That’s a fair point re: CPU, although I’m not patient enough to build a PC (my friends built mine ages ago 😂) so it won’t make much difference to me… hopefully. But for sure I think if upgrade-ability and/or final price are of concern, then building your own box to the same specs would be much better

Yes! I was considering it, just feels a bit pricy and I don’t think I’d use the handheld mode. Hoping the Steam machine could be a cool no frills option

I don’t have a smart TV. Also, called it (inb4 someone says “just try xyz!”)

I’ve been PC gaming for 20 years and always wanted to be able to play them on my TV. Yes, the methods exist, but it feels needlessly complex- right now I have long cables running through my small apartment just to play on my TV… with latency. It feels like to get everything running you need specific dongles, cables, hardware, ports, and then there’s compatibility issues on top of that.

I’m not a computer savant who runs a home network and meticulously manages their home tech. I’m also not a total noob- I can troubleshoot issues, setup mods, do some basic tinkering, etc. which puts me ahead of many, many typical users. That said, I have other hobbies and things I want to do, and the amount of work it takes to get this stuff minimally functional just isn’t worth the time and frustration for me (inb4 someone replies “just try xyz!”).

The Steam Machine is something I’ve always wanted. A one-stop shop I can plug into my TV, hook up my controller, and boom- steam library at my fingertips. No worries about compatibility, cable runs, or any of that crap. Plus, it could get someone like my partner (a lifelong Mac user who hates computers in general, can’t troubleshoot, and loves Nintendo games) into PC gaming.