It definitely costs $100 or so more than commodity parts with equal performance. However, if you care about the form factor or the HDMI CEC it’s impossible to do better.
I run Steam on Kubuntu on a mini-ITX PC, but it’s 6"x10"x13" instead of 6"x6"x6". It’s also much better spec’d than the Steam Machine (5700X3D, 64GB RAM, 9070XT) and probably cost less than at least the 2TB version of it, but I built it before prices went crazy.
Don’t forget the massive heatsink (which translates to silence) and the controller puck inside of the case which all adds to the living room experience.
This thing is priced perfectly. It’s just that hardware is expensive, and this thing has it all.
What the reactions have made clear is that people just value raw power, at least on paper.
I wonder if any of the critics ever tried putting a chunky loud PC with a dongle hanging out near their living room TV.
My computer has AIO water cooling for the CPU and both it and the GPU fans are pretty decently quiet (probably not as quiet as the Steam Machine, but I don’t know how to measure), so I didn’t count it as a difference in the comparison.
I wouldn’t say the Steam Machine “has it all,” BTW. It definitely has enough for a console competitor, but in terms of mini PCs, in order to “ha[ve] it all” it would have to have a Strix Halo like the Framework Desktop or Minisforum MS-S1 Max. “Has it all” is a completely different market segment than this thing competes in.
It definitely costs $100 or so more than commodity parts with equal performance. However, if you care about the form factor or the HDMI CEC it’s impossible to do better.
I run Steam on Kubuntu on a mini-ITX PC, but it’s 6"x10"x13" instead of 6"x6"x6". It’s also much better spec’d than the Steam Machine (5700X3D, 64GB RAM, 9070XT) and probably cost less than at least the 2TB version of it, but I built it before prices went crazy.
Not that weird tbh. System builders (that aren’t complete scams) usually charge $50-100 in assembly fees
Don’t forget the massive heatsink (which translates to silence) and the controller puck inside of the case which all adds to the living room experience.
This thing is priced perfectly. It’s just that hardware is expensive, and this thing has it all.
What the reactions have made clear is that people just value raw power, at least on paper.
I wonder if any of the critics ever tried putting a chunky loud PC with a dongle hanging out near their living room TV.
My computer has AIO water cooling for the CPU and both it and the GPU fans are pretty decently quiet (probably not as quiet as the Steam Machine, but I don’t know how to measure), so I didn’t count it as a difference in the comparison.
I wouldn’t say the Steam Machine “has it all,” BTW. It definitely has enough for a console competitor, but in terms of mini PCs, in order to “ha[ve] it all” it would have to have a Strix Halo like the Framework Desktop or Minisforum MS-S1 Max. “Has it all” is a completely different market segment than this thing competes in.
Put your AIO Water cooled PC next to your living room PC and check the reactions of the people around you.
When you respond to “has it all” you are only talking about raw power and missing my point.