Last week, Valve announced three pieces of gaming hardware, and it feels like the new Steam Machine is getting the most attention. The cube-shaped mini PC powered by a “semi-custom” Zen 4 processor and RDNA 3 graphics card is set to provide a console-like experience for the PC platform. Valve has already claimed it has “over six times the horsepower of Steam Deck,” and now, the company says the Machine’s performance is equal to or better than ~70% of Steam users’ rigs.

Valve says this statistic is based on data from the Steam Hardware Survey, which currently lists the most popular GPU as the RTX 3060, with the 4060 close behind. Aside from the Steam Machine, Valve has also announced the new Steam Controller and Steam Frame VR headset, both of which will pair well with the new mini PC.

How powerful will the Steam Machine be?

In an interview with Norman Chan on Adam Savage’s Tested YouTube channel, a Valve engineer explained where the Steam Machine lies in terms of performance compared to the current PC gaming landscape.

“Another thing we actually looked at is the Steam Hardware Survey. Basically, that gives us a good benchmark of where people’s home devices are at in terms of performance. The Steam Machine is equal or better than 70% of what people have at home.”

Yazan Aldehayyat, Hardware Engineer at Valve

It’s clear that the Steam Machine is not supposed to feature the very best hardware available. It is a mini PC, after all, that can easily fit on your desktop or TV stand. And while the price hasn’t been made official yet, it is expected to be an affordable option that is accessible to existing PC gamers and any current console players who might want to make the switch.

Despite shipping with a console-like experience on Valve’s gaming-focused operating system, SteamOS, you can still install whatever you like on it, including another operating system such as Windows – we imagine dual-booting will be popular to solve the lack of Linux support on some modern anti-cheat solutions. This will be required to play many popular multiplayer games – including Battlefield 6, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and Fortnite.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.