Valve Introduces Steam Machine, Steam Frame, Steam Controller - Gabe Cube

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Slav Power said:
Check where Valve is headquartered and what political donations Gabe Newell was doing. Just try to not short circuit when your findings contradict with your "based Valve saving vidya" beliefs.
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Idgaf about their political beliefs i just want to see Windows execs jumping from office buildings and Valve’s contribution to Linux desktop gaming is immeasurable.
We’re at the point where games like BF6 are going out of their way to make sure it doesnt work on Linux systems because so many games are compatible with Proton now.
 
a-Lager said:
What's the consensus on the Frame? Did some cursory research and a bunch of people (if you consider pRedditors people) are ass mad that it's just a Quest competitor and not the Index 2
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I like the size of it and i like some of the software in it, but that seems to be about it. Otherwise its like a half-competitor to the Quest 3 unless they price it high.
Iirc it has monochrome cameras so no true passthrough and the Quest already has airlink. Foveated streaming is interesting and i like FEX as an evolution of Proton for ARM architecture, but besides that this is definitely a VR headset and not an XR headset.
For the Steam Machine to be successful it has to have a better user experience than the competition, but the Apple Vision proved that for headsets the utility and price still matter.

My guess is that this will be $899, so more than a quest but less than a focus. It might not sell well because people will have to decide if the price difference is worth not dealing with Meta and their bullshit (which is cleverly hidden until after you’re bought into the quest headset).
 
Spaced Outside Cargo said:
We’re at the point where games like BF6 are going out of their way to make sure it doesnt work on Linux systems because so many games are compatible with Proton now.
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That’s more of an EA and DICE are cocksuckers and think borderline rootkits will stop piracy thing going on, I still remember the big betrayal where they randomly dumped the new anti cheat on BF1 and the protondb rating went from platinum to “it’s fucking broken, get refunds” overnight because the game unironically was a great promo for the Deck.
 
Fenrir Ratatoskr said:
Meanwhile my deck, just in desktop mode, uses 2.1 GB. total.
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Windows 11 after running WinUtil on it falls in the similar 2-3GB on desktop ballpark. Though honestly, the ridiculous amount of useless garbage 11 runs in the background by default is not as bad as the constant enshittification of the web leading to web browsers eating more and more RAM where 32GB is starting to become the minimum.

Do a little experiment: install Debian 13 without a DE. Install htop. Check RAM consumption. Install X11 with i3. Check the RAM consumption. Install Pipewire. Check the RAM consumption. The closer and closer you get to something that could run a web browser, the more RAM it needs. Then you finally install the web browser. Now see how much RAM you end up using for web browsing alone. And it's only getting worse and worse.
 
Console gamer here. Would this theoretically be what I’d want for PC gaming? Easy to set up, can emulate PS3/360, online multiplayer for free, can support mods?
 
Fenrir Ratatoskr said:
4K is a meme. 8K is an even bigger meme. No console has ever sold on purely it's specs. Raytracing is the future of graphics stacks, but it needs better tools and good optimizations to replace rasters.
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That's for watching TV, though. The use cases on a PC are much different, but 4K actually checks out as the desired resolution for a typically-sized PC monitor, consistent with your diagram. So that's a bit contradictive.

Now, if you consider 1 / x m * 100 = y ppi to be the formula of choice here, where x is the viewing distance in metres, and y is the value of the desired minimum pixel density in pixels per inch, then this absolutely checks out. In my case, I keep around 75 cm (2.5') of viewing distance to my 31.5" 4K screen. That's 1 / 0.75 m * 100 = 133 ppi of desired minimum pixel density, which happens to be (over)fulfilled at the screen's 140 ppi.

I still prefer 1080p for gaming, though, if only for the higher frame and refresh rate my monitor allows to be achieved (480 Hz). The gains from that outweigh the "Look Mum, no pixels!" higher fidelity of 4K for me.
 
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The Last Stand said:
Console gamer here. Would this theoretically be what I’d want for PC gaming? Easy to set up, can emulate PS3/360, online multiplayer for free, can support mods?
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The biggest caveat will be what you want to play and if it'll run well on this. The specs are ballpark base PS5 so don't expect modern UE5 games to run at a locked 4K60 without upscaling but pretty much everything will run fine at 1080p or 1440p (and I expect a lot of games to have prebaked Steam Machine presets to maximize performance on this).

The other caveat will be whether or not the stuff you want to play requires aggressive kernel-level anticheat. That stuff doesn't tend to work on SteamOS so if you're wanting to play DayZ or Rust or Apex or something, you're probably out of luck.

Everything else though - this will be able to handily emulate up to PS3 and even Switch 1, there's no cost for online multiplayer, and yes you can use mods.
 
Fcret said:
That stuff doesn't tend to work on SteamOS so if you're wanting to play DayZ or Rust or Apex or something, you're probably out of luck.
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Don't know what DayZ or Rust is, Apex I could just play on Xbox if the mood strikes me.
 
Get Phobo said:
That's for watching TV, though. The use cases on a PC are much different, but 4K actually checks out as the desired resolution for a typically-sized PC monitor, consistent with your diagram. So that's a bit contradictive.

Now, if you consider 1 / x m * 100 = y ppi to be the formula of choice here, where x is the viewing distance in metres, and y is the value of the desired minimum pixel density in pixels per inch, then this absolutely checks out. In my case, I keep around 75 cm (2') of viewing distance to my 31.5" 4K screen. That's 1 / 0.75 m * 100 = 133 ppi of desired minimum pixel density, which happens to be (over)fulfilled at the screen's 140 ppi.

I still prefer 1080p for gaming, though, if only for the higher frame and refresh rate my monitor allows to be achieved (480 Hz). The gains from that outweigh the "Look Mum, no pixels!" higher fidelity of 4K for me.
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My argument is purely for the average user using this as a couch gamer, not a general PC user(though it can and will be used that way).

Most people don't drop the kind of money for an Asus or LG OLED monitor which is what I assume you are running based on your specs mentioned, at which point you're firmly entering enthusiast or exotic territory. You are right that my chart is for TV, and rtings has a info guide on monitors specifically.

My point is that for 90% of people won't be using this for true 4K gaming, and I don't think most will care.
For people who do hi fidelity work, sure. 4K on a 32" at 2' is important.
But for people sitting 7-10' from a 65"-80"? Nah.
For a small room 50"-65" tv 5' away? Nah.
"Most" gaming doesn't require the level of resolution to render the detail one would need for close detailed analysis, like in checking CAD or reading text/spreadsheets.
Unless you are playing a paradox game.

My distaste for 4K gaming is largely the dipshits who assume it makes gaming "better" inherently. As if increasing resolution increases fun. It's the same vein of people who gnaw endlessly on about raytracing, graphics, and the tech specs ignoring that the asthetics of the visuals and design of the game are far far far more important than whether a game has real time ray reconstruction and "insert GPU tech here".

I use big GPUs and 128+ GB of RAM not because I want to play Hitman or Project Zomboid at 8K. I use big GPUs because I want to render my damn scenes in blender faster. I use my big RAM for ZFS(on my server), for loading big blender scenes and caching exr files in Resolve.

Slav Power said:
Windows 11 after running WinUtil on it falls in the similar 2-3GB on desktop ballpark. Though honestly, the ridiculous amount of useless garbage 11 runs in the background by default is not as bad as the constant enshittification of the web leading to web browsers eating more and more RAM where 32GB is starting to become the minimum.

Do a little experiment: install Debian 13 without a DE. Install htop. Check RAM consumption. Install X11 with i3. Check the RAM consumption. Install Pipewire. Check the RAM consumption. The closer and closer you get to something that could run a web browser, the more RAM it needs. Then you finally install the web browser. Now see how much RAM you end up using for web browsing alone. And it's only getting worse and worse.
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That is with all those features. The deck is running wayland, pipewire, and all the minimums of a full OS with a browser. It is a full kde plasma enviro. Same test with arch and with fedora. Same memory usage. No more than 1.5-2GB even with steam client running.
So yes for a full Windows desktop OS in 2025, 16GB+ is recommended.
But for what the SM will be doing? Running games on linux with steam overlay, and absolutely no Desktop Environment?
At that point it's a console or a Phone in solo mode. It will be just fine for gaming.
Certainly better than the shitty machines most people use.
The Last Stand said:
Console gamer here. Would this theoretically be what I’d want for PC gaming? Easy to set up, can emulate PS3/360, online multiplayer for free, can support mods?
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Yes. I can run almost every console on the deck, even the PS3 and switch(though the ps3 is half speed). The steam machine will likely be perfect for that.
Just don't expect console prices. From what I hear it might be priced closer to mini PCs. $400 is their BOM allegedly; so 500 - 800.
Still better than the ps3 was at launch with it's $900 dollar price tag adjusted for inflation, but it might hurt. Next year we'll know.
 
asr said:
Can someone redpill me on the new steam controller and the trackpads specifically? Because i'm not seeing the value. I see the value in the TMR, the extra buttons on the back but what's the use case for trackpads outside of using them to navigate the steam menus?
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They do come in handy with stuff like PC games from the 00’s that were never ported to consoles at the time and as a result weren’t designed around controllers at all. It’s not something lifechanging but it comes in handy sometimes.

People who have a deck swear by this layout so there’s probably something to it, I don’t have a deck yet so IDK.
 
The Last Stand said:
Console gamer here. Would this theoretically be what I’d want for PC gaming? Easy to set up, can emulate PS3/360, online multiplayer for free, can support mods?
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Depends on what you want to emulate, hardware shouldn’t be a problem but the emulators for 11th gen aren’t compatible with everything yet. RPCS3 has 70% compatibility while Xenia is maintained by mentally unstable paranoid schizophrenics.
 
Dead Lion said:
Depends on what you want to emulate, hardware shouldn’t be a problem but the emulators for 11th gen aren’t compatible with everything yet. RPCS3 has 70% compatibility while Xenia is maintained by mentally unstable paranoid schizophrenics.
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I just want PS3 emulation. Nintendo emulation should go without saying.
 
Dead Lion said:
RPCS3 has 70% compatibility while Xenia is maintained by mentally unstable paranoid schizophrenics.
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But emulators being created by mentally unstable paranoid schizophrenics are the best emulators.

I'm looking forward to trying out the Steam Controller 2, just for the ergonomics. Steam Frame looks to be tight as well
 
Fenrir Ratatoskr said:
Most people don't drop the kind of money for an Asus or LG OLED monitor which is what I assume you are running based on your specs mentioned, at which point you're firmly entering enthusiast or exotic territory.
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Yes, and, to be fair, I had been waiting for this kind of monitor for years, long before any such was even announced. I simply had envisioned this very concept as my ideal, and was therefore ready to spend some serious money once a device like that would hit the market.

Fenrir Ratatoskr said:
"Most" gaming doesn't require the level of resolution to render the detail one would need for close detailed analysis, like in checking CAD or reading text/spreadsheets.
Unless you are playing a paradox game.

My distaste for 4K gaming is largely the dipshits who assume it makes gaming "better" inherently.
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For Cities: Skylines (a Paradox game), I would play the game in 1080p but with internal resolution scaling bumped up to 4K or 5K. Same with GTA V. A higher rendering resolution will increase the visibility/legibility of remote objects no matter the actual screen resolution, which in turn can improve the fun, but that's not always the case, of course, and very often a higher framerate will provide more fun than prettier graphics would. I do like HDR, though, and try to use it with every game possible.

Fenrir Ratatoskr said:
I use big GPUs and 128+ GB of RAM not because I want to play Hitman or Project Zomboid at 8K. I use big GPUs because I want to render my damn scenes in blender faster. I use my big RAM for ZFS(on my server), for loading big blender scenes and caching exr files in Resolve.
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I'm also a RAM guy, my use case mostly being RAM disks and careless web browser use with dozens of opened tabs. I also hate any kind of paging and swapping to disk. Zswap is the only kind of swap I would tolerate, if I ever needed it.
 
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