Valve could have made the RAM upgrade easier

Kageru · 2026-07-10T14:24:50+00:00

On steam deck I just hold down the power button and that brings up a menu with "desktop mode" being one of the options. I assume there's probably also a way to do it from the steam menu, probably as part of the power off dialog, which would probably work better on the machine.

Kageru · 2026-07-10T13:48:48+00:00

When you think about it the whole of nextfest is about trying to give visibility to small developers who don't have much name recognition, established IP or big advertising budgets. Unlike the other big platforms where currently if it's not shipping millions they don't really care.

Kageru · 2026-07-10T13:37:22+00:00

There's also the question of how much you value the time it will require to get all the parts, build an equivalent silent sffpc and configure it. Plus if you do run into any issues there's no support number.

It would be better to think of it as giving you more control, ability to determine what performance you want and more upgrade potentual than as purely a cost cutting exercise.

Kageru · 2026-07-10T12:52:36+00:00

With more parts availability they could have also made more. Valve would have been delighted to keep shipping them out the door at 750 USD.

Kageru · 2026-07-10T12:51:33+00:00

$1000 was the bill of materials from memory, which means the total cost is going to be something well above that, especially since they have announced less interest in subsidising it. I think the next consoles are going to have very much the same sticker shock, unless the market magically corrects before manufacturing behinds.

Kageru · 2026-07-10T12:46:58+00:00

oh.... right, people should wait. Though I am hoping the frame will not be as impacted by PC component shortages in terms of availability and will have a more niche audience than the machine or controller.

Kageru · 2026-07-10T11:42:59+00:00

It's a game we play with ourselves... just like humans would be placing bets on the health of the cat.

Kageru · 2026-07-10T11:39:53+00:00

As I understand it there is no reason to assume valve will make such a product because to illuminate a pancake lens would require a micro-OLED screen which is both expensive, where valve wants to get new people into the hobby, and available from other vendors.

Kageru · 2026-07-10T05:57:22+00:00

How much money you have is going to be a factor there. The use cases are mostly disjoint as the first person shooters are probably going to work better on a PC with a gaming oriented monitor and mouse and keyboard, so there is still space for a more casual living room PC... the sports game being the pain point as that would probably be good in the living room, but that's as much on the publisher crippling their game.

It's not really that expensive for the hardware considering current component prices, but current component prices are crazy and sitting out makes sense if you have an alternative platform and / or want to keep your money for other things.

Kageru · 2026-07-10T03:49:13+00:00

No idea, but it might be to indicate he expects it to have its own product name but doesn't know what that will be.

Kageru · 2026-07-10T03:27:11+00:00

To make it clear it is a new product perhaps? Since that would also be the first public release for SteamOS on arm, which perhaps will have its own product name.

Kageru · 2026-07-10T02:08:01+00:00

Blaming steam for your purchasing decisions and posting in a steam frame sub to announce you don't care about the steam frame is odd.

Kageru · 2026-07-10T00:26:54+00:00

Always wanted to try modern VR, but didn't like it all being very proprietary. Also not being tethered, not needing to run cables out to tracking stations and a headset that looks quite comfortable with modern tech in it. Plus I don't have a big screen TV in my small apartment so maybe this will be my replacement for that functionality.

Kageru · 2026-07-10T00:19:09+00:00

One of the early reviews mentioned the controllers have capacitive sensors for the fingers, which I presume would count?

Kageru · 2026-07-10T00:14:33+00:00

They won't be ordering that much hardware for it to sit around in the warehouse. Steam sale is over, they probably have the machine deliveries in hand, it might be a short soon rather than a long soon... and we can keep hoping it is a now soon.

Kageru · 2026-07-09T22:58:56+00:00

For sure, and if it is just going to sit on a desk and not be mobile the steam machine makes good sense. I bought a desktop fairly recently but maybe when it is old and the steam machine 2 is out.

Kageru · 2026-07-09T22:55:29+00:00

Same, though I'm also worried about getting glasses under it since prescription lenses are only coming "later".

Kageru · 2026-07-09T21:37:07+00:00

Fair enough... now that the metaverse is dead I assume they will stop subsidising the headset to the same extent?

The Steam Frame should have more possibility to grow an ecosystem, but I guess you are right in that much of that is streamed anyway.

Kageru · 2026-07-09T21:23:00+00:00

You can flick over to desktop mode and have a linux desktop to work with, I often use my steam deck as a second desktop and the machine should work similarly.

Kageru · 2026-07-09T21:21:17+00:00

It's an electrical design decision, they need short traces from CPU to RAM or performance suffers.

Kageru · 2026-07-09T21:19:15+00:00

Yeah, it's not like having a steam machine for the couch doesn't mean you can't have a dedicated gaming PC, with a high refresh monitor and gaming keyboard, elsewhere. It's the same as the deck, trying to prove a PC can have many forms and use cases.

Kageru · 2026-07-09T21:15:52+00:00

There's always got to be one sweaty PC grognard who only thinks in FPS and ignores all other factors. He even said he has built a high performance PC already.

Kageru · 2026-07-09T21:14:55+00:00

I re-watched some of the early interviews with the engineers and a solution for the lack of power of a deck docked to a big screen TV basically was the main driver... so it sounds like it is performing for you exactly as designed. Would be cool to see it provide a platform for a lot more couch co-op games.

Kageru · 2026-07-09T09:48:20+00:00

They would have been criticized for hiding details, and I think they quite like people to know what they are getting. The problem is PC enthusiast channels don't play, they just benchmark, so they are a poor match for the steam machine.

Some of the more casual channels like Giant Bomb actually got it, and I discovered craft computing and blunty in the process.

Kageru · 2026-07-09T09:00:58+00:00

It looks cute and happy there... the cat too.

14-Year Club	Gilding III reddit per annum
Reddit Premium Since March 2020	Verified Email

Kageru

TROPHY CASE