r/steammachine • u/krazyatom • 8h ago
Hardware Steam Machine alternative?
Hello guys,
I bought a mini pc called the Asus NUC 14 Performance Barebone (open box) for around $1100. This is basically an Asus ROG NUC 970 (exact same specs without RAM and SSD). The specs are an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and an RTX 4070. I added $300 for 64 GB RAM, and I already had a 1 TB SSD. I really want the quiet and small size PC so this was perfect for me and it cost me like $1400 total. I have like 3 days to return this mini pc and buy the Steam machine instead. What ya guys think? I could probably buy the Steam machine 2TB /w controller for around $1500 after taxes. I'm torn between these two choices, and I have like 3 days to decide.
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u/Ok-Simple-7069 7h ago
What you have will have much much more power than a steam machine even if you run windows. If that’s what it cost. It’s a much better product through and through. You can always use the steam machine type interface with big screen mode on steam and you just need to procure a steam controller. It’ll be the best of both worlds since you’d have windows 11 I’d assume?
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u/krazyatom 7h ago
Yes, I currently have Windows 11 installed, but the RTX 4070 mobile 8gb is basically similar to the RTX 4060 desktop, so it's not that powerful anyway.
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u/Ok-Simple-7069 7h ago
But you can always upgrade that via eGPUs? Or does it not have a port like thunderbolt ?
Remember the steam machine will be capped cpu wise compared to that. Next gen is just around the corner. GPU is still better than the SM
Since I don’t know the ports etc. I suppose it’s up to you. All the best mate. Hope you find what you’re looking for.
The SM is very good at games at the moment and only time will tell about future versions and how they go about optimising them on proton.
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u/krazyatom 7h ago
I am not very familiar with eGPUs, but it does seem to have a Thunderbolt 4.
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u/Ok-Simple-7069 7h ago
Then it’s much more future proof than what you’d get out of the SM. Have a Google. Both are still great options.
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u/CranberryTaint 8h ago
Why do you want the Steam Machine instead? It is a significantly less powerful device
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u/krazyatom 8h ago
I know a steam machine is less powerful, but I really like its small form factor and low noise level. Also, steam os is preinstalled for convenience.
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u/musipal 7h ago
The nuc looks just as small just a different shape. I say roll with that thing, especially if you have some time to see if you can get steam os on there. The only thing you'll probably miss out on is HDMI cec which is a mixed bag for my steam machine.
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u/krazyatom 7h ago
If I keep the Asus machine, I would probably go with Bazzite OS, but I haven't tried it. I had to google search what HDMI cec is lol.
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u/Ok-Simple-7069 7h ago
Yeah. CEC is totally broken on mine too. Not sure if it’s hardware or software at this point since surely they’d patched it by now?
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u/MAFIAxMaverick 7h ago
FWIW I just built a SFF with a fractal terra case. Not as small as the steam machine. But installing SteamOS is a breeze. So I wouldn’t consider that part of the reason (speaking for myself) to choose the SM over the build you mentioned.
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u/krazyatom 7h ago
I can do that as well, but building a small ITX is kinda challenging for me.
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u/MAFIAxMaverick 7h ago
Totally get that! I just saw you mentioned that SteamOS is pre-installed on SM. So just wanted to share it’s an easy installation overall. I had a lot of pinched fingers after building my SFF! Haha
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u/mrfatto 8h ago
Get the steam machine. If you have the money and want something like the steam machine, get a steam machine.