We're sorry (or not), but there will be news about the Steam Machine Every week leading up to and beyond its release. Much of the news is just rumors, and other news is simply opinion. A recent rumor claims that Valve should offer a "barebone" version of its upcoming PC/console, but to me, this makes absolutely no sense. It really doesn't. Because the Steam Machine is a PC... that isn't a PC.
This news story begins with a video in which a leaker says that Valve should sell a version without a hard drive or RAMDriven by the current problems with the prices of these components. Basically, it would sell what's supposed to be plug-and-play… without actually being plug-and-play. The arguments of leaker They include claims that this would allow Valve to always have Steam Machines in stock at a good price. This "leak" has been picked up by other media outlets and accepted as valid, something I disagree with.
Steam Machine is a PC… that isn't a PC
Let's analyze this: Valve's idea with its Steam Machine is to make their catalog more accessible to people who don't want to bother building a PCIsn't there a problem here? If the price of the Steam Machine is already similar to that of a PC with similar hardware, and on top of that they don't add RAM and an SSD, the price isn't just cheaper, it's... it would become more expensive.
Because Valve It will order between 500.000 and 2.000.000 units of each component.And they would take advantage of the volume discount. According to the price list provided by the leaker, RAM would be €48 and SSDs €30. If the reason for all this is for the customer to save money, and they have to buy the components at the current inflated price on their own, they will end up paying more.
The possibility of users already having components from other computers to assemble in the Steam Machine is also being considered, but this would disregard ease of use and eliminate the reason for the product's existence.
Furthermore, Valve has already published the technical specifications.
On the other hand, Valve has already published the technical specifications, with 16 GB of DDR5 RAM for the system + 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM for the GPUAlthough it can be manipulated, it's difficult to imagine a change of heart and the offer of something other than a device to turn on and play.
The key to all of this can be found in:
- The type of device: Valve wants to sell something easy to use.
- Buying hundreds of thousands of units: what costs us €90 per unit, will cost Valve €50, maybe less, so the final price of the Steam Machine may be affected, but not so much as to reach the point of selling something that goes against its philosophy.
"Should sell" != "Will sell"
El leaker In his video, he doesn't confirm that Valve will sell a version of the Steam Machine without these components. His words sound more like wishful thinking than anything else. Furthermore, he later implies that he actually has no idea what will happen when he says that Valve... It could already have millions of memories stored to mount on the Machine.
Would it be good if they offered a version without RAM or SSD? Well, yes, actually. For those who already have usable components at home or other ideas. But products are sold as designed, and most aren't modular to that extent.
Ultimately, what we have isn't a well-founded rumor, but rather wishful thinking driven by fears about memory prices. Almost certainly, Valve will only sell what they announced in November: a 512GB Steam Machine and a 2TB Steam Machine, both with 16GB of RAM and 8GB of VRAM, all included. Anyone wanting something different can either build their own PC or buy a Steam Machine and modify it within its limitations.
We'll know more in the spring.