My PS5 and Xbox Series X can\u2019t play the hundreds of games in my growing Steam library, don\u2019t support Steam\u2019s cloud saves that let me seamlessly carry progress between my Steam Deck and Steam Machine, don\u2019t support my beloved Steam Controller, and don\u2019t let me use mods to tweak my games exactly the way I like. (Those consoles are also just plain gargantuan compared to Valve\u2019s diminutive box.) Compared to the Steam Deck, games look better, they play more smoothly, and I don\u2019t hear a fan blowing all the way from my couch.<\/p>\n
The Xbox towers over Valve\u2019s box. Photo: Kelsey McClellan \/ The Verge<\/p>\n Since getting a Steam Deck a few years ago, I\u2019ve shifted most of my gaming to Valve\u2019s handheld, where I often play hooked up to my TV. So I figured Valve-made hardware specifically for playing games on my TV would be right up my alley, but I was a little worried after I read Sean\u2019s review. The Steam Machine\u2019s drawbacks are many: It\u2019s really expensive, it competes with six-year-old console hardware, and you can\u2019t upgrade its GPU to make games look better down the line.<\/p>\n And yet, I\u2019m obsessed with how easily Valve\u2019s tiny 6-inch cube fits into my TV console, my desk, and my life.<\/p>\n The Steam Machine is basically silent: I can\u2019t think of a single time I\u2019ve heard the Steam Machine while playing games. Not with Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, not with 007 First Light, and especially not with Balatro. It, naturally, works great with Valve\u2019s Steam Controller, which I\u2019ve already sung the praises of in my review<\/a>. I can put it basically wherever I want in my TV cabinet \u2014 unlike my PS5 and Xbox Series X, which I have to stuff into one cabinet that can\u2019t fit much else. I\u2019ve also plopped it on my desk a few times and hooked it up to a monitor, and I love that I don\u2019t have to entirely rearrange my small desk to make that work.<\/p>\n The Steam Machine has quickly turned into my ideal way to play games on my TV. It boots up fast with the press of a button, plays nicely with my Sonos Beam soundbar, and lets me jump right into a game in a matter of seconds. So do the Steam Deck, PS5, and Xbox Series X sitting under my TV. But I haven\u2019t missed any of them in my two weeks with the Steam Machine.<\/p>\n What I did miss was a reservation to actually purchase the Steam Machine. I signed up, but I didn\u2019t get picked. I\u2019ll be sad to pack the Steam Machine up and return it to Sean for further testing, especially when there\u2019s no timeline for when I might get off Valve\u2019s waitlist.<\/p>\n Instead of waiting on Valve, I\u2019ve started looking into finally building my own PC. I\u2019m in a very lucky spot with that, too: After I told a friend that I was thinking about building a PC, they kindly offered to give me an RTX 3070 Ti GPU and a 1TB SSD. That means I can theoretically make one that\u2019s both more powerful and more upgradable than a Steam Machine without having to pay for two of the most expensive parts.<\/p>\n But even though I can now afford to build a PC, I still just wish I could get a Steam Machine. I\u2019ve had a lot of fun perusing case options like the Fractal Ridge<\/a> and the Velka 7<\/a>, but they\u2019ll be a snug fit for my TV console. I\u2019m guessing nothing I put together will be as quiet as the Steam Machine. SteamOS isn\u2019t available<\/a> on Nvidia GPUs yet, so I\u2019ll probably have to rely on Steam Big Picture mode on Windows or use a Linux OS like Bazzite. They won\u2019t quite be the nearly seamless SteamOS experience I\u2019m used to.<\/p>\n Photo: Kelsey McClellan \/ The Verge<\/p>\n Maybe I won\u2019t buy anything at all. Just to be real with you, I spent the weekend going back to my Steam Deck on my TV, paired with 8BitDo\u2019s Ultimate 2 Wireless Controller, and it worked better than I remembered. Yes, I was playing a relatively lightweight game (I can\u2019t say which, because of a review embargo). But the game played great on my TV, and I could easily pick up my Steam Deck from under the TV and bring it around the house.<\/p>\n It was 90 percent of the Steam Machine experience plus portability \u2014 and most of the games I play run really well on the Steam Deck already, so I\u2019m not sure I actually need the extra headroom of a full desktop in front of my couch.<\/p>\n I haven\u2019t decided what I\u2019m going to do: make my own PC, eventually get a Steam Machine when my spot on the waitlist comes up, or just keep chugging along with the setup I\u2019ve got. My heart wants the Steam Machine, though. 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