Steam Machine
    2TB
    Steam Controller 2026

background
    i have another living room pc
        Bazzite machine
            3900X, 3060 Ti
            works awesome as a living room pc
            huge case
            loud for a living room pc
            boots straight into Steam Big Picture mode

purchase
    bought on Reddit for MSRP
    ended up being cheaper than buying it from Steam
        state sales tax lol
    came with the controller

setup
    extremely easy
        login with phone app
        update
        max resolution
            i set mine to 1440p

hardware
    quiet
    fast boot
    specs
        underwhelming for the price
        nothing new here

controller
    fit
        for my hands, it feels great
    trackpads
        great haptics
    triggers
        somewhat lacking
            i don't really care about triggers
            i do wish it had trigger stops
    buttons
        fine
    overall
        like most things, hopefully you can try before buying
        do not buy unless it is MSRP
            not worth the scalp prices
            just get on the wait list

gaming experience
    streaming
        this works way better than i thought
            my main desktop is a 7800X3D, 7900 XTX
        sometimes it does take some fiddling to work
            i had to set mine to fancy 4K, and basically maxed out all the settings
                looks and feels very good
        network
            Steam Machine and desktop are hardwired
            all these machines are running through my Ubiquiti gear
    local play
        like i said in my Steam Deck OLED thoughts
            i mainly play
                rpg
                    turnbased
                roguelites
                single-player action adventure games
                survival games
                don't play fps
            gameplay has been surprising, and it just feels like a PS5
                i know that the PS5 is on par, and better
                    Steam is just so much better than PSN/Xbox
                        maybe that is why i like it more
                there have been no issues so far

the thing with the steam machine
    you need to know what you are going into
        it is overpriced for the specs
        it is not going to run 4K/60
        turn the fps counter off, stop worrying about it
            if you care about numbers, don't get the Steam Machine
                simple as that
        it can locally play the less intense games just fine

overall
    it is a very well designed living room pc
    streaming from your main rig makes it a great supplemental piece of gear
    honestly very surprised by this