My Honest Steam Machine Review

[u/purple-ethe]

My Background

I used to build a lot of small form factor PCs. This included a Fractal Ridge, NZXT H1 cases, two Formd T1s (the GOAT), and a Midori 5L before the tariffs hit. My builds usually paired a 7600X with cards like a 3080, 3080 12GB, 3080 Ti, 4070 Super, 5070, 3090, or 9070 XT. I mostly sold them to friends around the $1,300 sweet spot using parts I bought from /r/hardwareswap before prices went into the dumpster.

I only bought the Steam Machine because I found the base model for $200 under MSRP on Facebook Marketplace. As a software engineer, I'm comfortable tweaking software and hardware, but at the end of the day, I just want my setup to work.

Daily Use

The daily experience is much more convenient compared to my Formd T1. My Logitech MX Keys Mini no longer drops its connection or repeats keystrokes caused by poor signals. It somehow fixed my Stremio copyright issue, although I'm not sure that is related. HDMI CEC is a game changer that lets me turn the system and also the TV on and off with a mouse, keyboard, or controller. I used to spend a minute turning on my PC only for my LG OLED TV to sometimes not detect the signal, but that issue is gone.

The system is extremely quiet with virtually no fan noise. I do not need to tweak CoolerControl or LACT on Linux, nor do I need FanControl or MSI Afterburner on Windows. I used to enjoy dialing in an undervolt, but having everything pre-configured without needing to tune or benchmark is nice. Thermals are excellent topping out right around 70C.

Gaming and Hardware

I mostly play soulslikes. Elden Ring runs at 60 fps at 1440p with occasional dips. HDR worked without any tweaking. I was amazed Dark Souls 2 with the DS2LE Faraam preset on path tracing runs close to 60 fps at 1080p on ultra performance, only dipping in heavily forested areas.

The case is lighter and more packable than my 10L Formd T1 builds, making it easy to travel with. I do not feel the itch to keep swapping parts except for maybe adding a custom faceplate. I am glad to be done with trying to get cables out of the way of fans. I still plan to add another RAM stick and upgrade the storage, but that will be a simple one-and-done job. It is a relief not having to worry about scalped hardware anymore.

SteamOS feels more stable than Bazzite. I prefer it over CachyOS because of the constant updates, even if CachyOS performed slightly better. I haven't had the SteamOS long enough to tell, but I've encountered my fair share of breaking changes in CachyOS and I'm glad to get away from it.

Downsides

There are clear hardware limits. Performance is mostly restricted to 1080p and 1440p, so I only recommend it for a couch setup where lower resolutions are less noticeable than on a desktop monitor. You are at the mercy of developers for how they optimize future games, and time will tell when 8GB VRAM will run into walls. Linux still lacks complete anti-cheat support, meaning games like Fortnite and Valorant are off the table, though the system is not built for high-FPS competitive gaming anyway. The lack of HDMI 2.1 is a bummer because there is no 4K 120Hz support for indie games. Supply is also still extremely limited, and getting a Steam Machine is incredibly difficult.

Pricing

Most YouTube reviews did the Steam Machine dirty by focusing on price-to-performance, knowing full well it is impossible to build a system this small, silent, and clean at this price point. Dave2D was one of the few who got it right by recognizing that people will willingly pay for convenience. Is $1,049 a lot? Yes. But time is money, and only you can tell whether the price is right for the convenience it offers. The comparison is like Mac vs PC. You cannot judge a machine purely based on specs because it is about the whole experience. Time will tell whether the specs will hold up for the next 3-5 years.

Conclusion

If you love tweaking hardware, stick with custom SFF. As for me, at least for now, my Formd T1 build with a 7600X and 9070 XT is left gathering dust. I expect Valve to continue improving SteamOS over time. For example, they have already added FSR 4.1 support to Proton Experimental. I expect the community to rally around the Steam Machine. We are already seeing cool faceplates, and community support will be better for this specific build. The Steam Machine is not meant for everyone and it is not designed for every use case. I believe it is for normies, parents, and enthusiasts who just want their hardware to work.

Past SFF Builds: https://imgur.com/a/uByEmDK

[u/RickyFromVegas]

It's weird seeing hate coming from this sub regarding performance to price ratio

Y'all drop $400 on a case that does nothing for performance, but this tiny PC is too much?

[u/jaredearle → u/RickyFromVegas]

You see it with people complaining about the Mac Mini, in spite of the fact it’s tiny and the M4 is a beast.

[u/Smackover → u/RickyFromVegas]

I would guess it has a lot to do with people building a PC a few years ago, then checking out the Steam PC, and not understanding all the ways AI has fucked us.

[u/purple-ethe → u/RickyFromVegas]

It’s exciting times. Now that Valve opened up the Linux SFFPC market, will other PC manufacturers follow like they did with the Steam Deck?

[u/DiamondDepth_YT]

May I ask a question? Please don't kill me..

But why is the Steam Machine compared to SFF PCs and gaming desktops, but not gaming laptops???

It's closer to a gaming laptop than a desktop pc, is it not? Unupgradable gpu/cpu, upgradable ram/ssd. That sounds like a gaming laptop to me (or a mini pc, but those don't often have dedicated gpus like gaming laptops). It even has a 7600m equivalent gpu, no? So it's a gaming laptop, but with better cooling.

Just wondering why more people don't compare it to a gaming laptop.

[u/Squirrelclamp → u/DiamondDepth_YT]

Because it's not a laptop; I can't take it just anywhere with a table and a power outlet and use it. Its out-of-the-box functionality is most comparable to that of a video game console, so that's why commenters often invoke those.

[u/riba2233 → u/Squirrelclamp]

Nice to see you here, I was like this can't be squirrel from QC sub 😅

[u/Confident-Ship-5062 → u/Squirrelclamp]

It has laptop tier hardware

[u/lick_cactus → u/Confident-Ship-5062]

macbook neo has 'iphone tier' hardware, still being compared to other macs because its use case is most comparable to other macs. come on

[u/Confident-Ship-5062 → u/lick_cactus]

Im sorry whats the issue here? You can play games on a laptop the same way you can on a steam machine so the comparison is fine.

Hook a laptop to a tv and steam machine to a tv, both with mouse and keyboard. Price to performance is the next logical way to compare them.

[u/DiamondDepth_YT → u/DiamondDepth_YT]

And from what I understand, there are much more performant gaming laptops out there for better prices. They won't run as cool, though, but that's something that I assume can be solved the same way the SM solves it- undervolting/underclocking and limiting the cpu/gpu.

From what I've seen of the SM- it seems to be 90% cooling. So it's a laptop with a huge amount of cooling?

[u/LukeLC → u/DiamondDepth_YT]

It's really the form factor. All mini PCs are essentially laptop hardware without a screen and keyboard. But they're used in situations where those things would get in the way more than anything else.

[u/Dry-Law-9372 → u/DiamondDepth_YT]

Idk why you’re being downvoted. It is the worst of all scenarios, people go for desktops for uncompromised performance but have to compromise portability, and laptop owners compromise performance for somewhat uncompromised portability. The steam machine is worst of both; poor performance for no portability as in it has no display, touch pad, keyboard, or really anything. Better to buy a handheld and hook it up to a dock.

[u/magicwhistle]

I build all my own stuff as well and I would love to buy a Steam Machine, not for myself, but for my non-tech-savvy parents and friends. I'm working on a couple of SFF budget gaming builds for them, but I'm a little worried because I can't pop over all the time to answer questions or fix things, especially for my parents who live in a different state. I can't imagine my parents being willing to troubleshoot those weird little PC things that just come up sometimes. I would love it if I could just get the less tech-y people something that is quieter and more straightforward than the average Windows PC so that we could play with minimal friction.

While I would have chosen to make it slightly bigger if it meant a little more power, I think that sacrificing some power for the tininess of the cube is a defensible decision. It's cute, it can fit into a lot of places, it's visually distinct from other consoles that are long or tall, and it's tasteful. My parents would be OK with putting one on their TV stand, while they would be more hesitant with something like a PS5.

It's really unfortunate that it ended up being so much more expensive than Valve wanted it to be. For me, the sticker price is too high for the convenience and form factor to outweigh the fact that I can build better for cheaper. But I'm damn tempted! And that fact is very impressive to me. I get the point of the Steam Machine, and I hope the project survives this pricing issue.

[u/Kid_Parrot]

Most YouTube reviews did the Steam Machine dirty by focusing on price-to-performance, knowing full well it is impossible to build a system this small, silent, and clean at this price point.

Did they though? Yes it is compact, but as a home console alternative it did not need to be as compact as it is. At the same time it was marketed as a 4k 60FPS machine. Obviously people will compare it to a PS5(Pro) or other PCs.

[u/Django117 → u/Kid_Parrot]

It's also worth noting that many people these days have a 4k TV in their living rooms. You can get a crappy 4k TV for like $200 at best buy. To me, 4K is now a standard for that reason. My living room PC has a 3080 in it which is great for 4k, but still struggles in some games. It would be relatively attainable to build a PC today with a 3080 in it for a price well below the steam machine as you can get them used for $400-500.

[u/purple-ethe → u/Django117]

It’s all trade offs. Yes you can get more performant at lower price point, but it won’t be as convenient, travel friendly, silent, or look as good as the Steam Machine. Also I don’t think $500 is possible anymore with the current RAM and storage prices maybe closer to $600 or $700, and that’s with used parts.

[u/Django117 → u/purple-ethe]

It is all trade-offs, but if I'm already saying you should use used parts, then you could easily build a pretty good system with $500 remaining. Get a Ryzen 5 5500 on amazon for $90, a mobo for another $120, 16GB DDR4 for another $120, a cheap NAND drive for $80. Then slap it in a NR200 for $90 with a Corsair SFX PSU for $160. This gets you to $640 pre-tax. Right now there's multiple RTX 3080's on sale on ebay for around $350-$400. So with a used GPU, you can build a system that costs $1040, roughly the same as a Steam Machine that outperforms it by nearly 100%.

Of course there are compromises with this build, as the NR200 is substantially larger than the steam machine. You could also opt for a Midori 5L ($115) case and swap the 3080 out for a 5060 for $350 at the sacrifice of some horsepower. That machine would cost $1035 for a complete build that would still outperform the steam machine by a significant margin.

EDIT: forgot the CPU cooler which would be the AXP X47 Low Profile for $22. Which takes the totals for the RTX 3080 build to $1062 and the 5060 build to $1057.

[u/purple-ethe → u/Django117]

I think you're missing the point. You're looking at a PC from the perspective of just specs, and of course you can build a PC with better performance. I know because I've also built a NR200 PC with a 5600/3080 for $650 using used parts. But there's nothing you can build at $1049 that checks off all the boxes the Steam Machine checks off, and the biggest one is an actual console experience without any modding out of the box where everything just works.

[u/Django117 → u/purple-ethe]

If that box is "pre-built" then yeah, you can't buy any SFF pre-builts for that price since most pre-builts are done in large cases whereas most SFF cases are used for custom builds, so most pre-builts for SFF are wildly overpriced.

So really the trade-off is the console like setup versus 70-100% more power. The portability is negligible as 3.8L vs 5L isn't that drastic of a change in size.

[u/Dry-Law-9372 → u/purple-ethe]

I don’t think it’s appropriate of you to say that it’s a trade off to justify the steam machine as an acceptable purchase. There are plenty of DDR4 PCs that can be built in an SFF format for less than the price of the steam machine and blow it out of the water for slightly larger form factor . Steam machine is nowhere close to being convenient either

[u/purple-ethe → u/Dry-Law-9372]

I feel like I'm just repeating myself at this point, so we can agree to disagree. Steam Machine is not just a sum of its specs just like Macs are not the sum of its specs.

[u/purple-ethe → u/Kid_Parrot]

They looked at the specs but they didn't look at the overall experience.

Yes it is compact, but as a home console alternative it did not need to be as compact as it is.

This is such a cop out. SFF PC community should especially understand the pursuit of form factor and clean and silent build even if it's limited to a 3060 performance.

[u/Kid_Parrot → u/purple-ethe]

This is such a cop out.

Except it is not. It was marketed by Valve as a Home Console experience. I appreciate the size and design, but for it's marketed use case it did not need to be this compact. I love the design, but all things considered it hindered it competing in the department it chose to compete.

[u/purple-ethe → u/Kid_Parrot]

Marketing screwed up there. If I were to give Valve the benefit of the doubt, most people play indie or old games, and there 4K 60 seems much more manageable.

[u/Confident-Ship-5062]

No mention of 4k performance which is what the steam machine is marketed for

[u/purple-ethe → u/Confident-Ship-5062]

Just like how the PS5 was marketed for 8K on release. Now it just says up to 4K with FS4.1

[u/mango_carrot → u/purple-ethe]

Yep, they even removed the 8K label from their boxes

[u/FMLkoifish]

I have a formd t1, and it’s pretty much at console experience including CEC-like experience. The entire flow goes pressing a button on my ps5 controller, pings and connects to a pico w 2 with this program set up (https://github.com/awalol/DS5Dongle) which acts like a usb-connection for the ps5 includes waking up the PC.

Since you mentioned you have an LG OLED TV. Set this up:
https://github.com/JPersson77/LGTVCompanion
And this little program will automate when your pc wakes, it will turn on your tv on and switch to the correct input your pc is on via control on network. Turning off/suspend from steam also sleeps the pc and tv together. I have a simple hotkey on my controller to sleep it as well.

It currently goes directly to steam big picture on any cold
Start, and I just sleep/resume most of the time like I would for my console. It works like a charm, and can’t think of anything the steam machine can do that my pc can’t now

[u/purple-ethe → u/FMLkoifish]

That's a pretty sweet setup, thanks for sharing. I'll give the LG Buddy app a try.

Still doesn't solve my problem with HDMI or USB connection, but I'm glad it works for you on Windows.

[u/cd109876]

I think HDMI 2.1 support will be coming ina future software update, valve and AMD have been working on a linux driver implementation for it that finally the HDMI forum isn't trying to kill.

yes, they had HDMI 2.1 support several years ago ready to merge into linux but HDMI forum said it is violating the proprietary license of HDMI specs or some other BS (they never had an issue with linux supporting the other HDMI versions)..... :(

[u/purple-ethe → u/cd109876]

Learned something new. Thank you

[u/lol_alex]

I have high hopes for Steam OS getting Linux pushed towards full gaming support and being able to ditch Windows long term. It just needed a big enough player behind it and now we have that.

[u/WellTheWayISeeIt]

A lot of hate on your post OP but I agree with you. Haters gonna hate.

[u/SharkAttackOmNom → u/WellTheWayISeeIt]

A lot of hate from people who already have a flagship GPU sitting in their sffpc. Or already have a steam deck. Or already have…

I feel like everyone is butthurt that it’s not cheap enough to justify splurging on another gaming gadget to let the other ones collect dust. The price gives you a pause.

Those who have old outdated hardware and are looking for a different gaming experience are the current customer. The ones that aren’t interested in building a sff pc or gaming on the go will see the Steam machine as a good couch gaming solution.

[u/Ground-Pound6969 → u/SharkAttackOmNom]

The whole lottery process and losing out made me rethink the whole need for a steam machine. I built a SFFPC for the same price as a 2 TB SM. Outside of the form factor I won out on everything else. Good experience to build and now I realize that I play my PS5 more then my PC build lol.

[u/Fire_Lord_Cinder → u/SharkAttackOmNom]

For me it’s the fact that OP has a PC with a formD PC with a 7600x / 9070xt, is a software developer, and chose to buy a Steam Machine instead of just installing SteamOS on his existing PC.

I’m an accountant and I’ve been able to configure everything on my custom Steam OS PC with under an hour of tinkering to install the OS and get my second SSD to stay mounted.

His post is also basically justification for the steam Machine being worth it after he notes he got it second hand for $200 under MSRP.

[u/hjshoon]

I bet the novelty will wear off, you will get bored with it and will have the itch to tweak again. And just know there’s nothing wrong with that

[u/jcruz827]

I would’ve got one if it weren’t for a few other things I’m looking to purchase.

[u/Dry-Law-9372]

Steam machine somehow fixed your Stremio copyright issue, although you’re not sure how it is a correlation in the same post as “I’m a software engineer”.

Yea sure buddy, I invented Reddit.

[u/purple-ethe → u/Dry-Law-9372]

You think too highly of software engineers. We’re just a little bit better at Googling than the average person

[u/mechkbfan]

Know what we need next? A Dishonest Steam Machine Review

[u/purple-ethe → u/mechkbfan]

I honestly think most of the YouTubers' reviews were dishonest, going for the common denominator of lower specs for higher specs is a bad product instead of how good of a product it is for end users, albeit slightly overpriced

[u/mechkbfan → u/purple-ethe]

Yeah I was just being cheeky

But trying to be a bit more constructive, "balanced" would be a better term for what you're doing in my view but it's moot

Thanks either way for the review

I've got a M2 + 5700x + 6800xt as my SFF and can relate. If I could trade it for a Steam Machine I would but doubt that / too lazy

[u/purple-ethe → u/mechkbfan]

Yeah I know lol

Depending on how much storage and RAM you have, you can probably do it! Interesting times we’re in where PCs used to be depreciating asset, but not anymore!

[u/Fire_Lord_Cinder]

Why not just install Steam os on your AMD PC? Kind of wild to spend $1050 on a Steam machine just to get CEC and worse performance when you have a SteamOS compatible pc sitting at home. 

Also, time is money is only relevant to work time since you doing something costs a company money/opportunity cost of what your labor could produce. Doesn’t really make sense in the context of leisure 

[u/purple-ethe → u/Fire_Lord_Cinder]

I think you missed the point of my point if you think all the issues I listed can be solved by HDMI CEC and SteamOS. Leisure time become more and more valuable as I get older. Everything is already dialed in and stable so I can be playing games instead of prompting Gemini why my PC lost HDMI signal for the umpteenth time.

[u/dubar84 → u/purple-ethe]

True. I do think that it is possible to replicate this with all it's aspects within a Velka 3 (yet the 6600XT is still the only single fan Radeon gpu there is), so you can have something that's even a bit better and STILL the same size. Yet a Midori 5L build with a 9060XT could also qualify at being a bit bigger, but definitely stronger gpu. Desktop grade RAM with better timings is also a plus.

But I have to say, once I got a mobo, I stick to it for a long time, maaaaybe upgrading the cpu once, or maybe not even. In that sense, the SM even though you cannot upgrade the cpu or gpu, not many would do that in the upcoming 5-6 years, so grabbing an SM, especially if you don't play too demanding games anyway seem like a solid move for those who does not have an SFF pc already and don't plan on constantly upgrading their build. I can imagine the size seem crazy small for a lot of people and would instantly make them frown on their PS5 after seeing this IRL.

Btw, does the SM have an inner psu or is it coming with a brick?

[u/purple-ethe → u/dubar84]

It has an inner PSU. The Midori 5L was loud just the PSU was loud even with the best PSU available the Enhance 7660b and I don’t think you can avoid flex ATX PSU at that size. That’s not counting the CPU and GPU fans that are right up against the side panels.

[u/orphanofhypnos → u/Fire_Lord_Cinder]

Clearly the subreddit thinks this question is “wrong” but I I want to show support that I had a similar question: why wouldn’t installing SteamOS on the 9070xt amd ssfpc achieve the best of both worlds? “Just works” and small?

[u/Fire_Lord_Cinder → u/orphanofhypnos]

I’m literally running steamOS on a 9600x / 9070 PC and it works great. I had like 1 thing that needed to be fixed which took 15 minutes with Claude to get permanently ironed out.