{"id":177030,"date":"2025-11-12T18:33:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T18:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/177030\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T18:33:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T18:33:07","slug":"hands-on-with-the-new-steam-machine-valves-square-shot-at-steamos-pc-redemption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/177030\/","title":{"rendered":"Hands-on with the new Steam Machine, Valve\u2019s square shot at SteamOS PC redemption"},"content":{"rendered":"

Remember Steam Machines<\/a>? Valve do, and they\u2019re making a new one. The circa-2026 Steam Machine (it\u2019s out early next year<\/a>, date and prices TBC) seeks to cleanse the bad juju of that previous attempt at bringing SteamOS mini-PCs to the masses, bringing together a decade’s worth of hardware and software improvements \u2013 including some lessons learned from the far more successful Steam Deck<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Speaking of, when I visited Valve last month to try the Steam Machine for myself \u2013 along with the matching new Steam Controller<\/a> and Steam Frame VR headset<\/a> \u2013 I repeatedly heard it pitched as an upgrade for Deck owners who plant their handheld in a docking station<\/a> and use it as a living room PC. Also like the Deck, there’s only one, entirely Valve-made design, ditching the partner-manufacturer model that produced a sometimes confusing multitude of different Machines back in 2015. Well, at the very least, that\u2019ll make previewing it a lot easier.<\/p>\n

First, the hard stuff. Inside this matte plastic cube is a 6-core, AMD Zen 4 CPU, paired with a separate, semi-custom AMD RDNA 3 GPU packing 8GB of VRAM and FreeSync Premium<\/a> support. 16GB of laptop-style DDR5 RAM comes as standard, and with a dash of screwdrivering \u2013 Valve aren\u2019t as cautious<\/a> about opening up the Steam Machine as they were with the Deck \u2013 that can be upgraded by hand. As can the SSD, which offers 512GB or 2TB options to start with; by default, it\u2019s a dinky M.2 2230 drive, but that can be switched out for a more desktop-grade M.2 2280 SSD if you’re willing to make the change yourself.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun<\/p>\n

A microSD card<\/a> slot sits on the front, so expandable storage from a Steam Deck or Steam Deck can slip in there for instant game library transfers. It only meets the same UHS-I speed standard as the Deck\u2019s slot, though, so newer, faster microSD Express cards<\/a> won\u2019t see any benefit. It also accompanies what, at first glance, seems like a uncharacteristically unambitious range of physical connections: just two full-size USB3 ports on the front and two USB2s on the back, along with just one USB-C port, Ethernet, HDMI 2.0, power input (the PSU is internal, so there\u2019s no inline brick) and a dated DisplayPort 1.4 output.<\/p>\n

Wireless connectivity is more impressive: on top of a dedicated, built-in 2.4GHz receiver for the revamped Steam Controller, the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 6E antennae have been separated, potentially making for more reliable performance than the Steam Deck\u2019s combined unit. The HDMI port, in fairness to the wired contingent, also works with HDMI-CEC, so the Steam Machine will be able to speak to other pieces of home cinema kit (like soundbars) and wake up sleeping TVs.<\/p>\n

Between this and the modest port count, it does look like the Steam Machine is happy to stay in its lane as a sofa-operated PC, rather than attempting to usurp anyone\u2019s dedicated gaming desktop. And to make sure it can keep up with big tellies, Valve say it\u2019s “six times more powerful” than the Steam Deck.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun<\/p>\n

What does the combined heft of a Deck sextet look like? In Cyberpunk 2077<\/a>, running at 4K, it\u2019s a surprisingly stable 60fps, albeit with the caveat of that using FSR 3 upscaling on Performance mode with Medium quality settings. But, also: basic ray tracing, something the Deck can\u2019t even think about enabling outside of very specific games<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The next game I tested, Black Myth: Wukong<\/a>, is best run with its own RT effects switched off. Still, it also averaged around 60fps on otherwise similar settings: Performance-level FSR 3 upscaling to 4K, plus the Medium quality preset. And, in an almost unnerving repeat performance, Silent Hill f<\/a> ran close enough to a solid 60fps (with most drops owed to Unreal Engine 5\u2019s signature stuttering) on the Performance-level graphics settings and, once again, FSR 3 running on Performance mode.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve since tried these Cyberpunk 2077 and Silent Hill f settings on the RPS test rig back home, and the (reasonably modern) graphics card that seems to most closely match the Steam Machine\u2019s AMD chip is the Nvidia RTX 4060<\/a>. This averaged 72fps in Cyberpunk\u2019s benchmark tool but ran much closer to 60fps when driving around Night City\u2019s busier streets, while Silent Hill f actually averaged slightly lower at 55fps \u2013 though this felt more consistent and less prone to stutters.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t get too hung up on desktop hardware comparisons right now as there are other variables at play, be they our test rig\u2019s CPU and RAM advantages, SteamOS vs Windows differences, or indeed, Valve\u2019s assertion that they\u2019re still working on performance (especially ray tracing) ahead of the Steam Machine\u2019s launch next year. But for the right price, this could end up as a decently nippy little games box, even if more demanding stuff \u2013 Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows<\/a>, say, or STALKER 2<\/a> \u2013 might require bumping down to 1440p or 1080p.<\/p>\n

The Steam Machine can\u2019t get too haughty about outperforming a docked Deck, either, as it essentially owes the handheld for its operating system. This is, almost entirely, SteamOS as we know it from Valve\u2019s portable: snappy, easily navigable while collapsed sideways on the sofa, and natively bundling in useful tricks like quick suspend\/resume and Steam cloud saves. It can also update games in a low-power standby games too, just like modern consoles (and, per a recent update<\/a>, the Steam Deck itself).<\/p>\n

Most importantly, in the years since Steam Machines first appeared, SteamOS has blown apart its game compatibility barriers like Semtex on a Japanese hotel door. Far from relying on tailor-made Linux ports like those 2015 models did, the Steam Machine will be able to exploit Valve and Codeweavers\u2019 Proton compatibility software<\/a> to seamlessly run huge swathes of the entire Steam catalogue. Not to mention games exclusive to non-Steam launchers<\/a> that can be sneakily installed through SteamOS\u2019 Desktop Mode<\/a>. Not everything designed for Windows will make the cut<\/a>, but the new Steam Machine will release with thousands more playable games than the originals, avoiding a problem that Valve themselves admit killed the old Machines\u2019 chances.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun<\/p>\n

In terms of customisation and tinkering potential, this also feels like Valve\u2019s most PC-ish piece of hardware yet. You are stuck with the CPU and GPU \u2013 they\u2019re integrated with the cooling unit that lifts outwards to access the memory \u2013 but then the RAM and SSD are both easily accessible, and both within a far less fragile design than that of the Deck. It\u2019s also possible to play around with the addressable RGB strip on the Machine\u2019s front and, if you\u2019re particularly keen on interior computing design, replace the black front panel with custom plates, like the wood or Team Fortress 2<\/a> designs you see in the pictures above. Valve are unsure if they\u2019ll sell these covers themselves, though they will be releasing CAD models for the whole device, so I\u2019d expect a blooming economy of replacement parts<\/a> on Etsy and the like.<\/p>\n

Obviously, it\u2019s not as fully modular as a traditional PC, and again, I can\u2019t see this Steam Machine replacing anyone\u2019s full-blooded desktop rig. Yet it already looks like a more viable part-time\/living room \u2018puter than the first Machines ever were, even if arguably the biggest reason for that \u2013 the massively expanded choice of games \u2013 isn\u2019t directly related to the hardware improvements.<\/p>\n

Valve will need to nail the pricing, mind. As spry as it is versus a docked Steam Deck, its Medium-quality performance zone and basic physical connectivity really should be reflected in the cost. Hopefully there\u2019s one other lesson that the Steam Machine can learn from its handheld cousin: the simple, timeless appeal of undercutting the competition<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Remember Steam Machines? Valve do, and they\u2019re making a new one. The circa-2026 Steam Machine (it\u2019s out early…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":177031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[260],"tags":[18,19,17,82,286,287,288],"class_list":{"0":"post-177030","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-virtual-reality","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-technology","12":"tag-virtual-reality","13":"tag-virtualreality","14":"tag-vr"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115538165952370507","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}