- A number of Steam Machine clones are now available
- The latest is the “Steamroller” for Meta PCs in the United States.
- While it has some superior strengths to Valve’s PC, it lacks some key aspects, particularly when it comes to its suitability for the living room.
With the Steam Machine now officially shipping – at least to some gamers who have reserved and paid – 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 the Steamroller (nice name) from US-based Meta PCs. Tom’s Hardware reports that the Steamroller is a pre-built featuring 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 of this is packed into a micro-ATX case (the 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 shipping from July 7 (that’s around £980 / AU$1,900, although this particular machine is only available in the US).
It certainly looks like a respectable compact build for a gaming PC; However, like all of these Steam Machine alternatives or clones currently circulating, it misses the essence of Valve’s creation in several key ways.
Let’s look at them – and also, for the sake of balance and fairness, the strengths of the Steamroller and similar devices compared to the Steam Machine, because it’s not a one-way street.
1. Suitability of the living room
Focusing on a PC’s appearance may seem superficial, but in the case of the Steam Machine, that’s a big part of its appeal. It’s a small, unobtrusive cube that sits on your TV stand (or wherever) and blends in without drawing attention to itself (or potentially annoying your partner, for example, who may not be as into gadgets and games as you are).
Not all of these alternate versions are as subtle as the Steam Machine. The Steamroller (or rather the Jonsbo D32 case) measures 207 x 395 x 314 mm. Compare this to the dimensions of the steam engine which are 156 x 152 x 162 mm. The difference is a compact cube versus an admittedly small PC, but still, something heavier that feels like a computer rather than a nifty gadget that happily nestles near your TV without drawing undue attention to itself.
I think Valve’s success in keeping the size of the Steam Engine at this level is actually quite remarkable (although it did have an effect on performance, of course).
2. Burning heat
What Valve also put a lot of thought into were the Steam Engine thermals, and again in light of the show’s decor. By that I mean the device could be crammed onto a small shelf or cramped TV stand, and Valve’s engineers took that into account (as explained to Eurogamer) and ensured that the air vents and cooling system were designed to alleviate potential positioning issues.
Micro-ATX cases of course haven’t had this kind of design thought put into them (although you can refer to the point above – which means they probably wouldn’t fit in some of these spaces anyway).
3. Bring on the noise
Right after (sorry) thermals is the noise a PC makes when the graphics card is potentially operating at toastier levels with more intense gaming demands. Like a console, you don’t want the gaming PC in your living room assaulting your eardrums with overly intrusive fan noise (especially if the TV volume is low, later at night).
Based on reviews, the Steam Machine is a remarkably quiet device, and even better than the consoles in this regard (mentioning some names, I wasn’t impressed with the noise levels of the PS4 Pro – the PS5 Pro is much better, though). Obviously, these alternative pre-built PCs using desktop graphics cards won’t be as quiet, and exactly what you’ll get in terms of noise by taxing gaming might be, shall we say, undesirable.
4. Console-like experience
Speaking of consoles, what else Valve has done with the Steam Machine is ensure that the device delivers a truly smooth gaming experience in the living room. On the one hand, this means instant sleep and wake functionality. On top of that, you also get HDMI CEC support which allows your TV remote to adjust the volume on the PC (or automatically turn the TV on or off with the Steam Engine).
These are really handy touches that make using the Steam Machine much smoother, similar to major consoles as noted. Of course, you won’t get these kinds of quality-of-life features with any other prebuilt PC. And frankly, they’re invaluable if you just want to squeeze in a quick five-minute gaming session here and there.
The other side of the fence
I must clarify that I do not like this alternative to Steam Machine from Meta PC. As noted, the Steamroller appears to be a solid build, and certainly a a lot better idea than, say, trying to get a cheap clone from China (which is a really bad idea in my opinion, in case you’re wondering). There are some strengths with the Steamroller that the Steam Machine also doesn’t have.
For starters, the Steamroller offers considerably faster performance for your PC games, mainly thanks to the beefier (desktop) GPU. However, given the asking price, the RX 7600, while certainly an upgrade from the Steam Machine’s (low-profile but laptop-class) custom RDNA 3 graphics card, seems a bit stingy. Other Steam Machine alternatives have come with bigger upgrades, like the RX 9060 XT, which will obviously deliver 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 do whatever you can with a regular PC. With the Steam Machine, you can only upgrade RAM or storage (and even then, a memory upgrade is apparently tedious).
These are obviously very real benefits to the Steamroller (and its ilk), including the added performance. But the Steam Machine’s real goal is to be a system that aims to support living room gaming and fully function seamlessly in that environment – bringing your existing Steam game library to the big screen TV where you can play in a more relaxed and convenient, sofa-based environment. And in that regard, these Steam Machine clones are missing a big part of the picture here.
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds.
The best PC controllers
