During an interview with YouTube channel Adam Savage’s Tested, Valve engineer, Yazan Aldehayyat, believes that the Steam Machine is equal to or better than 70% of what people game on at home. While it may be true, this doesn’t paint the full picture, which excludes those who don’t participate in surveys and those who outright don’t use Steam.
Though this claim is based on Valve’s Steam hardware survey, which gives it a clear view of what players are currently using, it may come as a surprise to some, considering how weak some of the machine’s hardware specs are. As a reminder, the Steam Machine features a semi-custom 6-core Zen 4 processor alongside a semi-custom 28-CU RDNA 3 GPU. The CPU aspect is perfectly fine, configured to reach up to 4.8GHz at a 30W TDP, but the GPU is arguably subpar, offering fewer CUs than an entry Radeon RX 7600.
In fact, the Steam Machine’s GPU seems closer to the Radeon RX 7600M laptop chip, albeit boasting a higher TDP (110W vs. 90W), which should help it sustain the 2.45GHz boost clock. Its 8GB of VRAM isn’t helping either, especially at higher resolutions, as modern games already struggle on similar cards. Valve, on the other hand, reckons that its machine is capable of 4K 60fps gaming, adding that it should run all games despite its Linux-based operating system.
Yes, I agree that technically the Steam Machine is capable of running old or less demanding titles such as Battlefield V at 4K60, but I expect it to struggle with the presence of a AAA game using heavy ray tracing. If our tests are any indication, don’t expect to run anything like Cyberpunk 2077 above 1080p with FSR on.
That said, while I may not agree with Valve’s choices, I understand the reason behind them. With the Steam Machine, Valve is once more aiming for mass adoption like the Steam Deck, and by consequence has selected mainstream parts to build it. Since more than half of gamers are playing on 1080p monitors – according to the Steam survey – the experience should be satisfactory, with FSR upscaling boosting frame rates where necessary.
While Valve didn’t share any pricing for the Steam Machine, our estimation puts it around £500-600 for the 512GB model. Considering that it is unlikely to beat the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 performance, the Steam Machine will have to play the price game to attract users.
Overall, the Steam Machine looks like a modest compact living-room box that is meant to live alongside your console, offering a controller-friendly UI and a frictionless experience. Though it won’t blow you away with its performance, it should allow you to enjoy your PC games from the comfort of your sofa. If you understand this and accept whatever price Valve chooses, then you should be fine.
