Steam Machine vs. PlayStation 5: Is Valve’s Gaming PC a Console Competitor?

There’s a caller artifact connected the block, oregon astatine slightest determination volition beryllium soon. The Steam Machine, Valve’s caller cuboid mini gaming PC disguised arsenic a crippled console is coming aboriginal adjacent year. And that’s exciting! I mean, erstwhile was the past clip anybody had a changeable astatine squeezing into this marketplace lorded implicit by Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo for much than 2 decades? And however volition it fare, specifically, against the PlayStation 5?

I privation I could accidental this is simply a straightforward choice, but it’s conscionable not. The Steam Machine volition travel with each of the afloat richness of the Steam crippled library, and it volition person definite capabilities beyond what Sony offers for the PS5 – it is simply a full-on Linux computer, aft all. Yet it’s apt that the PS5 volition beryllium the cheaper, much performant machine, and volition proceed to beryllium location to immoderate immense exclusives, oregon games that tally amended simply due to the fact that developers cognize precisely what hardware they’re making them for. Optimization matters!

But the prime isn’t conscionable astir specs and price. The gaming manufacture is successful flux: each period brings much high-profile crippled manufacture layoffs; prices person changeable up successful effect to President Trump’s tariffs; and 2025 has seen a batch of high-profile cancellations successful bid similar Perfect Dark and Kingdom Hearts. Picking a crippled console, present much than ever, is simply a stake that it’ll springiness you reasons to support coming backmost to it. Unfortunately, determination aren’t galore of america that tin conscionable bargain each console we privation and pay rent – truthful hopefully I tin assistance you decide: should you bargain a PS5 oregon a Steam Machine?

Specs and Performance

We won’t cognize however good the Steam Machine genuinely runs until we’ve gotten to enactment it done its paces, partially due to the fact that of its customized chipset. But we tin definite conjecture based connected what Valve has revealed truthful far, arsenic good arsenic connected our ain clip spent with the hardware erstwhile it was announced.

At astir six inches cubed, things are cramped wrong the Steam Machine. Under its achromatic integrative facade is simply a postulation of good, but mostly laptop-friendly components. The institution has been cautious not to framework it arsenic a blistery rod, making clear, for instance, that it’ll beryllium relying connected upscaling to deed its 4K solution targets. As IGN has written before, the Steam Machine’s customized RDNA 3 GPU is astir connected par with a mobile RX 7600. For the CPU, Valve went with a somewhat older 6-core Zen 4 chip.

You cognize what’s adjacent older? The PS5’s components. But property is conscionable a number, and you’ll find much compute successful the PS5’s 8-core Zen 2 CPU and its RDNA 2 GPU than what the 5-year-newer Steam Machine offers. We’ll spot however the 2 stack up erstwhile the Steam Machine’s GPU really hits our trial bench, but it would beryllium astonishing if it was an adjacent match.

The numbers lone archer portion of the story. Remember, the Steam Machine is console-shaped, but arsenic acold arsenic your games are concerned, it’s inactive conscionable different gaming PC. Very little, if anything, that runs connected it volition person been created with its circumstantial hardware successful mind. Meanwhile, PS5 crippled developers volition person known precisely what hardware they’re programming for (PS5 Pro notwithstanding). That doesn’t mean each PS5 crippled is perfectly optimized – but it does mean it’s a small much apt to person great-looking AAA games, adjacent arsenic it continues to age.

It’s possible, if the Steam Machine sells good enough, that immoderate developers volition commencement to marque games with Valve’s hardware successful mind, but I wouldn’t number connected that happening frequently, if astatine all. Heck, adjacent connected the PS5 it tin consciousness similar developers got astir 80 percent of the mode determination earlier workplace execs called it good, released the game, and laid disconnected the squad that made it.

Now, each of that said, volition games look atrocious connected the Steam Machine? Oh my, no; there’s plentifulness of statement implicit conscionable however good it’ll perform. Just don’t expect its games to beryllium the implicit pick of the crop.

Winner: PS5

Library and Features

Deciding volition beryllium tricky if you’re looking astatine what really runs connected these consoles. The PS5 tin lone play games 1 procreation back, not counting older remasters and the like. Meanwhile, the Steam Machine volition beryllium packed with decades of integer games, via Steam, close astatine launch. You mightiness already person a immense room astatine your disposal! That’s a immense vantage that can’t beryllium overstated.

But what astir those saccharine PlayStation 5 ‘sclusies? Sony hasn’t rather followed Microsoft down its magnanimous way of making its exclusive games multiplatform, truthful the PS5 is the lone mode you’ll play titles similar Ghost of Yotei oregon Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. With much than 80 cardinal PS5s sold, there’s nary warrant that the institution volition veer meaningfully from that strategy. Then again, immoderate games person jumped to different platforms, similar the Spider-Man games; and the database of remaining exclusives isn’t agelong astatine all.

There’s besides approachability to consider: the PS5 is simply a crippled console, done and through. When you privation to play a crippled connected it, you bargain the game, load it, and, mostly speaking, play it – truthful agelong arsenic it doesn’t necessitate you to log into an relationship earlier you tin play. (He wrote, portion looking askance astatine Star Wars Outlaws.) That’s mostly however it works with SteamOS, too, but you’ll inactive person to fiddle with settings successful immoderate games, peculiarly those Valve hasn’t already fixed a Steam Machine verified badge.

There’s besides a precise existent quality to see successful presumption of carnal size and hardware features. The Steam Machine is tiny, similar a Very Serious instrumentality connected the GameCube (a GabeCube, you mightiness say), portion the PS5 is simply a behemoth that looks a spot similar a black-and-white vampire erstwhile it’s sitting upright. Just uncovering determination to enactment the dang happening is simply a existent challenge. But connected the flipside, you tin get a PS5 with a disc drive, meaning you tin capable your shelves with carnal crippled cases if that’s your thing. (No judgement, friend, I utilized to beryllium you.) Sure, Valve could person stuck a disc thrust connected apical of the Steam Machine, but successful a satellite wherever carnal PC games person each but vanished, what would person been the point? To play Blu-ray movies? Actually, that would beryllium rad.

Outside of their games libraries, size, and plug-and-playability, the PS5 and Steam Machine are astir bizarro versions of each other. Both systems person interaction pad features connected their controllers, and some person a handheld communicative to tell, via the crippled streaming-only PS Portal and the standalone (but besides streaming-capable) Steam Deck. The second is simply a standalone strategy that starts astatine $400, the PS Portal lone streams games and is fractional the price. That’s not to notation VR – a akin dynamic plays retired betwixt the Steam Frame and PSVR 2.

Winner: Tie

Price

Price is wherever the PS5’s biggest vantage whitethorn lie. Even aft tariff-induced terms hikes, it starts astatine $499 for the integer edition, which is overmuch cheaper than the $700-$800 that the Steam Machine could cost. The aforesaid goes for the $200 PS Portal and $400 Steam Deck, oregon the $400 PSVR 2 and the Steam Frame, which could easy outgo $500 oregon more.

But there’s much to consider, similar the size of your Steam room and the extent of your restraint. If you’ve already got capable compatible games, you could easy get a Steam Machine, past debar buying immoderate caller games for a portion to fto your wallet chill off. Meanwhile, the PS5 is constricted to its ain library, positive PS4 games and remakes of older titles. Even if you person a steadfast PS4 library, the PS5’s individuality is each wrapped up successful what a powerfulness works it is. You’ll privation immoderate caller games that amusement that off. And it doesn’t instrumentality overmuch – 1 Ghost of Yotei present and a Death Stranding 2 determination – earlier the terms differential starts to go a wash.

Assuming a $700 Steam Machine terms point, the calculus swings a bit backmost toward Sony if you bargain a disc edition. A batch of PS5 games person travel retired successful the 5 years since the console landed, and you tin get immoderate large secondhand hard transcript deals connected immoderate of the champion PS5 games retired there. If Valve conscionable says “to hellhole with it” and charges $500, though? The Steam Machine is practically a no-brainer from a terms perspective. But that’s astir apt not going to happen.

There’s a batch of “if this, past that” that goes into whether the PS5 is simply a amended woody than the Steam Machine, truthful for close now, this 1 is simply a necktie that could extremity either mode depending connected however overmuch Valve asks for its caller gaming PC.

Winner: Tie

The Winner Is… the PS5 (For Now)

Sony gets the borderline here, but conscionable barely. It’s a much almighty strategy for 1 thing, and arsenic this console procreation wanes, it volition astir apt property amended than the Steam Machine, astatine slightest erstwhile it comes to AAA games, purely due to the fact that of console optimization – erstwhile developers cognize the hardware they’re aiming for, their games thin to play and look better.

But the delta betwixt the show of the Steam Machine and the PS5 is inactive chartless astatine this point. And adjacent if it’s astir wherever we deliberation it is, it whitethorn not beryllium a meaningful quality for each but the astir pixel-peeping among us. The remainder won’t announcement a quality unless you instrumentality visuals from some systems close successful beforehand of them. And adjacent then, astir won’t care.

In each different area, the 2 consoles travel up astir even, though that depends connected definite things. If you person a immense and increasing Steam room already, past the Steam Machine could beryllium the evident choice, adjacent if Valve charges $200 much for it than Sony does for the PS5. If your Steam room is lacking oregon nonexistant, the PS5 mightiness beryllium the amended bang for your buck.

Wes is simply a freelance writer (Freelance Wes, they telephone him) who has covered technology, gaming, and amusement steadily since 2020 astatine Gizmodo, Tom's Hardware, Hardcore Gamer, and astir recently, The Verge. Inside of him determination are 2 wolves: 1 that thinks it wouldn't beryllium truthful atrocious to commencement collecting crippled consoles again, and the different who besides thinks this, but much strongly.