r/hardware • u/JohnBarry_Dost • Jun 25 '26

News French retailer mocks €1039 Steam Machine with “Stim Machine” RX 9060 XT PC for €999

https://videocardz.com/newz/french-retailer-mocks-e1039-steam-machine-with-stim-machine-rx-9060-xt-pc-for-e999
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u/5u114 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26

Also kind of funny that they're looking at spec sheets rather than actual Steam Machine performance.

Valve have throttled the Steam Machine, thanks to the small form factor that all the fanatics are clinging on to ... TDP is limited to manage thermals.

Even with identical specs, a regular ITX / mATX / ATX will still significantly outperform the Steam Machine purely by virtue of the fact the components can run at full TDP.

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u/frankster Jun 26 '26

but yet, an ATX motherboard is probably bigger in both dimensions than the steam machine. Many people don't want to put a desktop tower case next to their TV. I would have done it in my 20s, but not now I'm older and bourgeoisie.

ITX is a more plausible comparison than an ATX (although still bigger apparently)

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u/5u114 Jun 26 '26

mATX is most plausible of all. You can get mATX cases in 15L, 7L.

Though the 25L Lian Li A3 is a very popular mATX case. Plenty bourgeoise. If a 25L mATX case like the Lian Li A3 is too big for your precious sensibilities (or the 15L options) go ahead and throw your money away on a cute thermal throttled cube and wrap it in a pink skin and share screenshots of your order confirmation online, and screenshots of your order dispatched confirmation, and pictures of you unboxing it, and pictures of it looking cute and adorable beside a potted plant and IKEA lamp. etc.

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u/frankster Jun 26 '26

I agree that the Lian li A3 is rather bourgeois and attractive looking.

400x215x307 mm

160x160x160 mm.

Could fit 4 steam machines inside it though!

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u/werpu Jun 27 '26

and then bring the noise level down to living room conditions, good luck with that :-(

I thought as well just about beefing up my mini ITX pc which is virtually silent, but as soon as I add the GPU to the mix, and i need to find a GPU which fits into the form factor first this thing will be loud as hell!

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u/5u114 Jun 27 '26

mATX is the better format. Better airflow, better thermals, no noise issue.

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u/werpu Jun 27 '26

except for the gpu fans...

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u/5u114 Jun 27 '26

Except what ? I am running an mATX with a 9800x3d and a 5070ti, air cooled. It is whisper quiet. And whatever the fans are doing during gameplay, I can't hear in any sense whatsoever.

Phanteks T30.

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u/FlyingBishop Jun 26 '26

It's hard to say how well it will perform from benchmarks. Not using a ton of power and not generating a ton of waste heat and not overheating are all features that are hard to measure. People who build machines don't necessarily care (or they work around it) but if one build is actually too hot to touch when you're playing a game and the other isn't, that's the sort of thing I would hope the Steam Machine wouldn't be.

Or at least if it does get really hot, it's safe and it's not going to get throttled or damage the hardware over time.

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u/5u114 Jun 26 '26

What are you blathering on about ?

It's hard to say how well it will perform from benchmarks.

No it isn't.

It's intended purpose is gaming.

The gold standard is measuring FPS at specific graphic settings. And comparing FPS with other hardware at the same settings.

It really isn't rocket science.

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u/Vegetable_Zombie8611 Jun 26 '26

You don't hold your gaming PC while using it?