But is it? There exists a market for mini pcs, gaming ones included. They're significantly weaker than the steam machine (usually steam deck level) and not much cheaper. Theres also high end lines that are stronger than it but they're $2000 minimum. The steam machine is a nice in-between that is hard to find in that segment.

 

[Ribi]

This is an underpowered and overpriced proprietary computer.you can spend less on a prebuilt that you can upgrade.

It just fails on every level. Anyone who likes computers would understand this.

You're right I'm going to ask my boss to buy me a PS5 and throw away my work pc

 

[diffusionx]

You're right I'm going to ask my boss to buy me a PS5 and throw away my work pc

reddit-tier snark is tiresome

 

[Ribi]

reddit-tier snark is tiresome

Truth hurts I don't make the rules

 

[Thanati]

I imagine the people who are buying a Steam Machine know damn well what they are buying, if the reviews and forum shit storms haven't made that clear already.

Very true. But there will still be a lot who have no idea.

 

[Rambone]

Very true. But there will still be a lot who have no idea.

I think the price will do a great job weeding out the kinds of people who don't have enough brain cells to do basic research on kilobuck consumer luxury goods before they make a purchase.

If somehow a person has drifted through life just rapidly pulling the trigger on Kilobuck luxury goods without looking into it, good on them, that's probably the minority. If you're talking about mindless lambs who can't tie their own shoes somehow getting their hands on one of these, I don't think they would be smart enough to give a shit anyway about things like resolution or frame-rate, as long as the game boots up and they can play it, no fucks given and no fucks from me given if that makes them happy.

I'm just going to go with the kinds of people picking up this machine right now are either scalpers, dudes with money, enthusiasts and people wanting the form factor and turn key convenience for their Steam Library.

 

[Sabejita]

I want to see it play games like Nioh 3, Monster Hunter Wilds or even Dragon's Dogma 2 at 1080. Show us the CPU heavy ones.

 

[PeteBull]

I want to see it play games like Nioh 3, Monster Hunter Wilds or even Dragon's Dogma 2 at 1080. Show us the CPU heavy ones.

In DD2 cpu heavy scenarios it wont be able to hold stable 60 4sure:

Lets not forget single channel 16gigs and laptop r5 7540u constrained to 30W is at play here

 

[neocycle]

I think I finally understand why Steam machine makes absolutely no sense.
The ram and storage are too expensive in relation to the cpu and gpu. The steam machine was definitely planned to be an affordable device, but that is simply no longer possible. If they spent 200 more on gpu/cpu, the performance would be about 40% higher, for proper 4k and some ray tracing capabilities. And 1300 for a good machine would be better than 1100 for an ok machine.

 

[Moondoggy]

The price just makes this completely redundant, just save and extra $200-$500 and get a low spec pre-built, it'll at least be as powerful(but most likely more powerful), and have all the additional capabilities that a PC has that the Steam Machine won't, Valve really shot themselves in the foot by waiting till after component sales have gone up to release this.

 

[Thanati]

I think the price will do a great job weeding out the kinds of people who don't have enough brain cells to do basic research on kilobuck consumer luxury goods before they make a purchase.

If somehow a person has drifted through life just rapidly pulling the trigger on Kilobuck luxury goods without looking into it, good on them, that's probably the minority. If you're talking about mindless lambs who can't tie their own shoes somehow getting their hands on one of these, I don't think they would be smart enough to give a shit anyway about things like resolution or frame-rate, as long as the game boots up and they can play it, no fucks given and no fucks from me given if that makes them happy.

I'm just going to go with the kinds of people picking up this machine right now are either scalpers, dudes with money, enthusiasts and people wanting the form factor and turn key convenience for their Steam Library.

Perfect summary