1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:05,839 Valve dropped three absolute bombs today. The Steam Frame standalone VR 2 00:00:04,560 --> 00:00:10,800 headset. That's going to have to be a separate video. But this one focusing on 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:14,160 the new Steam Machine and yes, the wait 4 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:15,839 is finally over, the 2026 edition Steam 5 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:19,840 Controller. Let's start with a little history. Over 10 years ago, Valve 6 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:23,840 announced their first version of Steam OS, a Linux- based operating system that 7 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:30,160 would free gamers from the shackles of Microsoft Windows. No, it was a total 8 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:32,320 commercial flop. But instead of giving 9 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:36,320 up on Steam machines, Valve doubled down, working with game developers on 10 00:00:34,399 --> 00:00:40,320 Linux native ports of their games and with open- source developers on the 11 00:00:38,160 --> 00:00:44,000 Proton compatibility layer that makes their Steam Deck handheld out of the box 12 00:00:42,399 --> 00:00:47,680 compatible with thousands of Steam games, even ones that only ever shipped 13 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:51,200 on Windows. The Steam Deck is believed to have sold millions of units at this 14 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:55,680 point. And no wonder given its great balance of solid gaming and outstanding 15 00:00:53,440 --> 00:01:00,879 affordability. But its mobile form factor has given it certain limitations 16 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:07,119 and left gamers hungry for something more substantial. And well, here it is. 17 00:01:04,479 --> 00:01:12,000 I'm calling it the lunchbox. One, because it's substantial, like lunch. 18 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:17,600 Two, because it's cube- shaped like a box. And three, because I think this 19 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:18,960 thing is going to eat Xbox's lunch. 20 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:23,119 Okay, that last one was a bit of a reach, but not as far as I'm reaching 21 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:27,115 for this segue to our sponsor. 22 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:29,790 >> Hold up. [music] 23 00:01:27,770 --> 00:01:35,520 [singing] They're easy to move and they're easy to 24 00:01:32,159 --> 00:01:37,596 use and super comfy. But I got a little 25 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:41,479 friend know now. A guy has got [singing and music] to cate somehow. 26 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:56,159 In what has become typical Valve fashion, they've been atypically open 27 00:01:54,320 --> 00:02:00,640 about the new Steam Machine, giving us direct access to the engineering folks 28 00:01:58,159 --> 00:02:03,920 who worked on these devices. The only thing I didn't have today was time, so 29 00:02:02,799 --> 00:02:11,120 we're going to get through this as fast as we can. At the heart of the Steam Machine is a six core AMD Zen 4-based 30 00:02:08,239 --> 00:02:17,840 CPU that turbos up to 4.8 8 GHz with 16 gigs of RAM and an 8 gig GPU that they 31 00:02:13,920 --> 00:02:19,599 compared to a 7600 XTish, but they were 32 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:24,000 also quick to point out that it might not be apples to apples thanks to their 33 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:28,879 custom software stack and power tuning. Basically, the goal was that pretty much 34 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:30,239 anything on Steam should run at 4K 60fps 35 00:02:28,879 --> 00:02:34,319 if you're willing to turn down the details and use a little bit of FSR 36 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:38,400 upscaling. And we saw that on display with Cyberpunk running in the demo room 37 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:41,680 at these settings. Valve says to expect about six times the performance of the 38 00:02:40,239 --> 00:02:46,560 Steam Deck. Now, I was a little surprised to not see an SoC with shared 39 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:52,080 memory, but apparently the decision to go for discrete CPU and GPU came down to 40 00:02:49,519 --> 00:02:57,120 balancing cost, power, size, and performance. And also, they just didn't 41 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:59,680 feel like they needed to. And I guess 42 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:03,760 Valve was right because they nailed this thing. Compared to a more traditional 43 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:10,080 ITX small form factor machine like the OG Steam machine reference design, you 44 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:12,239 can see that it's a lot smaller, more on 45 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:15,920 par with a highly integrated design like something like the Framework Desktop. 46 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:19,360 Investment disclosure. Like the Framework Desktop, Valve allows 47 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:22,879 customization of the front panel using these magnetic plates. And they're going 48 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:25,920 to provide the CAD files so you can put whatever your heart desires on here. 49 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:29,760 They even had a machine in the demo room with an e- in display that was showing 50 00:03:27,519 --> 00:03:33,200 system vitals. Pretty darn cool. But unlike the framework, it has a 51 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:37,200 programmable RGB strip in the front that could be used to personalize your style 52 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:40,879 or maybe show a progress bar while you switch your TV input and wait for your 53 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:45,200 game to be downloaded. The sky's is kind of the limit. The front of the device 54 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:49,920 has a power button, micro SD slot, two USB 3 5 Gbit per second ports. Then the 55 00:03:48,239 --> 00:03:56,080 rest of the IO is in the back where you'll find two USB 2 type A ports, a 56 00:03:52,799 --> 00:03:57,920 USBC 10 Gbit per second port, no display 57 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:02,560 port on there. That is worth noting. gigabit Ethernet, power in for the 58 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:08,319 integrated power supply. Good gravy, this thing is compact. As well as an 59 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:10,640 HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4 port. It 60 00:04:08,319 --> 00:04:14,879 is worth noting that HDMI 2.0 port, they have tested it at HDMI 2.1 speeds, but 61 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:21,759 there are a couple of features that are not implemented, so they can't call it HDMI 2.1. Also at the back, we have a 62 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:24,160 large 120 mm cooling fan that draws air 63 00:04:21,759 --> 00:04:28,720 from both the intake on the bottom that comes up through the power supply as 64 00:04:25,919 --> 00:04:32,800 well as the large heat sink on the front. We're going to crack this thing 65 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:37,520 fully open in a sec, but first I want to talk about the steam controller. No, no, 66 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:42,479 not that steam controller. The new one with the exact same name. Before you 67 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:47,520 ask, yes, I made my case to Valve that this is unnecessarily confusing. No, 68 00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:51,600 they're not going to change it. The good news is Valve learned a lot from the 69 00:04:49,759 --> 00:04:56,800 first Steam Controller, and this appears to be their most complete offering ever. 70 00:04:54,960 --> 00:05:00,720 To be fair, the original was really cool. I mean, it made non-controller 71 00:04:58,639 --> 00:05:04,800 games finally playable from the couch thanks to their innovative haptic 72 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:10,080 touchpad. They also unlocked novel input schemes with gesture control or like 73 00:05:07,199 --> 00:05:14,403 swiping with momentum. But they also turned off a lot of folks due to their 74 00:05:13,199 --> 00:05:20,160 uh [clears throat and snorts] deficiency of traditional joysticks. 75 00:05:17,199 --> 00:05:24,560 Well, that's solved. Now, the Steam controller is everything that is great 76 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:29,199 about the controller on the Steam Deck, but usable when your Steam Deck is in 77 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:34,240 docked mode or with your Steam machine or with any other PC. Investment 78 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:38,800 disclosure. On the surface, it offers up a conventional ABXY button layout with a 79 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:42,880 PlayStation style symmetric joystick design that will work seamlessly out of 80 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:46,880 the box with basically any game. The trackpads have been repositioned to 81 00:05:44,639 --> 00:05:51,280 better accommodate the arm's natural position while holding a smaller device 82 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:54,880 compared to the wider Steam Deck. And all of the usual Valve buttons are 83 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:58,960 included. A Steam button for opening the menu, their quick access button for 84 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:02,479 bringing up the Steam OS overlay, four rear programmable buttons. The face 85 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:05,759 buttons are satisfying with a nice amount of resistance, and the D-pad has 86 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:10,000 been tuned from the Steam Deck for better feel. It feels okay to me, but I 87 00:06:08,479 --> 00:06:14,720 only got a couple minutes with it before Valve blew my [music] mind. The 88 00:06:11,919 --> 00:06:18,960 joysticks are next generation TMR or tunneling magnetoresistant joysticks 89 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:23,919 boasting superior accuracy and durability even compared to Hall effect 90 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:28,479 joysticks. And the controller has been designed from the ground up for a 91 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:33,680 superior gyroscopic aiming or mousing experience with capacitive thumb sticks 92 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:37,759 and even capacitive grips. So you can configure your gyro to enable or disable 93 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:43,680 depending on whether you put your thumb on the stick or even by simply loosening 94 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:48,160 your grip, say to recenter and then reactivate gyroscopic aiming. They had a 95 00:06:45,840 --> 00:06:54,000 great demo with Bellatro showing how you can use the game's built-in controller 96 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:56,080 compatibility like a pleb. Or hear me 97 00:06:54,000 --> 00:07:00,080 out, trackpads with the right for movement and the left one split down the 98 00:06:57,919 --> 00:07:04,560 middle for left and right click. or hear me out again, gyro mouse using the face 99 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:09,280 buttons for clicks. And if you don't care about gyro aiming, these capacitive 100 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:12,479 inputs are all remappable as well, opening up a whole world of 101 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:18,000 possibilities. Let's go even deeper. In addition to the 102 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:21,120 haptic texture-like feedback that you know and love from Valve's previous 103 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:25,039 touchpads, the Steam Controller has been upgraded with large rumble motors for 104 00:07:23,199 --> 00:07:28,960 better immersion and a large battery that they claim should be good for 35 105 00:07:27,039 --> 00:07:32,720 hours in the most demanding applications and even better if you don't need quite 106 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:36,400 as much rumble. But I haven't even talked about the best part. If you've 107 00:07:34,639 --> 00:07:43,120 ever gamed over Bluetooth, you know that it can be inconsistent at best. Valve 108 00:07:40,319 --> 00:07:47,039 solution, the puck. Every Steam controller comes with a wireless dongle 109 00:07:45,039 --> 00:07:50,880 that clips magnetically to the Steam Controller using a couple of nice strong 110 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:55,520 alignment magnets. And it uses a proprietary 2.4 GHz wireless interface 111 00:07:53,440 --> 00:08:00,479 that Valve claims is good for about 8 milliseconds endto-end latency and 112 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:05,280 offers up superior resiliency when you're using multiple controllers. It 113 00:08:02,879 --> 00:08:10,160 allows four controllers per puck. Though that's not as good as the Xbox dongle, 114 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:15,120 which can do eight, but Valve has tested up to four pucks on a single system for 115 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:17,919 a maximum of 16 players, meaning that you're probably going to run out of 116 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:24,400 seats on your couch before you run out of controller compatibility. The last 117 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:26,639 chef kiss on top is an IR emitter that's 118 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:30,479 cozied up beside the power LED to help you find your controller when you're in 119 00:08:27,919 --> 00:08:36,159 VR. I love it. Now, let's get back to the steam machine who uh got naked while 120 00:08:32,959 --> 00:08:38,000 we were busy. [laughter] Oh, you. While 121 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:42,560 Valve's goal was to build something that is zero hassle, grabbing game for the 122 00:08:40,479 --> 00:08:46,800 non-tinkerers, they really were laser focused on a console-like experience 123 00:08:44,399 --> 00:08:50,640 with quick suspend and resume and modern standby so that your games are already 124 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:55,200 updated when you sit down to play. They also fully acknowledge that there are 125 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:58,240 folks out there, guilty, who are tinkerers, and they've come up with an 126 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:02,640 ingenious design for this thing that allows it to cater to both audiences. in 127 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:07,680 advance. No, you're not going to be swapping out the BGA soldered 128 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:10,000 processors, but what you can do is 129 00:09:07,680 --> 00:09:17,360 upgrade the storage with next to no hassle to a 2230 or larger 2280 sized 130 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:22,959 M.2 drive. And while we couldn't go that deep today, Valve also confirmed that 131 00:09:19,519 --> 00:09:24,959 the memory uses standard sodium slots. 132 00:09:22,959 --> 00:09:28,959 Finally, while Valve hasn't actually told iFixit that this product is coming 133 00:09:26,959 --> 00:09:32,160 yet, they did say that they're hoping to continue their partnership that they've 134 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:36,480 had on the Steam Deck making replacement parts available for end users. Awesome. 135 00:09:35,279 --> 00:09:42,480 Since we're in here, by the way, there are some really cool details that I'd love to highlight. The power supply, for 136 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:46,240 one thing, is fully integrated to the point where it's actually part of the 137 00:09:43,839 --> 00:09:50,080 chassis and the cooling solution pulls air directly through it, which avoids 138 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:53,839 any need for it to have its own fan. The aforementioned Delta cooling fan is 139 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:58,959 actually slightly thicker than the standard 25mm for extrastatic pressure 140 00:09:56,560 --> 00:10:04,959 and it includes antenna mounts that are integrated into it along with IO mounts. 141 00:10:02,399 --> 00:10:08,160 Cool, right? Oh, this is actually a great look at the four antennas. So, 142 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:12,160 this is the back of the device where you have your two antennas for Wi-Fi 6E. 143 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:18,240 Then, if we flip it around to the front, we've got one antenna for Bluetooth peripherals and another one that is 144 00:10:15,839 --> 00:10:21,519 dedicated to your Steam controller or controllers. So that puck that's 145 00:10:20,079 --> 00:10:25,440 included with your controller is actually extra and you could chuck it on 146 00:10:23,279 --> 00:10:29,600 another PC or next to your couch for charging. A major question mark though 147 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:33,519 is of course price. Valve wasn't able to give any specific numbers due to 148 00:10:32,082 --> 00:10:37,200 [clears throat] rapidly evolving market conditions. But they will obviously have 149 00:10:35,680 --> 00:10:42,399 it nailed down when the Steam Machine launches in Q1 2026 alongside the new 150 00:10:40,399 --> 00:10:46,160 Steam Controller. They did give me one hint though. They said that while they 151 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:51,360 expect it to be very competitively priced with a PC, that it will be priced 152 00:10:48,959 --> 00:10:55,839 like a PC rather than like a console with games subsidizing the upfront 153 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:59,920 hardware purchase. They wouldn't say why, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's 154 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:04,079 partially to avoid stepping on the margin opportunities of their potential 155 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:08,000 partners for Steam games and Steam software, but also because they 156 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:13,680 recognize that the Steam machine is a full-fledged PC capable of being used as 157 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:18,640 a full-fledged PC. There's no guarantee then that uh say a corporate purchase of 158 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:22,800 10,000 of these things would result in a single game sale. So they really do need 159 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:27,920 to protect the sustainability of their hardware business. Another major 160 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:31,839 question mark is where the heck is standalone Steam OS for custom PC 161 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:36,000 builders? Well, we aren't going to get a formal 162 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:40,800 Steam OS release for BYO hardware configurations anytime soon, but Valve 163 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:44,800 has expanded the list of supported thirdparty devices, and they have 164 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:50,079 supported installing the Steam Deck recovery image on AMD CPU and GPU 165 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:56,480 systems for some time and recently updated it to support their latest Zen 5 166 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:58,160 and RDNA4 architecture processors. So, 167 00:11:56,480 --> 00:12:01,680 nothing prevents you from building your own Steam Machine and installing the 168 00:11:59,839 --> 00:12:07,440 software for free. though you will miss out on some things. HDMI CEC control for 169 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:11,519 instance um required Valve to build a custom motherboard in order to have your 170 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:17,200 you know computer turn on alongside your AV receiver and to get that on a BYO PC 171 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:21,200 would require some serious cooperation between hardware makers that uh I 172 00:12:20,158 --> 00:12:25,200 [snorts] don't know if we should hold our breath for but the bulk of the 173 00:12:23,519 --> 00:12:28,959 experience should work pretty much out of the box. We may even get a release 174 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:32,480 that supports a broader range of hardware in the future. But the vibe I'm 175 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:37,519 picking up on around here is that it really depends on better support for 176 00:12:34,079 --> 00:12:39,279 Intel and especially NVIDIA GPUs. I'm 177 00:12:37,519 --> 00:12:41,760 also picking up this vibe to our sponsor. 178 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:45,920 >> What up? >> Hey man, I got a new couch and I think I 179 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:48,399 need some help. >> Bro, you know I got some stuff to do 180 00:12:47,519 --> 00:12:55,920 today. >> Come on. It won't take long. >> Okay. He doesn't know it's 181 00:12:52,253 --> 00:12:57,600 [singing and music] an M1 sofa from Ro. 182 00:12:55,920 --> 00:13:04,000 Moved it and set it up by [singing] myself. Now [music] I'm watching gra. 183 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:08,639 I really don't [singing] want to lift a couch right now, but he's 184 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:13,200 been there [music] for me. And I'm going to find a way to help him somehow. 185 00:13:11,680 --> 00:13:19,920 Man, you made it, but it's already slow. Man, 186 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:25,760 you're the greatest. [music] How did you lift it by yourself? It's made of strong 187 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:29,680 yet comfortable foam. [music] And it's easy to move anywhere in your 188 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:36,399 home. And [singing] so why did you need my help? >> I want you to help [music] me celebrate 189 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:42,920 because there's a Black Friday sale and everything [music] 60% off. 190 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:42,920 Brother, 191 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:50,639 I tried to get through everything, but I only had about 4 hours to get briefed on 192 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:54,399 everything right and film. So, my apologies. Now, assuming that that one's 193 00:13:52,639 --> 00:13:58,639 up yet, go check out the video on the Steam Frame VR headset because it's a 194 00:13:56,399 --> 00:14:04,720 game changer. It's a big deal. Please make it clear 195 00:14:00,959 --> 00:14:04,720 that this is not a real product.