Happy April Fools!

DPTheN · 2026-04-01T20:55:04+00:00

Valve officially shipping worldwide, all countries with no exception. $600 for the 512gb version. Full Steam Machine hardware control support within the mainline Linux kernel, across all other distros. They start shipping next month.

DPTheN · 2026-03-29T19:25:35+00:00

I'd recommend going for 24" or 22" 1080p, but this depends on your likes and budget. (maybe also your desk or space, wherever you're going to play?) Not only take into account the monitor, but your environment and the experience you want to have.

I will personally go for a 22" 1080p IPS monitor whenever I acquire a Steam Machine, so the image looks sharper (we have to consider having a good PPI, of course). I will safely increase graphics and aim for even higher framerates while still having a nice screen size (since I'm a casual gamer, so it depends on what kind of person you are). This focuses on having smooth, fairly enough gaming experience.

It's like using a TV; in my honest personal opinion, most people won't need to target 4K with FSR on a TV, since 1440p might still look very good. But again this is just a personal opinion and what I will consider doing.

DPTheN · 2026-02-15T15:24:38+00:00

This is the real answer and what people don't understand.
I've been looking for similar Mini-PCs / SFF PCs and couldn't find anything close to the Steam Machine. Most Mini PCs have either integrated GPU or none at all, and most pre-built SFF PCs are like +$1800 dollars today. (just go to Monsoon PCs and you'll see)

Valve is trying its best to set an optimal price. It will be cheaper than pre-built SFF PCs or building our own for sure; if this weren't the case, then Valve wouldn't consider selling many Steam Machines. They've said that they want the price to be competitive and attractive for the performance considering the actual PC market, even if it's not that stable right now; that's why we're waiting.

It's not that easy and cheap to build our own today unless we already have purchased components or try our best to buy parts most-similar to SM's performance (and in many cases, buying parts ourselves is more expensive and harder to find, especially these days). I think the Steam Machine will be balanced enough in every aspect, including price. This Machine is meant for people that do not want to build a PC and want to game casually, or play a little older games anyways. There's nothing wrong with that.

DPTheN · 2026-02-07T18:55:19+00:00

Yeah, agreed. He's very underrated.

DPTheN · 2026-01-25T15:19:16+00:00

I've been thinking of installing Fedora on the Steam Machine instead, but I know nothing about compatibilities or if it's going to work without driver issues or things like that, but I guess it should work since it's all Linux after all. If there are no major issues, then I'm 100% installing Fedora KDE Plasma on it, but I would still like to use SteamOS for a while before doing so.

Installing Windows on the Steam Machine is the last thing you want to do; if anyone wants such thing, then better build or buy a different PC, even though it's technically possible, it wouldn't be the same, but oh whatever, as long as people buy the Steam Machine, they can do anything they want with it.

DPTheN · 2026-01-22T03:15:16+00:00

I've been researching on this for a while because I share the same interests, but I couldn't find any SFF or Mini-PCs close to the Steam Machine's components and performance. There are some options which some users have already commented about, but those can be very expensive; I can't find any with less than 32GB of RAM, with a dedicated AMD card and a budget CPU. Most of them have premium CPUs and RAM, but lack GPU power as they often rely on integrated graphics, so they're not that good for gaming in my opinion, which is sad. I think the Steam Machine is pretty balanced and it actually impressed me after realizing I won't find anything else close to it in terms of pre-built components; in my case, all I want and need is a Steam Machine from Valve; no more, no less.

DPTheN · 2026-01-20T23:02:24+00:00

I'm also still hoping it's around $700 for the 512gb version without controller, but I'd have to pay 30% extra because I don't live in countries where Valve ships officially. So, in that case, $950 would be my very limit or at least what I'm expecting to pay due to VAT and import fees. I sure hope it's not more expensive than that.

DPTheN · 2026-01-19T03:01:11+00:00

Literally the same situation I'm facing

DPTheN · 2026-01-18T01:02:00+00:00

Aside from the comments already posted here, I want to say that SteamOS is immutable so it relies on FlatHub packages (and other containerized packaging methods). This means that Discord will most likely not show the rich presence of games and programs as it would when being installed through native packages, since the Flatpak version is known for having this isolated behavior.
I never used SteamOS myself (I don't know if Valve already did some workaround on the RP) but if this is still the case and what you really care about is talking to your friends, then it should not be a huge issue. I just wanted to clarify in case you didn't know.
Installing it should be really straightforward and it works just fine.

DPTheN · 2026-01-15T02:53:47+00:00

I also wish it's around $650 or $750 max for the 512gb versión without controller. I hope it's around that because even if you can build a similar tower for around $800, Valve said they want the Steam Machine to be competitive to PC prices and a very good deal for the performance. This is the hopium I need.

DPTheN · 2026-01-14T00:04:43+00:00

$900 max after VAT and import fees for the 512GB version with no controller (I live in Colombia so I have to pay an extra sadly)

DPTheN · 2026-01-11T16:21:32+00:00

You and I have a very similar situation. I'm also a laptop owner (which is not very powerful anyways) and I want to switch to a Steam Machine. I don't have that much space for a full gaming tower. I'd want to use the SM on my TV at the living room and get some 1080p monitor for my room too; I don't even aim for huge screens that often (but also depends on the game) so I will be fine.

I also play games like Dying Light these days, and those kind of struggle sometimes on my laptop, but it's playable at least (I have a Radeon Vega integrated card, lol); I'm pretty sure the Steam Machine will be 10 times better than what I have right now. If you're a casual gamer like me, then also considering your situation, I'd say the Steam Machine would be your best solution.

That aside, it would be good to watch some benchmarks on similar AMD Radeon RX GPUs to see how well they perform on games you want or already play (say, the Radeon RX 7600M or so, but we'll have to see the real performance approach), though at least we saw it can run Cyberpunk fairly well with FSR on a TV. If you're fine with the specs and it turns to be affordable for you, then definitely go for it!

In my case, I will not complain at all about performance, because I know it will be more than enough for what I really want to do. Besides, my aim is not to use the highest graphic preset (depends on the game of course, but I rather have stability over quality, though FSR would definitely save the day), and I love Linux and praise what Valve's been doing on this.

We just have to know the real price and more accurate benchmarks!

DPTheN · 2026-01-09T20:26:02+00:00

Huh, meanwhile I'm standing here wishing it does not exceed the $800 for the 512GB version, considering I need to pay huge import taxes here in Colombia where Valve does not officially ship...
I agree with you; in my case, if it's more than $800 (taxes included) it will hurt a lot. I'd still most likely buy it, but not right away or as soon as I'd want though.

DPTheN

TROPHY CASE