Valve engineer Yazan Aldehayyat told Adam Savage’s Tested that the company’s newly announced Steam Machine “matches or exceeds” roughly 70% of PCs used to run Steam. The claim references Valve’s own Steam Hardware Survey, an opt-in monthly snapshot of hardware and software configurations across Steam’s global user base.
The 70% figure encompasses all PCs running Steam worldwide, not just dedicated gaming rigs. The Steam Hardware Survey includes laptops, office machines, and aging desktops alongside high-end gaming systems. Aldehayyat’s phrasing—”matches or exceeds”—means the Steam Machine performs equal to some systems in that 70% and better than others.
The Steam Machine runs on a semi-custom AMD APU featuring a Zen 4 six-core CPU and an RDNA 3-class GPU with 28 compute units. It ships with 16GB of DDR5 system memory and eight GB of GDDR6 VRAM dedicated to graphics. The small-form-factor chassis is designed for living-room use and runs SteamOS with Proton compatibility for Windows games.
Valve targets 4K resolution at 60 frames per second with ray tracing support, but the company has been upfront about relying heavily on AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution upscaling to hit that mark. According to coverage from multiple outlets, Valve told press the system will “lean heavily” on FSR to achieve 4K/60. Digital Foundry reported that Valve is in discussions with AMD about FSR 4 support for the device.
Without upscaling, the hardware is better suited for 1080p or 1440p native rendering. The 28 RDNA 3 compute units put the Steam Machine somewhere between an Xbox Series S and PlayStation 5 in terms of raw GPU capability, though architectural differences and the compact form factor’s thermal constraints will affect real-world performance.
Valve hasn’t announced a price but told Vice the Steam Machine will be “priced like a PC” rather than subsidized like a console. That means no loss-leader strategy where hardware is sold below cost and made up through software sales. Small-form-factor PCs typically cost more per unit of performance than tower builds due to engineering and cooling requirements.
Valve hasn’t revealed exact pricing tiers, storage configurations, or regional availability. The company historically stages hardware launches in limited markets before expanding, as it did with the Steam Deck. Final details on FSR 4 implementation, cooling performance, and game compatibility—particularly for multiplayer titles with anti-cheat systems—remain to be confirmed.
