[Digital Foundry] Hands-On With Steam Machine: Valve's Beautiful PC/Console - Specs, Impressions And More

Doesn't the Xbox Ally OS though "break character" a lot and the windows PC aspect breaks through?

not to any higher degree than on SteamOS.
SteamOS also has to constantly handle PC like situations, that's just the nature of playing PC software. the moment you aren't playing a game that is fully Steam Deck verified, you'll come across situations where mouse inputs are needed, where you have to summon the virtual keyboard manually to type stuff in, or in some instances I had to switch active windows by opening the side-bar even.

both SteamOS and the Xbox fullscreen game mode work exactly like consoles... as long as you only play the fully verified games. do anything else and you'll get slapped in the face with PC stuff.


hell, the Steam Store on the Deck/Steam OS doesn't even support controllers. it literally tells you to swap to touch inputs or mouse when looking through the store.
so, the Xbox Ally actually has a more console like store experience than SteamOS currently has. as the Xbox store is actually fully controller optimised.
 
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not to any higher degree than on SteamOS.
SteamOS also has to constantly handle PC like situations, that's just the nature of playing PC software. the moment you aren't playing a game that is fully Steam Deck verified, you'll come across situations where mouse inputs are needed, where you have to summon the virtual keyboard manually to type stuff in, or in some instances I had to switch windows by openi the side-bar even.

both SteamOS and the Xbox fullscreen game mode work exactly like consoles... as long as you only play the fully verified games. do anything else and you'll get slapped in the face with PC stuff.


hell, the Steam Store on the Deck/Steam OS doesn't even support controllers. it literally tells you to swap to touch inputs or mouse when looking through the store.
so, the Xbox Ally actually has a more console like store experience than SteamOS currently has. as the Xbox store is actually fully controller optimised.
I stand corrected then.
 
Damn that's sexy

Now announce Half Life 3 and market it as "better on Steam Machine", Valve

I mean, making it PC only would also make it Steam Machine exclusive, kinda
 
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The specs on this are interesting in the sense it has a better CPU but worse GPU/memory than the consoles.

If you look at how the more recent AAA games run on the PS5 for instance....it's hard to see this being a 4K/60 machine. 1440p/60 is more like it but perhaps even a 1080p/60 machine in the most demanding cases.
 
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It's a nice PC for the living room, but if I'm going to buy a PC (with all its problems) with the features of a console, I'd rather just get a console. I think it's an Nvidia Shield 2.0...
 
Looks good from what I've seen so far, and it has a unique from factor rather than just another rectangle box. Now if Valve can get Rockstar to release GTA VI on SteamOS at the same time as the console versions releases, it should lead to some good third party support for Linux. They need to have third parties port and release games for the platform, rather than relying on reverse-engineering the Windows API.
 
The specs on this are interesting in the sense it has a better CPU but worse GPU/memory than the consoles.

If you look at how the more recent AAA games run on the PS5 for instance....it's hard to claim that this will be a 4K/60 machine. 1440p/60 is more like it but perhaps even a 1080p/60 machine in the most demanding cases.

in the most demanding ones 720p even.
that's why they even in the trailer said "with FSR" right after that 4k claim.

you'll run most modern games at 1080p on that thing for sure. and I honestly could see even using FSR to reconstruct to 4k to be too demanding in some games.
so, many games you'll run at 1440p FSR quality mode or balanced mode. with some titles maybe working ok at 4k FSR performance mode.
 
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It's a nice PC for the living room, but if I'm going to buy a PC (with all its problems) with the features of a console, I'd rather just get a console. I think it's an Nvidia Shield 2.0...
Yea but you also have access to an enormous library of games both past and present. I'm more worried about that 8gb of VRAM on the GPU. I wouldnt even say it's bare minimum. I think 12 is bare minimum if you want this thing to last any significant amount of time.
 
in the most demanding ones 720p even.
that's why they even in the trailer said "with FSR" right after that 4k claim.

you'll run most modern games at 1080p on that thing for sure. and I honestly could see even using FSR to reconstruct to 4k to be too demanding in some games.
so, many games you'll run at 1440p FSR quality mode or balanced mode. with some titles maybe working ok at 4k FSR performance mode.

Yeah the claim is a bit of a reach. A lot of AAA games on PS5 are like ~1200p at this point....
 
It's a custom console. But of course it wouldn't match a branded one.
No it's a regular PC. Why would it not be a console if the Steam Machine is one? Better yet, I install SteamOS and use the new Valve controller, would my regular PC be a console then? After all the experience will be virtually identical.
 
This better not be more than $399 with those specs. This won't even compete with a base PS5. Yeah yeah, you can do a lot more with a PC etc, but this is clearly made to be a console-like experience. Games are cheaper on Steam I suppose.
 
I thought the same, but I wouldn't be shocked if costs north of £800.

Don't know. Could go either way. Fingers crossed it's priced correctly.
At 800£, you can get a pre-built PC with a much better CPU, 32 GB RAM and Nvidia 5060 8GB GDDR7, a much more capable machine thanks to DLSS4. This is DoA if costs a pence more than 349£ for the 512 GB model.
 
This better not be more than $399 with those specs. This won't even compete with a base PS5. Yeah yeah, you can do a lot more with a PC etc, but this is clearly made to be a console-like experience. Games are cheaper on Steam I suppose.
I'm sure the 512gb version will have a compelling price point. The 2tb version gonna cost you.
 
the Xbox Rog Ally functions near identically to Steam OS... so it's also a console then I guess. and of course every laptop that has the newest preview windows version installed and the game mode activated... also all consoles now.
My PCs have been console since the day they released Big Picture.

Checkmate, goofies!
 
This better not be more than $399 with those specs. This won't even compete with a base PS5. Yeah yeah, you can do a lot more with a PC etc, but this is clearly made to be a console-like experience. Games are cheaper on Steam I suppose.
Big pubs have wised up to regional pricing shenanigans. Indies are still cheaper on Steam but most AAA games are not, unless you use 3rd party key stores. However, you cannot refund these keys unlike games bought from Steam store.
 
At this point, not viewing the Steam Machine as a console is just a semantic argument. It meets the criteria no matter how much people try to mental gymnastic it. You not considering it a console doesn't change the fact that it functions just like one.

It doesn't really function like one though. You're gonna have to tinker with game settings etc a lot, which is exactly what you don't need to do on a console. You just start the game and it works, because it was made specifically for that hardware. Nothing will be made specifically for this. It's a console-like PC, not an actual console. Just like the Steam Deck is a handheld PC and not a handheld console (I've never heard anyone call it that).
 
Big pubs have wised up to regional pricing shenanigans. Indies are still cheaper on Steam but most AAA games are not, unless you use 3rd party key stores. However, you cannot refund these keys unlike games bought from Steam store.

AAAs are $80 even on Steam now? I did not know that, haven't had a gaming PC in a while. Cheaper games is (was?) always one of the main arguments people bring up in favor of PC over consoles.
 
This better not be more than $399 with those specs. This won't even compete with a base PS5. Yeah yeah, you can do a lot more with a PC etc, but this is clearly made to be a console-like experience. Games are cheaper on Steam I suppose.
Realistically this will cost $699, i imagine they're currently trying to drag the price down to $599.

I highly doubt this will cost $399, it's not realistic. If they somehow manage this price or even $499, this would automatically become a HUGE steal given how much an equivalent PC would cost. Forget gaming, if you just want a PC in general it'd be a no brainer to get this instead of basically everything else in the market.
 
Big pubs have wised up to regional pricing shenanigans. Indies are still cheaper on Steam but most AAA games are not, unless you use 3rd party key stores. However, you cannot refund these keys unlike games bought from Steam store.

Why wouldn't we use third party key stores?

Edit: I can see losing the ability to refund would be important to some.
 
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DOA. 8gb vram is a no go in 2022 let alone 2026. And considering current market conditions (aka the new normal), the current recession and Valve, this isnt going to be cheap enough to do numbers. Shit will be 550+ for what should be 250$ hardware. I genuinely don't like to be pessimistic especially in regards to valve but this just ain't it lmao

The controller is sexy, though
 
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Realistically this will cost $699, i imagine they're currently trying to drag the price down to $599.

I highly doubt this will cost $399, it's not realistic. If they somehow manage this price or even $499, this would automatically become a HUGE steal given how much an equivalent PC would cost. Forget gaming, if you just want a PC in general it'd be a no brainer to get this instead of basically everything else in the market.

I'm not sure most people would want Linux for general PC use though. This is very specifically made for gaming, and for that I don't see why anyone should get this over a PS5 if it turns out to be as expensive as you're suggesting.
 
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I'm not sure most people would want Linux for general PC use though.
Just install windows afterwards, even with the extra price of a license it'd still be cheaper at those pricetags (or just use linux anyway).

This is very specifically made for gaming, and for that I don't see why anyone should get this over a PS5 if it will be as expensive as you're suggesting.
Same reason people get laptops or Mini-PCs at similar prices. People keep comparing it to consoles but i highly doubt they're even trying to compete with them, just on a production scale that wouldn't happen.

They're aiming towards the market of form-factor PCs, probably also intending to increase popularity for it (like it happened with the deck) as well as the use of SteamOS. I don't think they expect this to sell more than the Steam Deck.
 
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AAAs are $80 even on Steam now? I did not know that, haven't had a gaming PC in a while. Cheaper games is (was?) always one of the main arguments people bring up in favor of PC over consoles.
Recent releases like Doom Dark Ages, Indiana Jones, etc cost the same across Steam and Indian PSN, 5999 INR, i.e. approximately 70$. Which games are 80$ on PS5?
 
Does it really have a wooden front panel? Ugh. That's not the final design is it?

The front panel seems to be made out of black plastic.
They've shown it can be customized though, and they showed one with a wooden panel as an example of that. But it's not the standard one.

It's also unclear if they will actually sell different front panels or just leave it up to users and other companies to make their own. They did say they'll release the 3D Printing files for the panel.
 
PCs can't have console prices.... :)
But they are trying to appeal to the console market, no? Anyone interested in PC gaming would just build a PC. And they have a storefront with more than enough money to subsidize the price.

shit isn't even gonna be shipping retail the least they can do is make it cheap enough for it not to be DOA. "Entry level PC pricing" doesn't say good things when those go for 650 these days

Also, 399 for steam deck was quite a console price especially considering the thing was only 100 more than the switch
 
You can buy a prebuilt with specs similar to this for under $700. Those PCs won't have the all the advantages Valve will have with a custom design and production. No need to worry about OS costs as well.

How much were PC handhelds before the Steam Deck came along? This is super cheap hardware, and the lower price model has a 512GB SSD, which I think shows that Valve is looking to hit a very low price point.
 
Recent releases like Doom Dark Ages, Indiana Jones, etc cost the same across Steam and Indian PSN, 5999 INR, i.e. approximately 70$. Which games are 80$ on PS5?

Here in Sweden most new AAAs are like $95 lol (on PS Store, physical games are cheaper). But I think in the US $80 is pretty common nowadays? Or maybe they're still at $70.
 
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Affordability is series s price or slightly above that, not 550 like this thing is projected to be .

If the price were good it would have been the first thing they mentioned. They're trying to pull a Switch 2 reveal on us
If it's not considerably cheaper than building something similar or better yourself, it won't be successful. Console gamers aren't going to spend that much on a device, and PC gamers who want a "steam box" will have no problem building something themselves.

Steam Deck was released at a lower price than the same device would have cost from another brand because it subsidized part of the cost of attracting people to its ecosystem and its newly launched OS, and because that motivated people to buy more games (in fact, there was even a news story at the time saying that people who bought a Steam Deck went on to buy more games than before they had it), so I wouldn't be surprised if this case were similar.

If they manage to achieve a great price/performance ratio, even I, who have a powerful PC, would consider having this little box under my living room TV for less demanding games from my backlog.
 
Projected by who? Everything is just speculation atm.

I'm referring to what Valve said to DF btw. That affordability was their main focus with this box.
Tbf it's mostly coming out of my ass... But they said they wanted this to be entry level PC affordable. And those are not cheap, they're 600 dollars at best.

That would make this more expensive than a PS5 (5 year old system) in 2026!!!!

They cannot make that work.

Again, steam deck worked because they revitalized the handheld PC market with good software and powerful hardware (that still punches above its weight even today)
This steam machine on the other hand sounds like a disaster waiting to happen
 
At this point, not viewing the Steam Machine as a console is just a semantic argument. It meets the criteria no matter how much people try to mental gymnastic it. You not considering it a console doesn't change the fact that it functions just like one.
It doesn't meet the criteria of using bespoke hardware or development kits. I don't really have any reason to consider it as such when the manufacturer insists on the fact that it's literally a PC.
 
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