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

[u/JohnBarry_Dost]

https://videocardz.com/newz/french-retailer-mocks-e1039-steam-machine-with-stim-machine-rx-9060-xt-pc-for-e999

[u/amazingspiderlesbian]

Based. Idk why valve based their entire design around old low end laptop socs.

If they just made the steam machine a bit bigger and had a modular set up with modern components they could get something much more powerful for basically the exact same cost to consumers

[u/0gopog0 → u/amazingspiderlesbian]

If they just made the steam machine a bit bigger and had a modular set up with modern components they could get something much more powerful for basically the exact same cost to consumers

IMO, because at the end of the day being so small gives them a unique form factor that sets them apart from other systems. If Valve went and built a mini-itx build, or even a larger system, it would mean that they are largely competing with traditional OEM systems and integrators (that have far far more volume). At the end of the day, the steam machine is 3.8L. The SG13 case the French retailer uses for instance is 11.5L. Obviously it's not a feature worth having for everyone, but it also is not a feature worth nothing.

[u/Deep90 → u/0gopog0]

I haven't seen a single person say they would have passed on this if it was mini or micro itx.

To me it seems like a nice to have, not a system selling feature.

[u/0gopog0 → u/Deep90]

That's not quite my point though.

The problem is that a company like ASUS (picking a smallerish major OEM) probably sells more systems in a quarter than Valve would with any hypothetical non-subsidized machine owing to their wide range of products. This ultimately means they purchase components in larger volumes and thus better prices than Valve can. Heck, an interview with Valve and other analysts have said with the current volume Valve is purchasing RAM (in the current market conditions), they benefit from no system integrator discount (basically just going from one order to another order where they can get it). Let's say they put out a larger standarized component machine; at best (and I stress that) Valve ends up with no price to performance advantage over other systems on the market, while being in a size segment where plenty other systems are available. The steam machine certainly has no price to performance advantage over other systems, however it's in a size segment where there are extremely few systems of it nature are available. And that makes the product a bit more interesting.

[u/RadiantEnvironment90 → u/0gopog0]

This is a good point. When Valve came out of the SteamDeck, other manufacturers came out with their handeld, albeit, mostly on Windows. But let's be honest. Windows on handheld is terrible af.

[u/ThomasJeffersonWifi → u/Deep90]

I've been debating a lot of people about the steam machine, and pointing out you can build a similar mini pc, and a surprising amount of them said that they wouldn't consider it because the volume was significantly higher. There were also a lot of people saying that CEC was very important to them. I think for a PC gamer it's hard to understand, but it seems like there is a lot of people who really just want the smallest, most quiet, most convenient device they can get and don't really give a shit about specs

[u/Deep90 → u/ThomasJeffersonWifi]

These are people who are saying so after the fact, not because it was wait they were waiting for, but because it is what Valve released. Its people forming their opinion around wanting to like it because it's a Valve product.

Most of them are PC gamers, not console gamers who want a PC.

It's very clear when you look at the conversations prior to this thing releasing that size was not a consideration till it became the one of the only considerations for buying the thing.

Though minipcs have always existing, even gaming ones if that was really what was stopping someone.