It’s targeted towards people that primarily run console already. People that don’t have PCs, or have old, janky PCs. People that don’t know how to build or upgrade a PC. If you already roll your own, then you are not the demographic.
I agree. I build my own machines, this is not for me. I like the idea though. I know a lot of people that just have off-the-shelf PCs. They can barely troubleshoot a PC, let alone build one. It also moves people towards Linux and away from Win/Mac. which is a good thing.
I had a young guy in one of my Discord channels. I shit you not: he wanted to clean his PC, so he cracked it open, got a wet rag, and wiped all the internals down. Then he messaged us asking why his PC won’t turn on anymore. Bruh…
But the value-add for you? Nothing. You can just build your own shit. Most people can’t piece together a functional PC though. It’s a box with stuff in it.
Some people dont know shit about pcs. So a console like experience out of the box is great for them.
Or they want a “relatively” cheap living room pc. Both of them could be served with the Steam machine.
As you said I have already heard various console only people profess interest in this since its “basically” like a console for them but they now can access the metric fuckton of games that run on steam/pc.
That’s exactly what I’m getting at and, I think, exactly what Valve is getting at. Plus, while it functions like a console, it’s still just a Linux box. Meaning that its functionality can be massively extended depending on the user. An Xbox is an Xbox. It will never do anything else, regardless of user preference. I really like the idea, and if it catches on, it means a large influx of Linux users.
Not necessarily. Many off-shelf desktops are, let’s put it nicely, “highly optimized for mass production.” They may not have open slots required for upgrades. In the case of a GPU or CPU upgrade, the slot may be incompatible altogether, or, the mainboard may not have the proper bus to support the upgrade. I’ve had to sunset old machines that I built because I couldn’t upgrade them. Not because they were incapable, but because the supported hardware was no longer in production. The only option for a RAM upgrade was paying some dingus on eBay $500 for a stick that would have been $60 if it was still in production.
As I said: You’re a builder. It is not a value-add for you. You are not in their target demographic. I know a lot of people that would very much like to buy a gaming-ready PC that isn’t loaded with crapware though. The Steambox is an actual PC. It’s running SteamOS, which is just a Linux port. It has all the same functionality as a PC. If you don’t like SteamOS, then go install Wine, or Ubuntu, or whatever flavor of Linux you prefer. Nobody is stopping you.
I guess that all depends on the price. If it’s cheaper than a gaming PC of similar specs than I’d say its a good deal. If it’s similar or more expensive, I’m inclined to agree that yes it’s pointless so long as the Steam Deck exists.
I wouldn’t say that, the Steam Deck is relatively old hardware at this point and it’s basically a laptop with a decent APU, the Steam Machine has a dedicated GPU with OK specs. It can do at least some AAA gaming while the Steam Deck can’t.
Why would I purchase this instead of beefing up an existing pc? What does this do that a pc does not do?
The steam deck is portable. What is the value add here?
It’s targeted towards people that primarily run console already. People that don’t have PCs, or have old, janky PCs. People that don’t know how to build or upgrade a PC. If you already roll your own, then you are not the demographic.
I agree. I build my own machines, this is not for me. I like the idea though. I know a lot of people that just have off-the-shelf PCs. They can barely troubleshoot a PC, let alone build one. It also moves people towards Linux and away from Win/Mac. which is a good thing.
I had a young guy in one of my Discord channels. I shit you not: he wanted to clean his PC, so he cracked it open, got a wet rag, and wiped all the internals down. Then he messaged us asking why his PC won’t turn on anymore. Bruh…
But the value-add for you? Nothing. You can just build your own shit. Most people can’t piece together a functional PC though. It’s a box with stuff in it.
Some people dont know shit about pcs. So a console like experience out of the box is great for them. Or they want a “relatively” cheap living room pc. Both of them could be served with the Steam machine.
As you said I have already heard various console only people profess interest in this since its “basically” like a console for them but they now can access the metric fuckton of games that run on steam/pc.
That’s exactly what I’m getting at and, I think, exactly what Valve is getting at. Plus, while it functions like a console, it’s still just a Linux box. Meaning that its functionality can be massively extended depending on the user. An Xbox is an Xbox. It will never do anything else, regardless of user preference. I really like the idea, and if it catches on, it means a large influx of Linux users.
Even if you have an off the shelf PC, upgrading that PC would probably be cheaper and provide more functionality.
Not necessarily. Many off-shelf desktops are, let’s put it nicely, “highly optimized for mass production.” They may not have open slots required for upgrades. In the case of a GPU or CPU upgrade, the slot may be incompatible altogether, or, the mainboard may not have the proper bus to support the upgrade. I’ve had to sunset old machines that I built because I couldn’t upgrade them. Not because they were incapable, but because the supported hardware was no longer in production. The only option for a RAM upgrade was paying some dingus on eBay $500 for a stick that would have been $60 if it was still in production.
As I said: You’re a builder. It is not a value-add for you. You are not in their target demographic. I know a lot of people that would very much like to buy a gaming-ready PC that isn’t loaded with crapware though. The Steambox is an actual PC. It’s running SteamOS, which is just a Linux port. It has all the same functionality as a PC. If you don’t like SteamOS, then go install Wine, or Ubuntu, or whatever flavor of Linux you prefer. Nobody is stopping you.
I guess that all depends on the price. If it’s cheaper than a gaming PC of similar specs than I’d say its a good deal. If it’s similar or more expensive, I’m inclined to agree that yes it’s pointless so long as the Steam Deck exists.
I wouldn’t say that, the Steam Deck is relatively old hardware at this point and it’s basically a laptop with a decent APU, the Steam Machine has a dedicated GPU with OK specs. It can do at least some AAA gaming while the Steam Deck can’t.
Good point
Unfortunately I can’t afford either, but I still find it interesting what people think of it.