I can't wait to tell people I have a Steam Box

Do you plan on purchasing a Steam Box?


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Im super happy it exist and truely hope it succeeds, as it could be the thing that truely free's us from MS's grip on PC gaming. But its not made for most of us, its too low powered and weak. Its for casuals who want a cheap no fuss entry point. And thats a great thing as it could massively expand the PC market place. I may buy a few for friends to throw my support behind it, but again its not for those of us who love hardware and performance.




That is indeed my biggest worry. Its not made for the enthusiast as its way to weak, but it has very little visibility to casuals who would be its 99.9% market. I hope it succeeds, but its got a mountain to climb..


Ya idk who this is even for tbh. It's weaker than a series X and ps5 meaning, they said they're going to price this as a PC and not a console meaning it won't be that cheap, and i'm assuming it's only going to be sold through valve and not retailers meaning only valve diehards will know about it.



Plus developers aren't going to release optimized steam machine ports of games like they do for consoles so you're not going to get an optimized game experience as well. I think this thing dies within 2 years and is just something that people keep in a box or on their shelves because they wasted money on it and regret buying it.
 
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I love the idea. It's a modern day GameCube and it will give Sony AND Nintendo, some well needed competition.

Competition for Sony and Nintendo???

Question Mark What GIF by MOODMAN
 
I don't think I'll end up getting one, but might serve a purpose at the right price. I find value in my PC because I have hardware that no other platform provides. I'm still on a 4090 and didn't upgrade to the 50 series, but no console will allow me to push visuals to what my PC is capable of. Then add all the hobbiest and work related things I do with my PC. There's value. The Steam Deck I find value because despite the Switch 2 having better hardware, I'm not looking for cutting edge in a handheld. I'm looking to run my games in a handheld factor, with my existing gaming library and I like to tinker with the opensource linux side of it.

The Steam Machine offers a linux side of Steam OS which I've already got in my steam deck, without the handheld factor and worse hardware than my PC has. I'm not really sure this is for me, but I'm happy Valve is doing it. I'd gladly trade my PC for a device like this, I just need better hardware. Hoping that if this does well it opens the door for more cutting edge in the future.
 
Ya idk who this is even for tbh. It's weaker than a series X and ps5 meaning, they said they're going to price this as a PC and not a console meaning it won't be that cheap, and i'm assuming it's only going to be sold through valve and not retailers meaning only valve diehards will know about it.



Plus developers aren't going to release optimized steam machine ports of games like they do for consoles so you're not going to get an optimized game experience as well. I think this thing dies within 2 years and is just something that people keep in a box or on their shelves because they wasted money on it and regret buying it.
The one thing it has going to fit will be no shader stuttering thanks to being a unified singular system that steam can deliver the shader cache to directly during game install and updates. If it were more powerful, say they had a base sku like the current one, and a high end 5080/90 level ultra machine, that shader cache would be an insanely good enthusiast selling point. But even that is still too small a market to support a longer term product. And enthusaist want the latest and greatest, Valve can't and won't keep up with that.
 
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If its cheap enough I may consider it.

Steam controller day 1 though. Frame, eh, kinda lost interest in VR. I'm not buying yet another headset just to play Alyx again.
 
Yeah Im gonna buy one. I have like 2k Steam games. I bought a cheap dock off AliExpress for the Steam Deck, and it works fine but something more powerful will be nice for the living room.
 
Valve is marketing it as a PC, no one except forum weirdos are making it sound like a console competitor.
Not sure if this is bait or not. The official promo footage shows multiple shots of the Steam Machine being used with a TV, as a videogame console...

Edit: also, the Steam Machine seems to be pushing for something hybrid like the Nintendo Switch did for console and handheld, but then console and PC.
 
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Not sure if this is bait or not. The official promo footage shows multiple shots of the Steam Machine being used with a TV, as a videogame console...

Also, PCs have been damn easy to plug to TVs since HDMI became a thing. The GabeCube brings nothing new to the table imo, just a cool option for those interested on getting a cheaper PC to have in the living room.

I'd buy it if the machine itself were that background colour.

Man I miss beige computers.
Can't you change the cover plate of the cube?
 
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It can't be upgraded and the hardware are both factors that have made this a non-starter.

However their continued commitment to gaming on Linux makes me excited to build my own "steam machine" when the next round of AMD GPUs release. So I'll benefit from the release of this machine either way.

Oh, and I'm mega excited to be able to upgrade my current steam controller to the new one.
 

Also, PCs have been damn easy to plug to TVs since HDMI became a thing. The GabeCube brings nothing new to the table imo, just a cool option for those interested on getting a cheaper PC to have in the living room.


Can't you change the cover plate of the cube?
Only part of it
 

Also, PCs have been damn easy to plug to TVs since HDMI became a thing. The GabeCube brings nothing new to the table imo, just a cool option for those interested on getting a cheaper PC to have in the living room.


Can't you change the cover plate of the cube?
Its being presented as both PC and home console in their video footage.
 
Its being presented as both PC and home console in their video footage.
Consoles are just PCs with less features. So it's not possible for a thing to be a PC and a console at the same time.

Check mate. Now I'll close the tab, in case someone's able to come up with a retort to this.
 
I'm not sure yet. I already have a kickass gaming PC setup. But this might be great for the living room. I have a massive Steam library that would be nice to play on the couch. Plus local multiplayer. It's tempting!
 
I don't get the hate. This is literally a Mac Mini alternative with Steam Os and your whole Steam library.

I love the idea. It's a modern day GameCube and it will give Sony AND Nintendo, some well needed competition.
You know what else is a small PC with steam OS and your whole steam library...?



A small form factor PC. Which you can build and will have better specs than this thing.
 
You know what else is a small PC with steam OS and your whole steam library...?



A small form factor PC. Which you can build and will have better specs than this thing.
I guess I have to be extremely careful with using terms as console and PC. People are rather fragile here ☺️

Either way, I get what everyone is trying to point out. My initial impression was just that it will compete with consoles too. Not only PC's.
 
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You know what else is a small PC with steam OS and your whole steam library...?



A small form factor PC. Which you can build and will have better specs than this thing.

If this comes out at ~$399 with the controller included then I highly doubt it, especially not one with this kind of footprint.
 
nnytk nnytk to clarify, while I think this device is nothing like a console I still agree with you that it might give some much needed competition to Nintendo and Sony.

I wonder what the young lads might think of this thing, could see a lot of them asking dad for one if they are the kind of kids to play the usual streamer-bait FOTM, which I guess there are a lot.
 
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Most important thing is that Gabecube should be unofficial name.

Not sure if I'll be getting this one since the hardware is basically console-tier, and I have a more powerful computer already with a dual-boot of Windows & Linux.

I'm just not the target audience, but I think like the Steam Deck it will be a more welcoming device for people who want an easier to use PC that can play the Steam Library...at a console price.

The controller is an absolute day one for me though.
 
What they should've done is release this slightly bigger as an sff case so people can assemble their own steam machines. Promote what makes PC gaming special instead of trying to appeal to console players who are already satisfied in their cheaper ecosystems
 
Nope, can't see a use for it. Already have multiple devices of various form factors. If I need a PC for my living room I have at least 4 things that I can use instead, 3 of them are more powerful and versatile.
 
I wasn't interested in Steam Deck because I don't play on handhelds, but a more powerful stationary device plugged in to the tv (and not running on Windows) is a different case. Too early to answer without a price, more than 500€ would be too much for me since PS is still my main ecosystem.
 
Worse specs than my PS5, 5-6 years later, at a similar or higher price (most likely). And you're still gonna have to mess with settings for an hour for every game before you can start playing.

Nah, I don't see what makes this better than an actual console in any way. Sure, it can do more stuff because it's a PC, but I already have a MBP.
 
nnytk nnytk to clarify, while I think this device is nothing like a console I still agree with you that it might give some much needed competition to Nintendo and Sony.

It will give them something to consider, that's for sure. Especially Sony considering their PC port strategy.

If it sells better than expected then you can be certain that there will be boardroom discussions about how to deal with and counter it.
 
Worse specs than my PS5, 5-6 years later, at a similar or higher price (most likely). And you're still gonna have to mess with settings for an hour for every game before you can start playing.

Nah, I don't see what makes this better than an actual console in any way. Sure, it can do more stuff because it's a PC, but I already have a MBP.
If you spend an hour in settings instead of 1 or 2 minutes, just stick to PS5.
 
Give it 16gb VRAM at least....and its somewhat decent. But I really dont understand the whole point of this prebuilt pc.
16gb of VRAM pushes it to mid-tier PC pricing, which would be outside a console box unless they went for PS5 Pro pricing. The base PS5 has only 16gb of RAM for the entire system, both cpu and gpu tasks to use.
 
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I WISH it came at $399, then this thing would actually have a fighting chance. Looks more like it'll start at 599 frankly

I'd love to see how it would do at $299 for the 512GB model and $399 for the 2TB one, but can't see that happening unfortunately given the current backdrop regarding PC component pricing.
 
I have a extra PC besides the TV which already works as my "Steam machine", but with a lot beefier specs.
It looked cool though! Nice to see Valve firing at all cylinders.
Looks like a cool low/mid-end gaming PC for sure!
 
If it sells better than expected then you can be certain that there will be boardroom discussions about how to deal with and counter it.
I my perfect world, they would decide on focusing on making games with more fun and less graphics so they can run on the GabeCube.

A man can dream!

The Nontendo GabeCube
Love this lol
 
I'd love to see how it would do at $299 for the 512GB model and $399 for the 2TB one, but can't see that happening unfortunately given the current backdrop regarding PC component pricing.
I think Valve might take a huge hit on these to get them into people's houses and drive in the "Steam Machines are such a great value" mentality that the Steam Deck currently has a stronghold on.

Let's hope they can price it competitively and keep it as low as they realistically can.
 
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