Comment on My steam machine arrived!
ericwdhs@discuss.online 2 days ago“Not that much smaller” is doing some heavy lifting. Every SFF build or mini PC compromises something, price, size, thermal performance, whatever. Physics necessitates it. It’s perfectly fine for you to not value size so much that a 3.8L case isn’t compelling to you over let’s say a 6L ITX case (or the 8L you really need for a discrete GPU), but it’s also okay to feel the opposite.
potustheplant@feddit.nl 2 days ago
Except that ot’s not just that. You build something larger but still pretty small and you can upgrade whatever you want, whenever you want. You can also have the same software experience by just installing bazzite. What valve has done for linux gaming is wonderful, but the steam machine simply does not make sense.
Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it 2 days ago
potustheplant@feddit.nl 2 days ago
Doesn’t literally everyone post their own opinions? What a dumb comment to make.
Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it 2 days ago
From what you wrote it didn’t look like it was a “it make no sense for me” but more of a “it make no sense.” I read so many people write that it make no sense for anyone atp
ericwdhs@discuss.online 2 days ago
I think you’re just not seeing outside the bubble of the use cases that make sense to you. I already have great daily driver PCs currently running a mix of Bazzite and CachyOS (and Windows, ew), and I have built a couple SFF PCs before, so I’m no stranger to all of that. I can’t speak for anyone else here, but part of why I find the Steam Machine compelling is it covering the opposite end of that spectrum to a degree other SFF options haven’t reached.
potustheplant@feddit.nl 2 days ago
If you already have a gaming pc then this makes even less sense. Just stream the games to your tv using a laptop. Or even better, a steam deck. See that is a device that justifies its compromises by offering an actually unique form factor that lets you game on the go. The “form factor” of the steam machine is “itx but smaller, impossible to repair and just as expensive”. Yeah, no thanks.
ericwdhs@discuss.online 2 days ago
Well, I never claimed it filled a necessary niche. It’s a luxury good by definition. I just don’t mind having multiple options, redundancy, and overlap in hardware roles even if that means some of it gets underutilized. That said, I’m not planning to keep the thing under the TV indefinitely. It’s going to justify its standalone performance at least occasionally.