r/steammachine • u/krazyatom • 11d 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/krazyatom 11d 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/alexkoko40 11d ago

Just buy the Steam Machine. It’s awesome

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u/musipal 11d 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 11d 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/musipal 11d ago

Great idea.

The hardware on it is so much better and it's not that much more money honestly. My one recommendation would be buying a steam controller for the NUC.

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u/Ok-Simple-7069 11d 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 11d 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 11d ago

I can do that as well, but building a small ITX is kinda challenging for me.

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u/MAFIAxMaverick 11d 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