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Steam Machine Makes No Sense to a PC Gamer
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this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2026
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Let's see your recommendation, smartypants. The closest prebuilt I've heard about is from HP and more powerful but $1500+.
Multiple outlets have tried / are trying to built their own equivalent to the base model and they're all ending up close to the same $1,000-1,100 price.
STORMCRAFT Gaming PC SIRIUS Intel Core i5-14400F NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 – AI Powered 16GB 3200MHz RGB 1TB NVMe SSD 650W PSU Windows 11 Home $899
https://www.newegg.com/stormcraft-sirius-gaming-desktop-pc-geforce-rtx-5060-intel-core-i5-14400f-16gb-ddr4-1tb-ssd-si1440fbb-560n2/p/N82E16883420040?Item=N82E16883420040
Hm, I'm not sure how that Intel CPU ranks but I'll concede the core specs (5060 GPU, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD) are better than the Steam Machine. It's surprisingly good looking too IMO, and it comes with a mouse and keyboard while still leaving budget for a gamepad.
The TDP is probably 8x the Steam Machine (not that most players would care) and decibel rating probably double (plenty would care).
Of course Windows is its own penalty. But nothing would stop you from putting Bazzite on it.
Nice find. Currently it's on sale for $200 off, where normal price puts it right in line at $1099. But a deal is a deal. I think you deserve more upvotes for this.
That's DDR4 and not a tiny form factor like the Steam Machine (or low TDP).
You are clueless about the market if this is what you consider a comparable build. There's a lot more to it than pure gaming fps numbers.
DDR4 or DDR5 means next to nothing for these low end systems. Higher performance requires more power and space. Today you can get a higher performance PC gaming system for less than the cost of the Steam Machine. You can also upgrade the system I provided. The steam machine has no place in PC gaming. It is a waste of money and time.
Like I said, show me one in the same form factor.
Anyway, you can just say it's not for you. You dont have to be offended that it's appealing to others and not tailored to what you want.
I am going to have to give it to you. If you want a weak small box that runs steam not very well the Steam Machine is the way to go. If you are a PC gamer and want a more powerful system for less that is upgradable you have better options out there.
The Steam Deck already showed that people dont care so much about raw performance. Everyone did the exact same thing as now, calling it underpowered. Granted it was a handheld, so it sold on that merit. Just like the Steam Machine will sell on it's own merits.
It's a perfectly powerful machine, the price is unfortunate given the market state. There's not much reason we need that much more power, except that today's big games are made like absolute shit and barely perform, but hey, we can just not play those shitty games.
If you cannot justify, you dont have to buy it. Everyone else can make their own decision.
I will say that "tiny form factor" shifts the goal post here a little. I do agree that's probably the one and only real selling point for the Gabecube. But why wait months until it arrives instead of buying something now that's basically just as good for the same price? Does it really have to be that small and quiet at all cost? It's a tiny niche, frankly. And whether you use DDR4 or DDR5 has very little impact on low range machines from my experience.
How many people actually care about it being that tiny though?
Anyone strapped for cash is probably gonna get a much bigger machine to get a much better value. Only the right enthusiast would pay more for worse performance just for the size.
People who actually put next to their TV. I can't put a full size tower there
Not just size. There's also lack of setup (works out of the box), low noise levels, reliability, and don't forget HDMI CEC. These things all matter for a living room machine IMO.
If you build your own, kernel and firmware updates for the components can be a mixed bag.
Enough that it will sell out over and over.
That's not hard to do when they can't even buy ram for them.
Anyone who wants a pc under the tv basically
It doesn't have to be a 6 inch cube to fit under your TV. The PS5 Pro is nearly 16 inches long.
Then I couldn't call it GabeCube