Topic: PC Gaming

https://mp1st.com/news/steam-machine-will-cost-like-a-pc-not-...

Seems like it will cost pretty oof

So what kind of price range are we talking about if that’s the case? I’m asking since i haven’t owned a regular and/or gaming computer in years upon years. So i’m kinda out of date with suchs pricing.

My guess is

699-799 euros for the 512GB version
899-999 euros for the 2TB version

But I hope it will be cheaper, because I would be interested in the 2TB version.

Those price estimates seem way off to me.

A quick trip to PC Part Picker suggests that a comparable build from off-the-shelf components would come in at around $500, and that would give you a fully upgradable computer that wouldn't just become e-waste at the moment you decided that you need a better CPU or GPU.

I'd expect that Valve ought to be able to do better because they've got economies of scale on their side. I just don't expect the same aggressive pricing as we got with the Steam Deck because the console market just isn't that competitive any more.

For what it's worth, the difference in price between a 512GB SSD and a 2TB one is currently about $75. If Valve are charging more than that - and I expect that they will, in order to keep the price of the entry-level model down - a DIY upgrade is probably the way to go.

@darkfenrir
I wouldn't take too much stock in that article, their primary source is a single comment made by Linus in a video relaying a conversation he had at Valve. Also I would note that the comment was that they wouldn't "price it like a console" by "subsidising the cost". That's not really addressing the price itself, it's more addressing the approach to pricing. i.e. they won't be selling it at a loss or with very, very tight margins

But as @Matt_Barber said, if you look at the actual raw specs of this thing? If you price out something similar you land at something between the price of the PS5 and PS5 Pro. Maybe slightly closer to the Pro. But that's with PC retailer margins and overheads. I don't expect it to be competitive with Playstation on price but.... the people talking $1000US are out of their minds. $600US probably tracks although, even there, I'm not sure how the tarrifs would play into this

I expect it to be similar in price to the higher end Steam Deck SKUs. Between the 512GB and 1TB SKUs for the 512GB one, a bit more than the 1TB SKU for the 2TB one

@skywake ah gotcha. Although I personally thought it would be around 700 usd ish each xD maybe between 650-750usd

And somehow, the RAM market gets worse.
https://www.reuters.com/business/micron-exit-crucial-consumer...

I really need to pony up the cash for a 4090, specifically for Valve's upcoming Steam Frame and Upcoming Dream Air SE. I just don't want to deal with the Windows headache and friction/barriers with a traditional PC. Seems like a ritual just to get a game up and running.

Too bad Steam Machine is a less capable PS5. I was really hoping for at least Base PS5 Power or something in between a PS5 & PS5 Pro since VR needs all the power it can get. I'm looking to replace my PSVR2 with the Steam Frame and a PC that's stronger than a PS5 Pro.

I'm only hanging on to my PSVR2 IF Resident Evil 9: Requiem happens, which is a massive deal. And if it does, at least that headset will go out with a major bang. Doesn't get any better than RE VR in the land of VR gaming. RE Village VR was one of the best gaming experiences I've had in the last 20 years. I can only imagine how much better it would of been without reprojection(Motion doubling from 60fps, you need 90 to get rid of it), Pancake Lens Clarity, higher resolution etc. An amazing experience that will all the more mind blowing with more capable future headsets, like a PSVR3 + PS6.

@WaveBoy I got my eye on the Steam Machine especially if Xbox goes the route that everyone says its going. I honestly haven't bother with the PS5. To be truthful Sony hasnt impressed me since the PS2 days I remember the leap from PS1 to 2 was like night and day. Yeah I had a PS4 but that was my third party machine since at the time I got it Wii U wasnt having anything 3rd party and then the whole Xbox One launch botch. Dont get me wrong some games were impressive on the PS4 Spider-man for example and Knack was great but I didnt feel like I needed the PS4 like I did the PS2. Heck once I got my Xbox One and then a Series X I didnt need the PS4 anymore. Yeah there's a few exclusives I want to play like Spider-man 2 but not not bad enough to make me buy a PS5.

I dont know if I am just getting old and these new games just dont appeal to me or what. Heck I got more excited about the AVGN game then any other game lately, although that new Marvel beat em up that came out yesterday looks pretty solid.

But yeah I think next "console" I get will be a Steam Machine just so I can have all my stuff there along with my emulators and such.

@Tasuki
Ya, I've said this before But I don'y play my PS5 all that much unless it's for the odd PSVR2 Game. Shadow Gate VR just released today so I may gave that one a whirl. The last greatest PS5 title i played was the Resident Evil 2 Remake(In 120fps mode). 10/10. Incredible stuff. Including RE3 Remake, which was suprisingly good considering all of the flack that one gets. But other than that it's been slim pickings.

I feel like the vast majority of modern AAA PS5 exclusives are just straight up soulless. There's too much filler, draged out cutscenes, tutorials, when you press start you're often greeted to a massive web of Items, I could go on and on. Realistic graphics, or games that strive for realism typically don't appeal to me eithe. I guess I'm just an oldschool retro 2D Action platformer fan at heart, including NewWave modern Retro, and VR/MR.

But i think it's also a combination of that and just getting older. Your level of wonderment, focus, determination, reflexes and honing in to what you're playing can dwindle and subside over the years. Not for everyone mind you. As for me, I'm still a big kid at heart, and I can still beat some of the hardest retro titles around(Adventure Island, Ghosts n Goblins, Castlevania III, etc), but outside of Retro & NewWave retro my main gaming passion these days lies with VR and the sheer amount of potential it has. It's transformative and magical at it's best. So much room for growth which makes the platform all the more exciting Vs traditional gaming and it's obvious diminishing returns since we've come so far. Switch 2 is the final console that will have a notable gap in power moving forward.

Anyways, I'm getting the Steam Frame day once. it's essentially a Quest 3 Pro. Higher Stereo Overlap(Better three dimensionality/depth perception), Eye Tracking + Dynamic Foveated Rendering/Streaming for better visual & frame rate performance, It's 75 grams lighter, doesn't have that annoying dinky top middle velcro strap, it's a bit smaller, and uses a 6GHZ dongle for nearly unoticable image compression and low latency when connected to the Steam Machine for a big power boost for Steam VR games.

I just hate that SM is a little less capable than PS5. VR needs all the power it can get. Wish a Steam Frame OLED(Using Micro-OLED) and a Steam Machine Pro that has power closer to a PS5 Pro existed. Maybe in the future. Still undecided on Steam Machine, but Steam Frame is a 100% yes. Rumours are saying that it's landing some time in Q1 2026. Crossing my fingers for january!

But ya, Marvel Cosmic Invasion looks pretty solid, but artistically speaking, that He-Man & TMOTU: Dragon Pearl of Destruction looks like it's nearly in an entirely different league. Marvel Cosmic Invasion looks a touch too modern and some what simplified in terms of it's art direction. Wish they would of went for a more early 90's comic book X-men visual style.

RAM pricing doing my head in a bit, as I'm sure it is most people. Holiday break so I took some time to re-organise and do some PC hardware housekeeping stuffs I'd been meaning to. New rackmount case for my NAS rather than the mini-ITX case I had with the HDDs held in with zip-ties. While I was at it I did a disk shuffle throwing the NVMe drive I had in my NAS into my desktop and a spare SATA SSD I had floating around into the NAS

Problem is, the motherboard in my desktop is an older chipset with limited PCIe lands. It shares the second m.2 slot with the only available PCIe slot I have on the board given my large GPU cooler. An additional m.2 slot I kinda need if I want to use the 2.5Gbps NIC I have rather than the built-in 1Gbps NIC

Obviously I can get around this. Either don't use the second m.2 drive or get a USB NIC. But also, if I did a platform upgrade none of this would be an issue. It's very easy to find a reasonably priced (ish) AM5 board with 5Gbps Ethernet in addition to multiple full 16X PCIe Gen 5 slots AND 3x M.2 slots. Way more expansion than I could possibly want really. And honestly I'm probably at the point now where I would be looking at a platform upgrade very soon......... if a 32GB kit of DDR5 wasn't $700AU....

All these price increases are why more than ever, I'm happy with what I have- an Nvidia 2080 ti GPU with Intel i9 9900k CPU and 32GB DDR4 RAM. A bit older at this point, but still more powerful than a PS5 I think.

I run MH Wilds at 1080p 60fps with DLSS Balanced to prevent the blower GPU from revving up like a jet engine, and that works well for me. Can run it at higher settings but I hate how loud it gets.

I've been playing Fallout 4 again but instead of my desktop PC or my Ryzen mini pc I've been playing it on my N100 mini pc which means I can only play it at 720p with low detail settings. I guess just for the novelty of playing it differently. I'm obviously not hte most demanding gamer as I quickly adapt to inferior visuals and still enjoy the game. It still has a good frame rate. I really don't feel you need a state of the art PC to enjoy PC gaming. Yes 4K and ultra detail levels are nice but you don't need them to enjoy the game. On a pc gaming handheld a lower TDP could mean hours of extra gameplay on your travels for the same game but inferior visuals. I often feel that is the best option. Many people act like you have to have the latest rig that costs thousands but I really don't think that is true. Cyberpunk at 720p is still the same game as when its run at 4K.

@JaxonH
Yeah, for gaming my platform is still perfectly fine (3600x + 32GB DDR4). But I do find that I'm starting to run into walls for other stuff. Mostly storage and network but I can easily use more than 32GB when doing dev work. And obviously for compiling more/faster cores wouldn't hurt

But RAM prices being what they are effectively rules it out entirely for the medium term