To be honest, I expected RAM prices would push back the release date. But AMD would know more about than I would.
Im really excited for the steam frame. Never had a vr headset personally but have tried it out a few times before with friends and the steam frame is the perfect mix between running linux, being from a company that i trust(more than others) and having the ability to obtain games… lets say from “less trusted sources”. But if some steam games run on it ill actually be buying some that tickle my fancy.
SteamVR/OpenXR has been a standard for a long time, so pretty much all headsets can work on the platform (and by extension, there are plenty of vr games that run both on Steam and off of steam using the standard, such as the Vivecraft Minecraft Java edition mod :D). As a happy Valve Index owner for several years I am definitely looking forward to upgrading to the Steam Frame and selling my old headset, although I’m not sure when that’ll make sense for me personally (since the index still works and plays games well).
Oh yeah some recommendations for good VR games:
- Into the Radius 1 and 2 (STALKER/Metro like experience but VR)
- Half Life Alyx (the one and only)
- Pavlov VR/Contractors (if you like Counterstrike/Battlefield style gameplay)
- VRChat (meeting so many cool people and exploring some crazy worlds)
- Way too many good mods that bring VR gameplay to desktop games (best ones are Vivecraft and SPT VR in my current experience)
Ah thanks. I also meant how its a good standalone console in my comment. I tried out beatsaber once for example and i liked it a lot(which is not surprising as i like rythm games) and an apk of that should run on the steam frame and if they release an arm version of it on steam thats even better. Alsl thx for the recommendations ill definitely try them out.
I’m really dubitating between a steam machine or a framework desktop, which will he a bit more money but more powerful.
I would think the framework would be somewhere around twice the price per performance but we won’t know until release.
Seems like if you’re leaning framework a self build makes more sense. I don’t see the value proposition of a framework desktop if you’re technically literate enough to be on lemmy.
I just want the SteamOS on Desktop, finally!
Isn’t that what BigScreen mode essentially is? Never actually seen the actual OS.
BigScreen mode even lets you sleep the computer from within it, and when you turn it back on, you’re already in it.
i NEED that new controller.
💉 gimme
Depending on when they inked their contracts, they may have locked in favorable RAM prices last year
This is what I’ve been theorizing and hoping would be the case, and I feel like valve deserves a W like that coming in hot when gamers need it most.
I just want the controller with trackpads and back buttons.
I have the first generation, and once I learned how to properly use it and set up the pads and gyro, it quickly became one of my favorite controllers of all time.
I hope this next one will be even better.
I’m pretty sure they’re going to wait to release the controller alongside the Steam Machine.
Unfortunately that would mean that if RAM/etc prices cause a Machine delay, we’ll probably see the controller get delayed as well.
Yes this. 100%
Best case scenario is that they had already secured a RAM deal when the prices went mad, so they can now offer a good price. Even then, it might still be an issue for later batches though.
If they got the deal secured, you bet your table the ordering website is gonna get slammed.
A week after it ships ebay will be full of “steam machine bring your own ram”
Is it upgradeable? I assumed it would be soldered in.
Maybe we’ll see, “Some soldering required,” instead 😂
They explicitly said it has user upgradeable ram. The graphics card is soldered on though. Its basically gaming laptop hardware.
It is, using SODIMMs (Laptop form factor)
Cool, I tried to find the info, but obviously didn’t find that detail. It makes sense, all things considered
Why would it be soldered? It’s not like it’s in a laptop with space constraints.
I dunno. There’s probably plenty of examples where companies soldered RAM instead of installing SODIMM slots, even when they had space. I agree that it makes sense, but sense isn’t always a factor when a company starts crunching the production cost numbers.
Given the proclivities of Valve and their hardware so far, i woud expect the gabecube to not have soldered ram.
Considering how repairable the steam deck is, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is upgradable
I’m pretty sure they likely did what they did with the steam LCD, which was order an absolutely insane amount of units that they had stock for years. The semi-custom AMD chip they’re using likely needed a minimum order of millions of units.
I don’t think the RAM prices are going to go back down again any time soon. So there wouldn’t be any point in waiting.
But they might be able to make a similarly powered device with older style ram, it would take a significant re-work though, one that would delay release.
So this basically confirms they didn’t go that route.
Using DDR4 would probably break support for suspend / resume functionality. I remember reading the speed from DDR5 was what allowed it to function so well.
I can imagine RAM scavengers marauding the wastelands.
Exciting! We are in early 2026 already.
Feels like it’s been 2026 for years already. Can’t bear the thought of there being even more of it.
I figured the announcement for preorders would have been two or three weeks ago. We will see I suppose.
Im guessing end of march
I would really have to sit and have a long hard think about what my price ceiling is for any of the new Steam lineup. I know I have a maximum price I’m willing to pay but I only have a hazy idea of what that might be.
Pricing or frig off lahey!
I have a buddy who wants to play Nioh 3 but has problems spending money. This could be his solution but… not if it’s like $1200+
As I already have a Playstation 5 for demanding games (and my kids playing Fortnite and Roblox sadly) and a Steam Deck for less demanding games, I really don’t know for sure if I’m gonna get a Steam Machine.
Its price and the way it integrates with my Steam Deck might be a deciding factor.
To be honest, I’m quite happy it isn’t out yet as it’s pushing my FOMO away.
I guess the wise decision would be to buy every game on Playstation physical, sell them and buy them again on Steam Machine 2 instead of getting a Playstation 6. Espace especially because I’m only using the Playstation for racing games (too demanding for the Deck) or exclusives…
Owning a steam deck and a gaming PC, the deck integration is amazing. The cross saves just work and I’ve had no problem, even when I have a save conflict.
As I already have a Playstation 5 for demanding games (and my kids playing Fortnite and Roblox sadly) and a Steam Deck for less demanding games, I really don’t know for sure if I’m gonna get a Steam Machine.
That makes sense. I sometimes forget that not everyone shares my deep burning despise for Sony…yet.
Anyway, it’ll be good to have a better option when the Playstation 6 does whatever bullshit Sony pulls out of their asses next.
What made you despise Sony? I’ve had a good experience over 5 Playstation generations so far. I would just hope they don’t end up having a monopoly over the console market (exc’uding Nintendo). That’s why I’m happy about the Steam Machine.
I guess the disappearance of a physical Bluray player is gonna make me jump to 100% Linux gaming soon anyway.
Not op, but I’d like to provide a “why i hate Sony story”: they installed a rootkit on my computer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal
Yes but when!
I hope it does well but at current I’m not buying anything new
Gabe could afford to eat the price spikes of the components and sell a reasonably priced machine.
But he won’t.
Credit where credit’s due, Valve did that for the Steam Deck’s entry pricing. Although the danger for the Steam Machine would be potential abuse for massive orders (at Valve’s expense) for things like call centers and offices rather than individuals.
People keep saying this, but Valve could easily prevent companies buying up Steam Machines simply by limiting purchases to a X amount per account. If they are worried about people creating burner accounts just to purchase Steam hardware, they could require the accounts to be a certain age or a minimum amount spent on Steam. Not saying they will or should do this, but they could.
That’d be anticompetitive and would be used against them in lawsuits. By Epic, who use anticompetitive exclusivity agreements & subsidise giveaways, but aren’t in a dominant market position so it’s totally not hypocritical.
I can’t tell if this is sarcasm or not (Poe’s Law, and all) so just to be safe I’ll remark that releasing a product at an affordable cost is the opposite of anti competitive.
I am not a lawyer, but as far as I know that’s actually incorrect, selling a product below cost is considered predatory dumping, as it means literally nobody can afford to compete with you on anything resembling a level playing field. How is any competitor supposed to release a competing product when Gabe is using his own financial resources for “eating the price spikes”. Unless you have your own financial resources or massive speculative investment, you cannot also “eat the price spikes” so your own products will have to be priced at realistic levels so that it is something that actually earns you some level of profit in order for your business to continue and grow, and thus those products will be far more expensive than Valve’s subsidized product, and thus, you probably won’t sell any unless you have some significant further advantage, which you shouldn’t need to have in order to simply compete with the market leader. That’s a clear barrier to entry, and is the definition of anti-competitive.
Usually, this would be done to lock the subsidized buyers into a particular ecosystem, or even just to bundle that ecosystem by default (aka illegal bundling, like Microsoft did for years) from which additional profit can later be expected. In Valve’s case, this would be Steam, and it pretty clearly would profit them in the long run, and this strategy also keeping all competitors out by dumping hardware below cost, thus abusing their Steam distribution monopoly to fund a second monopoly on the Steam Machines market to maintain their first monopoly. That’s literally what antitrust laws were designed for. Just because we don’t really effectively enforce them anymore I feel like people have started losing sight of what they mean and what they are supposed to be for and I don’t think we should just normalize that this is how businesses are supposed to operate.
And that’s why Valve probably won’t do that. (at least I suspect they won’t, based on my view of their history, I have no insider knowledge)
That makes a lot of sense, thanks for explaining it.
Selling products below cost is legally anticompetitive behavior. Anticompetitive behavior is only illegal for monopolists, which Valve aren’t. But they have been accused and sued, part of why those suits haven’t lead to them being declared a monopoly is because they don’t engage in enough anticompetitive practices. So adding anticompetitive practices would be extremely risky for Valve.
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