This is why some people see the Steam Machine as a “technical marvel” despite the criticism

[Redaktion]

Too expensive, too weak – or technically underrated? On Reddit, fans are defending Valve's Steam Machine as a "technical marvel." The focus is not on SteamOS, but on the compact 15-centimeter cube itself.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/This-is-why-some-people-see-the-Steam-Machine-as-a-technical-marvel-despite-the-criticism.1329287.0.html

[heffeque]

It was just unlucky to get released during the AI bubble.

It would have been less than $750 if it had been released a year ago, which is a fair price for what it comes with.

Also... It's the 1st mini-PC that I know of that actually has a working HDMI-CEC, which is extremely convenient for its use case.

Framework Desktop has it, but it currently can't be used (I'm assuming they'll have to update the BIOS).

[jojoba]

Yeah but not that like PS4 wasnt smaller. Their PC is not very upgredeable anyways, so with custom MB and cooling you can do smaller. There are enthusiasts building 4060 PCs into like Velka 3, that's a 4 litre gaming pc.

[heffeque]

Yeah but not that like PS4 wasnt smaller. Their PC is not very upgredeable anyways, so with custom MB and cooling you can do smaller. There are enthusiasts building 4060 PCs into like Velka 3, that's a 4 litre gaming pc.

The Velka 3 is bigger than the Gabe Cube... And probably a lot more expensive, and without HDMI-CEC.

But OK... Buy that and put SteamOS on it if you want!

[Even reviewers complain a]

The Steam Machine is not a traditional gaming PC, and its value should not be judged solely by how many FPS it can deliver in Cyberpunk 2077 or other graphically demanding games.

I'm not sure I agree with that, because it's not like one can't simply but a desktop gaming PC or a mini-ITX 4-5 Liter one.

I like how it looks and its cooling solution looks good. But being stuck with 8 GB of VRAM is something else. Imagine VALVE went with a GDDR7 PHY and used 3 GB memory chips (4 chips * 3 GB = 12 GB of VRAM) (ok, fair, they may not be available at a good price?). The big reviewers I saw on YouTube, complained righteously so about its only 8 GB of VRAM.

[jojoba]

The Velka 3 is bigger than the Gabe Cube... And probably a lot more expensive, and without HDMI-CEC.

But OK... Buy that and put SteamOS on it if you want!

SM is 3.6L, Velk 3 is 4L, that is not a big difference. My point was that they are praising the technological marvel of size, which in my opinion is not as big of a deal. Yeah I'm sure Valve did a great job designing this, but if you go custom, you can do smaller and more spatialy efficient, that's not a marvel, that's how it is... Think about handhelds like OneXplayer or GPD who crammed Strix Halo into a.. handheld. They are smaller (and smaller means more expensive, but again, in these sizes, not a marvel).
Playstation 5 is not immensly huge, it can sit in the living room the same and is not size of an average ATX case. Why? Because it's completely custom...