I’ve been playing games on PCs since you needed command lines in DOS to load them. I spent many hours playing the Commander Keen series. My introduction to gaming consoles came even earlier, when my parents had an old Atari with Space Invaders, Asteroids, and several other classic arcade games.
Then came the NES, Super NES, and N64. Consoles had a real advantage over PCs back then. You didn’t have to install anything or fiddle with settings to get a good experience. You put in a cartridge, or later a disc, and you played.
As the years went by, though, I started appreciating what made PC gaming different.
Each new console generation brought another system, and backward compatibility was never guaranteed. I had friends with six or more consoles stacked next to their TVs because they wanted to keep playing their old games.
I wasn’t much better. I sold some of my old systems and games and eventually wished I hadn’t. Fortunately, I kept playing games on PC. Something about it just felt better to me. It was more raw. I preferred a good mouse and keyboard to a joystick or D-pad, but the biggest advantage was the PC itself.
A PC doesn’t have to become a completely different machine every time a new generation arrives.
I can still play games from more than 30 years ago on a modern Windows 11 PC. DOS games don’t run natively anymore, but software such as DOSBox provides the environment they need. The hardware has changed dramatically since those games were released, but the platform is still flexible enough to keep them playable.
The hardware itself is flexible, too. I can replace a graphics card, add storage, upgrade the processor, or add more memory instead of replacing the entire computer.
That’s a big part of why I like PCs.
So when I look at Valve’s new Steam Machine, I have mixed feelings.
I don’t think it’s a bad product. In fact, I think what Valve has accomplished with SteamOS and Proton is pretty damn impressive.
I just don’t think I need to buy the hardware.
Valve’s real accomplishment isn’t the box
What interests me most about the Steam Machine isn’t the Steam Machine itself. It’s what Valve has done to make Steam gaming work so well outside of Windows.
Linux gaming used to be a major barrier for anyone who wanted to leave Windows behind. Valve’s investment in SteamOS and Proton has changed that. The company has made Linux a genuinely viable gaming platform for a lot of PC gamers.
That’s a much bigger accomplishment to me than another gaming box.
And the funny thing is, Valve doesn’t actually need me to buy its hardware to participate in that ecosystem.
I can build my own.
I already did
In March 2026, during what I can only describe as RAMmageddon, I built my own little Steam Machine.
I started with a $180 used PC from Facebook Marketplace and added a few parts, including a used Radeon RX 6600 XT and a used Ryzen 7 3700X. Several components came with the original machine, including the case, motherboard, RAM, and SSD.
The total cost came to $490.26.
| Part | Model / Description | Price |
| Used PC without GPU | — | $180.00 |
| Case | Thermaltake Versa H17 | Included |
| Motherboard | ASRock B450M Pro4 | Included |
| CPU | Ryzen 5 3400G | Included |
| RAM | Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR4-3200 | Included |
| SSD | Samsung 256GB NVMe | Included |
| Power Supply | Corsair CX750M | $43.09 |
| GPU | PowerColor Hellhound RX 6600 XT 8GB | $143.65 |
| Wi-Fi/Bluetooth | TP-Link Archer TX3000E | $32.72 |
| CPU upgrade | Used Ryzen 7 3700X | $90.80 |
| Total | $490.26 |
Yes, I used used parts. Who cares?
That’s one of the advantages of building a PC. I can shop around, buy older hardware, reuse what I already have, and upgrade individual components when it makes sense. I even moved a 2TB NVMe SSD and a 1TB 3.5-inch hard drive from the PC this one replaced into the new system. Neither was included in the $490.26 build cost, but 256GB simply isn’t enough storage for a modern gaming machine. And unlike a console-style appliance, I have room for the hardware I already own.
And the resulting machine isn’t just theoretical. I ran 3DMark Time Spy on it and got a best score of 9,337.
A Windows 11 test of the Steam Machine scored 9,245 in the same benchmark.
That’s essentially a tie. I’m not claiming my $490 PC is faster than Valve’s machine. It isn’t a fair basis for that conclusion. But it is interesting that a machine I built from used and existing parts for less than half the price can land in the same performance neighborhood.
Valve’s Steam Machine starts at $1,049 for the 512GB model and goes to $1,349 for 2TB. Its hardware is considerably newer, with a custom Zen 4 six-core CPU, 28-CU RDNA 3 GPU, 16GB DDR5, and 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM.
But here’s the part that matters more to me than the benchmark score.
Mine is still a PC.
This is where the Steam Machine loses me
The Steam Machine takes many of the things I like about PC gaming and puts them into something much closer to a console.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
There are plenty of people who don’t want to build a computer, troubleshoot hardware, or spend an afternoon installing components. They want something they can put next to the TV and use. For those people, the Steam Machine could make a lot of sense. That’s just not what I want.
If my graphics card isn’t good enough anymore, I want to replace it. If I need more storage, I want to add it. If a better processor becomes available for my platform, I want the option of upgrading it.
My little “Steam Machine” can evolve. That’s one of the reasons I built it in the first place. The proprietary design of Valve’s Steam Machine means the CPU and GPU aren’t upgradeable, and you’re not replacing the motherboard with a standard desktop component.
Valve deserves credit for making the hardware optional
This is where I think Valve deserves a lot of credit.
The company has spent years investing in SteamOS and Proton, and that work has created an ecosystem that doesn’t require Valve to control every piece of hardware running it.
Valve is selling the hardware, but the hardware isn’t really the end goal. Getting more people into the Steam ecosystem is.
I can buy Valve’s machine if I want the convenience of a purpose-built system. Or I can build my own. That’s a very PC-like idea. And I think it’s probably the bigger achievement.
Valve has made SteamOS and its gaming ecosystem good enough that I don’t need to buy its hardware to enjoy what Valve has built. So why won’t I be buying one? Because I essentially already did.
I have a PC that can sit next to my TV, run my Steam library, and give me the simple living-room gaming experience I was looking for. I built it for $490.26, it performs well, and I can continue upgrading it as needed.
The Steam Machine isn’t a bad product. For someone who wants a small, simple gaming appliance without building a PC themselves, it could be a very good one. It’s just not a product I need. And in a strange way, that’s a compliment to Valve.
They’re selling the hardware to get people into the ecosystem. I got there without buying the hardware. And you don’t have to either. Valve is perfectly okay with that.
Editor’s note: If you want to turn on the TV with your controller, the easiest solution is still to give Valve your money.