"Comparable" PCs cost the same, how is this any different from them raising prices like they already have?

Have you ever tried running with a boner? You wear out quickly.

The M5 MacBook Pro was $1700? I thought it was $2000 before which was insane for a MacBook Air CPU.

that's what backups are for.

If it's a vm then snapshots are a godsend. Update didn't work? Revert.

Not generally on a live USB. They’re specifically designed so when you reboot everything goes away.

If you want things to stay you could fully Install onto the USB, make your changes, and have them be saved.

That's not hard to do when they can't even buy ram for them.

Same for me. I was expecting like $1200 for the base model which nobody should pay that much for such middling specs.

But still $1k is way more than I'd pay for an HTPC. I'd much rather the steam link approach and use streaming to my already nice and powerful desktop. I guess this is a nice thing to point newbies who want a box that should "just work" and don't already have something and don't want to build.

The steam machine is based on RDNA 3 aka the RX 7000 series, and we knew it was heavily underclocked. Even thinking about the 9060 xt was a lofty expectation.

The frame sure aint gonna be cheap hardware. 0% chance it can match the quest in price. But since it doesn't need as much storage I'm hoping it'll be 700-800. But I wouldn't blink if it's $1000. Valve just doesn't have the economies of scale Meta will.

It doesn't have to be a 6 inch cube to fit under your TV. The PS5 Pro is nearly 16 inches long.

How many people actually care about it being that tiny though?

Anyone strapped for cash is probably gonna get a much bigger machine to get a much better value. Only the right enthusiast would pay more for worse performance just for the size.

Not in terms of performance per dollar. The steam machine is HEAVILY compromised by the last Gen. 35 watt CPU, and previous Gen. 110w GPU. The entire system performs like a mid range PC from 2021.

You can get a much faster pre built for the same money. You’re paying the SFF and quiet PC tax on top of the RAM/SSD crunch tax. If you don’t need the small size or for it to be whisper quiet you can get a much better PC for your money.

You're still paying the premium for getting a low power parts in a small form factor. At half the price it's a lot easier to justify to someone who doesn't really care. But at almost twice the price that FPS per dollar difference is a lot higher.

This random ass power spec computer is going to kick the shit out of the steam machine. Again if size isn't a concern. And I'm sure actual oems have smaller pcs with less compromised performance.

Obviously, no shit. I never meant to imply that this was targeted at me. But I know multiple people who already have a high end computer who would also like this for their living room.

If it was $600 like I'd originally hoped I'd be interested. I wasn't going to get one day 1, but I'd have picked one up once they're consistently in stock. But $1000 for mid specs is rough for anyone. Just like the steam controller, Valve has made another hyper niche device.

That was before the RAM shortage. It's going to be at least 1 full year before RAM price start going down and they can offer discounts. Unless the AI bubble pops. And that'll have huge economic consequences.

From the gamers nexus review the UX of this seems pretty atrocious currently. Pair that with proton being very hit or miss I think a regular pre built would still be better for someone who knows nothing about PCs/PC gaming.

It’s not always accessible. Not all tables have built in outlets in spots that’d reach where I need to be.

Meetings. Have you never had a day where you’re constantly bouncing between meetings, or helping others?

But do they have the same performance per watt under real life workloads?

Intel CPUs are great at 100% idle, and 100% load. Anything less than that and they tend to fall on their face.

My 12th Gen. Intel laptop gets about 4 hours of battery life just doing Remote Desktop. Going full tilt it’s fairly efficient. At 100% idle it can be good. But a simple task that keeps the CPU lightly busy and it falls on its face.

It’s not 12-14 hours of straight working. It’s 12-14 hours without charging. Sometimes it’s just not convenient. Do you always go home from work and remember to charge your laptop? Never forgetting, consistently every day doing this?

Plus thanks to S0 standby using so much power just the laptop being in sleep is a decent battery drain.