Where the Steam Machine and Steam OS will hurt.

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Spock Feb 14, 2016 @ 12:11am

So I've been shopping around for a new gaming laptop lately. I've been looking at all the Steam machines as a portable option as well. I would have seriously considered one.. But there's a major problem.. They are restrained to Steam and games offered on Steam only. I realize that being a "Steam Machine" means it's focused on Steam. But I can't help but keep in mind that these are PC games. I feel they should design a Steam Machine to not restrict you on what games you can play and where you can get them. If I were to buy a Steam Machine I'd be deprived of games like Starcraft 2, WoW, Crysis, Battlefield, Minecraft, etc.. There a lots of great games you can't get on Steam. So I can't help but feel Steam Machines are going to fail because of that. Especially with the prices of some of them.. $800+.. Rediculous for a console.

I recently looked into the Alienware Alpha. And as much as I hate to say it.. They are onto something good. They give you the functionality and comfort of a console but also let you have a full desktop pc experience. Its mainly focused around Steam in the console mode but lets you go to desktop mode to use it like you would any other PC. I've noticed in reviews that people see this as a downfall. But I personally think it should be an example everyone else should follow. My only complaint with it is that you can't upgrade the GPU. I'd have been happy if they would have made it just a few more inches bigger to support a full size desktop gpu with a bigger power brick to accomodate it.

And If you were curious.. Yea I decided to go with an Alpha as a portable rig. I cant build a mini itx or micro atx near as small. And at $399 for the base i3 model I don't think I can build a small rig to beat it in price and power.

Haven't bought one yet. Going tomorrow to pick one up. Anyone here own one? What's your experience with it?

And how do you guys feel about Steam Machines? Would you buy one knowing you are restricted to Steam only? If so, are you comfortable spending $800+ on one with better hardware?

Last edited by Spock; Feb 14, 2016 @ 12:25am

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Showing 1-15 of 19 comments

Black Blade Feb 14, 2016 @ 12:46am

We're did you hear SteamBox is Steam only?
It's Linux, and I am pretty sure you can use its Linux interface if you like beyond Steam for anything else (do not own a SteamBox)

Forcen Feb 14, 2016 @ 5:20am

Yeah, you could install whatever linux game you want like minecraft and I'm sure some of those games work on linux with vine.
Or you can stream windows only games from your old PC via LAN to your living room or probably just install windows if you want to pay for a paid operating system.

cinedine Feb 14, 2016 @ 5:36am

Originally posted by Forcen:
or probably just install windows if you want to pay for a paid operating system.

This. They're just pre-built PCs. There is no restriction to do with it whatever you feel like.
... (For the Alpha:) That is unless you plan to upgrade it in the future. Also the graphics card is "just" equivalent to a GTX 860M, which isn't terrible amazing when it comes to modern games in higher resolutions (1440p).

Last edited by cinedine; Feb 14, 2016 @ 5:36am

Spock Feb 14, 2016 @ 8:57am

Originally posted by Black Blade (Card Idling):
We're did you hear SteamBox is Steam only?
It's Linux, and I am pretty sure you can use its Linux interface if you like beyond Steam for anything else (do not own a SteamBox)

I didn't know you could install any linux game. That does help its case a lot. Thanks for clarifying. But I still feel there are a lot of non linux games too good to miss out on.. Any Blizzard games for instance.

Spock Feb 14, 2016 @ 9:01am

Originally posted by cinedine:
Originally posted by Forcen:
or probably just install windows if you want to pay for a paid operating system.

This. They're just pre-built PCs. There is no restriction to do with it whatever you feel like.
... (For the Alpha:) That is unless you plan to upgrade it in the future. Also the graphics card is "just" equivalent to a GTX 860M, which isn't terrible amazing when it comes to modern games in higher resolutions (1440p).

Yea as I said above I do wish you could upgrade gpu. But I need a good cost effective portable option. I don't think I can find a laptop that will match or beat it for the same price.

Spawn of Totoro Feb 14, 2016 @ 9:03am

Originally posted by Spock:
Originally posted by Black Blade (Card Idling):
We're did you hear SteamBox is Steam only?
It's Linux, and I am pretty sure you can use its Linux interface if you like beyond Steam for anything else (do not own a SteamBox)
I didn't know you could install any linux game. That does help its case a lot. Thanks for clarifying. But I still feel there are a lot of non linux games too good to miss out on.. Any Blizzard games for instance.

There way way to get Blizzard games working on a Linux OS, such as using WINE or Play on Linux.

You can also buy a retail/OEM copy of Windows and install it too, since it is standard PC hardware. Even dual boot if you would like.

Developers are starting to make more Linux versions of their games these days and it will be even easier with AMD Mantle and Nvidia's CUDA (I think) it will become easier for developers to make their games work with any OS.

...on a side note, Minecraft is not dependent on OS. You can download MC from the game's site, log-in and play from any OS. Unless you bought the one from the Windows Store.

Last edited by Spawn of Totoro; Feb 14, 2016 @ 9:06am

Charlie Feb 14, 2016 @ 1:14pm

Vulkan is what will really improve performance across the board and hopefully more developers will use it over DX12 - It would certainly make cross-platforms games a lot easier for developers.

AMD have pretty much scrapped Mantle at this point; Vulkan is a joint movement between Khronos (guys who made OpenGL) and AMD; it also has vast support from Intel and NVIDIA.

Spock Feb 14, 2016 @ 7:48pm

Originally posted by GhostMotley:
Vulkan is what will really improve performance across the board and hopefully more developers will use it over DX12 - It would certainly make cross-platforms games a lot easier for developers.

AMD have pretty much scrapped Mantle at this point; Vulkan is a joint movement between Khronos (guys who made OpenGL) and AMD; it also has vast support from Intel and NVIDIA.

Didn't know about it. But thanks for sharing. Seems like a good thing for sure.

DoubleD Feb 15, 2016 @ 7:29am

I don't believe it will fail. People spend $400 + on a console and $40 to $60 on a game. The Steam Box will attract some console only players that do not own PCs and young folks that do not own a PC or there parents never bought a PC. With the exception of console only or exclusives titles you can get just about any console game on PC. And sales come quicker to PC titles. Being a family with both I see a market for a simple set top box "plug and play" unit. and a catalog of 3000 plus games starting at a $1.

They just need to tap into the Millions of console players.

And yes we have PC and Consoles. I will be getting a Steam Box.

Charlie Feb 15, 2016 @ 7:44am

Originally posted by Spock:
Didn't know about it. But thanks for sharing. Seems like a good thing for sure.

Vulkan will definitely be a good thing provided it gets enough support from developers and OEMs like NVIDIA. AMD and Intel.

A cross-platform, open-source API is certainly better than a proprietary API that isn't available on all platforms.

#10

Ishraqiyun Feb 17, 2016 @ 2:20am

This is why PC is a pseudo-platform - a third-party client is selecting what you can and can't play. Only the 1st party should be doing that.

#11

Tux Feb 17, 2016 @ 6:33am

personally i think any and all evaluations of Steam Machines is a waste of time until Vulcan starts to show itself in more and more games.

#12

profile name Feb 17, 2016 @ 12:15pm

how's the steam console doing ? I havent seen any recent details on it. Do they show on the steam hardware survey? Have the steam consoles tanked already?

#13