Well, people, the Steam Machine is finally close to launch. We must admit we’ve been pretty curious about Valve’s latest offering, given its compact size and potential to be a stylish addition to our living room setups. But with all the hype surrounding this one, you might be wondering if it’s worth dropping an admittedly significant amount of cash on.
We’re here to give you a few details to consider that could help you make up your mind. Let’s get right to it!
1. An Eye-Watering Price Tag
Let’s begin with the elephant in the room. You’ve got four options if you’re looking to pick this one up, with the lowest option being a 512GB console at $1,049, while adding in a bundled Steam Controller sets you back by $1,128. A 2TB standalone unit costs $1,349, and getting that with a controller jacks the price up to $1,428.
That’s a steep asking price for a machine that sits somewhere between a traditional console and a compact gaming PC, and you could understandably be thinking about building or buying a small-form-factor PC instead. There is an explanation for those gargantuan numbers, though, and we’re getting to it in just a minute.
2. Regional Pricing Confirmed
Although we’d like to be the bearers of good news, that sadly isn’t the case here. The 512GB standalone model comes in at €1,039 / £879, and adding a controller to that takes it up to €1,108 / £938. On the 2TB variant, that goes up to €1,359 / £1,149, and €1,428 / £1,208 respectively. If you’re in either the UK or Europe, you know that those asking prices are quite steep, and the Steam Machine carries quite the premium price tag for a console.
3. Extra Faceplates
If you’re the type who likes to add a bit of style to their gaming setups, you might be disappointed to learn that the 512GB model doesn’t come with extra faceplates. Those are reserved for the 2TB models, which include both red fabric and solid walnut faceplates. That’s a tad limited, although we’re pretty sure there are going to be third-party options cropping up fairly quickly. It’s still quite disheartening to see the lower-end models not get the option to spruce things up, though.
4. What’s Behind Those Price Tags?
If you’re a regular, you probably already know the answer to this one, as we touched upon it less than twenty-four hours ago. But for those of you who might have missed that bit of news, know that Valve’s explanation is simple: RAM and storage costs rose sharply, and the company says that made its original pricing target impossible. As a result, the Steam Machine is launching at a much higher price than many buyers expected. RAM and storage prices have pushed costs up across the board, and you might want to hurry up getting your new unit since Valve has also confirmed that its launch inventory isn’t where it would have liked to be.
5. Still A PC (Sort Of)
The Steam Machine sits at a unique position between a console and a PC, with Valve treating it like an open PC and not a locked console despite its spec sheet matching the PS5 and Xbox Series instead of a premium PC at that price. Of course, the original $750 price tag it was rumoured to be mulling would have made sense in this context, but alas, it’s been forced to deal with some harsh realities. As per The Verge, Valve is not treating this like a subsidized console, though. Its argument is that the Steam Machine should remain part of the open PC hardware space rather than a locked-down ecosystem, even if that makes the upfront price harder to swallow.
6. Potentially Different RAM Configurations
A shortage of RAM has Valve scrambling to maintain uniform configurations across the board for the Steam Machine. Units might ship with either single-channel or dual-channel 16GB RAM, and while in an article on The Verge, Valve argues that the difference is negligible in terms of real-world gaming impact, it’s still an important detail that we think matters to someone choosing to splurge on a console that’s as expensive as it is.
7. The TDP Figures
Aside from RAM, the Steam Machine packs a 30W semi-custom Zen 4 CPU alongside a 110W semi-custom RDNA 3 GPU, 16GB of DDR5 system RAM, and 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM. That configuration explains its compact form factor and its performance ceiling. The concern here is not really whether the system can stay cool, but whether that 110W RDNA 3 GPU and 8GB of VRAM will have enough headroom for demanding games over the next few years.
8. Resolution and Frame Rate Targets
If you’re expecting 4K/60 fps across the board, you might want to know that achieving that target usually requires lowering settings and leaning on FSR upscaling. As per LTT Labs, for demanding modern games, 1080p or 1440p is the safer target, while 4K is more realistic in older titles, lighter games, or scenarios where you are willing to make compromises. Your mileage might vary depending on the game you’re playing, but we’d pick a more consistent experience anytime, anywhere.
9. How Does It Fare Against The PS5?
Digital Foundry has weighed in on this all-important question, and the verdict is that the Steam Machine achieves largely similar results to what the base PS5 offers. The PS5 even beat it in games like Black Myth Wukong and Alan Wake 2, although the margins were quite tight. With that being said, the Steam Machine did pull ahead in some CPU-limited scenarios, but again, the difference was quite negligible. Considering the lower price tag on one of its biggest rivals, this is something you’re going to have to think about, because the choice between an open PC-style setup and a traditional console is a big one.
10. Storage Upgrades
512GB might seem like a lot, but we do know that the file sizes on some current-gen experiences are enormous. You might want to account for an SSD upgrade a little later down the line, once your budget allows for it, if you’re thinking about going for the 512GB variant, although the good news is that you can easily get to and replace the M.2 SSD that’s on board. As per Tom’s Hardware, just be sure you’ve got the right tools to work with a Torx screw, and you’re golden.
11. Suspend/Resume Is A Tad Unreliable
Valve did take a while to get this all-important feature right on the Steam Deck, and it looks like that might be the case here. Early reviews like the one from The Verge have pointed out that leaving a game suspended worked well enough, but there were still a few kinks to be ironed out as sessions sometimes vanished into the digital ether while TVs would suddenly turn on in other instances. That’s probably going to be fixed as the days go by, but we’d advise you not to expect a perfect suspend function right off the bat with this one.
12. Support For 3D Printable Faceplates
Yes, the lack of customization options out of the box on the 512GB model is a bummer, but Valve is at least leaving the door open for user-made alternatives. It’s releasing CAD files to make 3D printing your own faceplates possible, which means custom and third-party faceplates could be closer than we think. It’s still not as cool as having more official options available separately, but it is a step in the right direction. We can’t wait to see what players come up with as they spruce up their units over the next few months.
13. FSR4 Support Is On The Way
Valve has confirmed that FSR 4 support is being worked on for the Steam Machine in partnership with AMD. That should eventually give the system a better upscaling option than the FSR version available to reviewers right now, though buyers should treat it as a future improvement rather than a day-one guarantee.
14. The Growth Of SteamOS Desktop Support
If you’re still on the fence about the Steam Machine, you might want to hold off on picking it up until we see what SteamOS 3.8.10 has to offer, since it’s slated to bring improved support for Intel/AMD CPUs while Valve works with NVIDIA to ensure better GPU compatibility across the board. That’s important since you could ideally build your own Steam Machine at some point, although the official one is still likely to be the most unobtrusive and console-like option if you’re planning on a gaming system for your living room.
15. The Front Plate Attaches Magnetically
If the thought of customizing your unit has you drooling with anticipation, as per LTT Labs, the front plate can be removed quite easily and swapped out for something that’s more aesthetically pleasing to you.
That’s a great option to have since this one is meant to blend into your living room, and having the option to switch things up helps the Steam Machine integrate into a variety of setups without sticking out like a sore thumb. We’re still quite liking the no-nonsense design it ships with, though.
And there you have it! The Steam Machine has been a long time coming, and while things might not have gone entirely to plan for Valve in this particular instance, we’d like to believe that things can, and perhaps will, get better over time. But if you’ve decided you’re picking one up, we’d like to say congrats on the new addition to your gaming setups, and happy gaming!