I'm on the reservation list for a Steam Machine and personally have no regrets, but I'm so happy these exist. I don't think it has to be a big competition, but between not appealing to a mass audience and have limited stock, the Steam Machine may have inadvertently ushered in a prebuilt Linux PC revolution, and that's a wonderful thing.
this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2026
228 points (97.5% liked)
Linux Gaming
26394 readers
431 users here now
Discussions and news about gaming on the GNU/Linux family of operating systems (including the Steam Deck). Potentially a $HOME away from home for disgruntled /r/linux_gaming denizens of the redditarian demesne.
This page can be subscribed to via RSS.
Original /r/linux_gaming pengwing by uoou.
No memes/shitposts/low-effort posts, please.
Resources
Help:
- ProtonDB
- Are We Anticheat Yet?
- r/linux_gaming FAQ
- Fork of an earlier version of the above
- PCGamingWiki
- LibreGameWiki
Launchers/Game Library Managers:
General:
Discord:
IRC:
Matrix:
Telegram:
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
Can we finally say it? Is the year of the Linux desktop finally upon us??
It feels so needlessly aggressive. Valve openly stated that there are alternatives to the Steam Machine, and they aren't trying to own the market. Calling your prebuilt the "Steamroller" is kind of a dickhead move. That's like Del Taco coming out with a deep friend taco shell and calling it "Fuck your Chalupa, bitch."
ITT: People who have no idea how marketing and advertising work.
That's not really how I read it. Clearly they are leveraging vale products, (steam os) so include steam in the name. They probably want this name to evoke strength and power, so what's something with steam in the name that is powerful? A steamroller.
I don't think it is meant to roll steam!
They specifically advertise it as an "upgradable alternative to the Steam Machine"; with that in mind, assuming the name isn't intended to evoke comparisons to Steam Machine is kind of ridiculous, no?
I'm getting some white knighty wiffs from this outrage over someone daring to compete with valve.
Outrage? We're just discussing it, mate...
I’m not sure I’d be able to order a “fuck your chalupa, bitch” with a straight face, but I’ll try.
They like it more when you giggle and order two
Eh, I see your point, but it feels pretty tongue-in-cheek to me. Steamroller is just a cool name that implies the thing is a workhorse.
Remember literally any PC can run steam and Linux. Steam machine is still just hardware.
The Steam Machine also still has the advantage of HDMI CEC. Since none of the GPU manufacturers seem to want to bother with even on cards with HDMI ports.
Or, theres only so many ways you can make a punny name on Steam OS.
But of course that doesnt allow for righteous indignity.
And unlike Nintendo switch, you can play games you bought 15 years ago.. and use other stores or emulation
1300 and only 16gb of ram and a GPU on par with a RTX 3060 / RX 6650 . Brutal.
Im probably going to have to die with my 3060ti
I'm babying my 3090 like its the last GPU on earth. Undervolted, TDP way down, clockspeed capped, fans RUNNING.
It will never see 420W again.
9070xt will run circles around it for $630 or so.
There's certainly CPU options out there for high fps gaming on ddr4 rigs, I just feel bad for the guys still on ddr3 who can't eat the extra ~400 needed for a proper rig nowadays.
Yeah. X3D 5000-series will outrun many DDR5 CPUs in games.
Meanwhile you can walk into microcenter and pick up a 7500x3d with a 5060 for $999
5060 aint fast either, but it's way faster than a 7600. $300 will let you upgrade easily to 32GB of ram, or you could sell the 5060 (they seem to be about 300-320 for completed fleabay listings) and take the saved $300 and buy a 9070xt or something which are $630 at MC. 4k gaming for $1300. PSU is 650W and should work fine.
Not that it's a bad thing, but did anyone ever offer something like Bazzite before?
OEMs were waiting for SteamOS because it shifts the OS support to Valve instead of DIY, but I wonder if anyone tried before SteamOS was ready.
Thats about what i've been saying.. 200 dollars more, and you get a vastly superior product over the steam machine..Which seeing as the steam machine is a luxury good, and not a budget concious/performance per dollar build.. I'm perfectly okay with suggestion spending an extra 200 dollars for something markedly superior.
Pretty sure Valve thinks the same. They'd rather their 'consoles' establish a performance floor than a ceiling. They don't want to make hardware - they don't want to make an OS, it's just what's required to compete with Microsoft (who's actively threatening them since they announced the Windows Store for Windows 8 and Xbox game pass at the time)
Bruz this is the real history that the steam machine release let loose.
Respect valve for it.
Yknow, other than the 16GB RAM (reasonable given the situation), this aint that bad, for similar specs (Ryzen 5 7600, RX 6750 XT), I paid 1100€ at most two years ago
Of course, the rest of the components also matter, as well as the VRAM difference, but could be worse anyhow
7500x3d, 5060, similar specs other wise for 1k here at MC. I don't think 1300 is a good deal.
Kinda weird that it has such similar specs, I would've expected they'd want to do something more differentiated
Funny how people are like "look at what steam does for Linux" and not "look at what Linux did for steam". Steam is not good. Sure they provide a nice game launcher and storefront, but it's a dirty capitalist business with shitty practices and kid gambling schemes
Two things cam be true.
yeah, check out how great linux support was for videogames aside from quake mods before proton