- A number of Steam Machine clones are now out there
- The latest is ‘Steamroller’ from Meta PCs in the US
- While it has strengths beyond Valve’s PC, it misses out on some important aspects, particularly around its suitability for the living room
With the Steam Machine now officially shipping – at least to some players who pre-ordered and paid for – we’re seeing more alternatives to the best gaming PCs for those who haven’t been able to secure, or simply aren’t tempted by, Valve’s latest hardware.
The latest Steam Machine alternative is Steamroller (nice name) from US-based Meta PCs. Tom’s Hardware reports that the Steamroller is a pre-built with an AMD Ryzen 9600X processor, backed by 16GB of DDR5 RAM and a Radeon RX 7600 graphics card (with 8GB of video RAM). There is a 1TB NVMe SSD for storage.
All this is packed into a micro-ATX case (Jonsbo D32), with a 240mm AIO liquid cooler inside and a 650W power supply (gold rated).
Pre-orders are open now, with the Steamroller requiring you to part with $1,299 of your hard-earned cash, with units due on July 7 (that’s around £980 / AU$1,900, though this particular machine is only available in the US).
This certainly looks like a respectable compact build for a gaming PC; but like all those Steam Machine alternatives or clones floating around right now, it misses the point of Valve’s creation in a few key ways.
Let’s look at them – and also, for balance and fairness, the strengths of the Steamroller and similar devices compared to the Steam Machine, because this is not just a one-way street.
1. Living room suitability
Focusing on the look of a PC might seem superficial, but in the case of the Steam Machine, this is a big part of the appeal. It’s a discreet and unobtrusive little cube that sits on your TV stand (or elsewhere), blending in and not drawing attention to itself (or potentially annoying your partner, for example, who might not be as into gadgets and games as you are).
These alternative builds all fall down in terms of not being nearly as subtle as the Steam Machine. The Steamroller (or rather the Jonsbo D32 case) measures 207 x 395 x 314 mm. Compare that to the dimensions of the Steam Machine, which are 156 x 152 x 162mm. The difference is a compact cube versus an admittedly small PC, yet something heftier that looks like a computer instead of a smart gadget that happily nestles near your TV without drawing undue attention to itself.
I think Valve’s achievement in keeping the size of the Steam Machine down to this level is actually quite remarkable (although of course it has had an effect on performance).
2. Hot hot hot
Something else that Valve has given a lot of thought to is the thermals of the steam engine, again in light of that living room setting – by which I mean the unit can be crammed on a small shelf or inside a cramped TV cabinet. Valve’s engineers have considered this (as explained to Eurogamer) and ensured that the vents and cooling system are designed to mitigate potential positioning issues.
The likes of micro-ATX cases obviously haven’t been subject to that kind of design thinking (although you could refer back to the point above – meaning they probably wouldn’t fit into some of those spaces anyway).
3. Bring the noise
The noise that comes from a PC when the graphics card is potentially running at toastier levels under more intense gaming demands, coming hot on the heels (sorry) of thermals. As with a console, you don’t want your gaming PC in the living room assaulting your eardrums with overly intrusive fan noise (especially if you have the TV volume turned down later in the evening).
Judging by reviews, the Steam Machine is a commendably quiet device, and actually even better than consoles in this regard (to name a few, I wasn’t impressed with the PS4 Pro’s noise levels; the PS5 Pro is much better though). Obviously, these alternative pre-built PCs using desktop-class graphics cards won’t be as quiet, and exactly what you get in the way of noise in demanding games can be, shall we say, unwanted.
4. Console-like experience
Speaking of consoles, another thing Valve has done with the Steam Machine is to ensure that the device provides a really cool gaming experience in the living room. First, it means instant sleep and awake functionality. On top of that, you also get HDMI CEC support that lets you adjust the volume on the PC with your TV remote (or have the TV turn on or off automatically with the Steam Machine).
These are really practical details that make using the Steam Machine feel much more seamless, akin to the big consoles as mentioned. Of course, you don’t get those kinds of quality-of-life features with an alternative pre-built PC. And they’re honestly invaluable if you just want to jump in for a quick five-minute gaming session here and there.
The other side of the fence
I must clarify that I do not have a pop on this Steam Machine alternative from Meta PCs. As mentioned, the Steamroller appears to be a solid build, and certainly is very better idea than e.g. trying to source a cheap clone from China (which is a very bad idea in my opinion, in case you were wondering). And it actually has a few advantages over the Steam Machine in certain areas as well.
For starters, Steamroller offers significantly faster performance for your PC games, mainly due to the more powerful (desktop-class) GPU. But given the asking price, the RX 7600, while certainly an upgrade on the Steam Machine’s (discrete but portable class) custom RDNA 3 graphics card, feels a tad stingy. Other Steam Machine alternatives have gone with meatier upgrades like the RX 9060 XT, which will of course bring even higher frame rates.
The Steamroller is also more flexible in terms of upgrades. For example, you can replace the GPU in the future, or indeed do everything you can with a typical PC. With Steam Machine, you can only upgrade RAM or storage (and even then, a memory upgrade is apparently annoyingly cumbersome).
Of course, there are very real benefits to the Steamroller (and its ilk), especially the added performance. But the real point of the Steam Machine is to be a system that takes gaming in the living room and works seamlessly in that environment – bringing your existing Steam game library to the big screen TV so you can play in a more relaxed and comfortable couch-based setting. And in that respect, these Steam Machine clones are missing some big parts of the picture.
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