Steam Machine takes on Sony PS5, Xbox Series X and Steam Deck in specs comparison

[Redaktion]

With the new Steam Machine, Valve is targeting the console market, as the compact gaming PC is expected to be priced aggressively thanks to Steam OS and a custom AMD Ryzen chip. However, a direct comparison shows that the Steam Machine is not quite as powerful as the Sony PlayStation 5.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Steam-Machine-takes-on-Sony-PS5-Xbox-Series-X-and-Steam-Deck-in-specs-comparison.1161607.0.html

[Chuck007]

I got excited about this (albeit I have a RTX 5070Ti PC and PS5 Pro) until I saw the 8GB VRAM.  They should have released a higher end model.  This better be priced like a base PS5 digital (or below). 

[A]

What I would have liked to see would be cartridge gpus. In this way you can get most of the benefits of console gaming and pc gaming.

End of the day, many consoles are about midrange pcs in terms of specs, it has been proven that for most games even a 5 year old cpu is almost as good as brand new cpu.

So instead of forcing people to buy pro versions of consoles if they want better quality, cartridge gpus can make most of the benefits of pc be available to consoles at a lower cost too.

[jojoba]

"What I would have liked to see would be cartridge gpus. In this way you can get most of the benefits of console gaming and pc gaming."

That would raise cost now and in the future because they would be forced to continue this 'cartridge' standard (and surely there would not be a new cartridge every 1-2 years, and before the CPU is too weak). The compatibility lifespan would anyways be short because in 5 years they would think something different. Better to use standard small graphics cards. There was for instance a really small lp version of 4060, on YT you can see videos of that slotted into like 4-5L cases.
They should have rather partnered with Framework, as I believe in Framework's upgrades longevity/compatibily (even though their desktop is not entirely upgradable, it's still a fine tuned HW). Either way, there is always a trade of. I'm really curious about the price, in comparison to a standard size/standard compononents mid-range PC...

[Gallo123]

Never going to work. People are too chained to the idea of specs just because it's a PC box. Put a screen on it like the Steamdeck and suddenly everyone forgets the specs.

[Norris007]

..until I saw the 8GB VRAM.  They should have released a higher end model.

It's a mobile chip. All AMD mobile dgpus come with 8GB. The desktop 7600 XT comes with 16 GB but that's not mobile. They're likely trying to keep this small and portable, just looking at the physical specs it's less wide than even a steam deck. Almost like a NUC pc.

They're likely trying to keep the costs down too. I'd wager AMD gave valve a not bad deal here, since the deck sold millions and did better than expected. Pretty much no laptop OEM used the 7600M so AMD probably has tons of unused supply and willing to give at a budget price.

Never going to work. People are too chained to the idea of specs just because it's a PC box. Put a screen on it like the Steamdeck and suddenly everyone forgets the specs.

Are they really? Zohran mamdani won on affordability. Steam deck sells well precisely because the way it's priced.

I personally like this affordable direction that valve is continuing on. Where the console competition is rising hardware prices they're doing the opposite it seems.

If they price this right, which I believe they will just looking at the parts chosen here, I think it could do well.

I don't think valve is going to go high end until their hardware marketshare is a bit more and they've resolved most of their online multiplayer anti-cheat issues on Linux.

[GeorgeS]

Under powered? Yes/no/maybe debatable.

Lets face it, 8T/16G RAM is plenty for a Linux box to run games on and while 8G of vRAM might be limiting on some titles at some resolutions, the folks that are insisting on details+resolutions are buying high end hardware to begin with.

Obviously to just about everyone, the 'Steam Machine' is anything BUT 'high end hardware'. :)

Considering the ginormous catalog of PC games that might likely play fairly well on this device @ 1080P the Steam Machine could be an instant "bang for the buck" value vs Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo.

Added bonus is that it adds yet another 'off the shelf' Linux gaming system in the wild for the market to contend with.

[Hotz]

I don't like it. Why did they not use an APU instead? Then there would be no complaints about the VRAM limit. Also cooling would have been easier and they could have fit into a HTPC half the height instead of a ... black cube of Mecca.

[A]

"What I would have liked to see would be cartridge gpus. In this way you can get most of the benefits of console gaming and pc gaming."

That would raise cost now and in the future because they would be forced to continue this 'cartridge' standard (and surely there would not be a new cartridge every 1-2 years, and before the CPU is too weak). The compatibility lifespan would anyways be short because in 5 years they would think something different. Better to use standard small graphics cards. There was for instance a really small lp version of 4060, on YT you can see videos of that slotted into like 4-5L cases.
They should have rather partnered with Framework, as I believe in Framework's upgrades longevity/compatibily (even though their desktop is not entirely upgradable, it's still a fine tuned HW). Either way, there is always a trade of. I'm really curious about the price, in comparison to a standard size/standard compononents mid-range PC...

The cartridge system doesn't need to be anything special, it could be same pci-e under the hood. Just make it so that they don't need to take apart to install it, and make it line up easily so that anyone can install it in 2 seconds.

CPUs are not the limiting factor, and you don't need a new cartridge every 1-2 years, maybe 3-4 years and they can do 2 cartridge updates during its lifespan.

Never going to work. People are too chained to the idea of specs just because it's a PC box. Put a screen on it like the Steamdeck and suddenly everyone forgets the specs.

It's all a matter of price, if they price it at break even because their money maker is the steam store for example.

Not to mention now that more and more studios are giving up exclusivity of games because exclusivity isn't financially worth it anymore. Competing with consoles is possible

[GeorgeS]

"What I would have liked to see would be cartridge gpus. In this way you can get most of the benefits of console gaming and pc gaming."

That would raise cost now and in the future because they would be forced to continue this 'cartridge' standard (and surely there would not be a new cartridge every 1-2 years, and before the CPU is too weak). The compatibility lifespan would anyways be short because in 5 years they would think something different. Better to use standard small graphics cards. There was for instance a really small lp version of 4060, on YT you can see videos of that slotted into like 4-5L cases.
They should have rather partnered with Framework, as I believe in Framework's upgrades longevity/compatibily (even though their desktop is not entirely upgradable, it's still a fine tuned HW). Either way, there is always a trade of. I'm really curious about the price, in comparison to a standard size/standard compononents mid-range PC...

The cartridge system doesn't need to be anything special, it could be same pci-e under the hood. Just make it so that they don't need to take apart to install it, and make it line up easily so that anyone can install it in 2 seconds.

CPUs are not the limiting factor, and you don't need a new cartridge every 1-2 years, maybe 3-4 years and they can do 2 cartridge updates during its lifespan.

Never going to work. People are too chained to the idea of specs just because it's a PC box. Put a screen on it like the Steamdeck and suddenly everyone forgets the specs.

It's all a matter of price, if they price it at break even because their money maker is the steam store for example.

Not to mention now that more and more studios are giving up exclusivity of games because exclusivity isn't financially worth it anymore. Competing with consoles is possible

Exactly.

Consider the OEM 'bean counter' logic on sales & marketing:

- if a 'console gaming system' costs $300-600
- if a 'bare bones PC' costs $300-600

then OBVIOUSLY (to the bean counters) something that could do BOTH is worth GREATER than the sum of the two functions when added together. (IE: bare bones 'Gaming PC' costing >$1200 MSRP)

Therein lies a HUGE HOLE that Valve might fill with their device as long as they have the pricing right.

Those that want 'high end' PC gaming will continue to toss multiple Killobuck$ at a 'Gaming PC' and those who wish to experience 'PC Gaming' on something better than a Steam Deck for a mere fraction of the cost of the 'high end' folks might opt for one of these new devices. :)
 

[Worgarthe]

Under powered? Yes/no/maybe debatable.

Lets face it, 8T/16G RAM is plenty for a Linux box to run games on and while 8G of vRAM might be limiting on some titles at some resolutions, the folks that are insisting on details+resolutions are buying high end hardware to begin with.

Obviously to just about everyone, the 'Steam Machine' is anything BUT 'high end hardware'. :)

Considering the ginormous catalog of PC games that might likely play fairly well on this device @ 1080P the Steam Machine could be an instant "bang for the buck" value vs Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo.

Added bonus is that it adds yet another 'off the shelf' Linux gaming system in the wild for the market to contend with.

This whole comment, yes. Plus the fact that Windows is an option and Valve provides all official drivers and support for it.

The CPU is as powerful as a desktop Ryzen 5 7600, the iGPU is around a laptop RTX 4060, and RAM is upgradeable. The only missing point is no USB4 40 Gbps (or Thunberbolt 4), but I can work with that limitation and I'm definitely looking forward to get one (judging Valve and their pricing strategy, it will be priced extremely competitively). Looks great, and if it's dead-silent as they claim - hell yeah, that's exactly what I want.