I Bought Valve's FAILED Steam Machine in 2024...

[@FunkyHQYT]

I've had on my shelf what I thought to be a dead Alienware Alpha for over a year. Your explanation to fix the CMOS battery issue is giving me some hope!

[@ogrechan]

I have one someone gave me long ago. I put 16gb of RAM in it and an SSD. I use it as a dedicated co-op game server for fiends to play Valheim and other games together. It still does well. I should note mine came with an i7-4785T already installed.

[@MrJeet-p9i]

Wow!, I just bought one yesterday for $20. I had to replace the CMOS battery to bring it to life. Once connected to the Internet it instantly started an update download. After installing, the it was no longer functional. I'm considering installing Bazzite.

[@rabidrivas]

Do it, this is what this dude should have shown on the video

[@anonytuser711]

Bazzite Linux would give you better performance as a Steam machine as long as you don't require invasive anti-cheat.

[@nich98]

Bazzite still wouldn't work cus 860m is maxwell 1

[@FlameSoulis]

@@nich98 Then... don't use Bazzite? Just install Linux and throw Steam on it, requesting it starts in Big Screen mode each time. Problem solved.

[@tonkahanah5890]

@@FlameSoulis Bazzite is fine, hell its good even. Issue is the gpu is old as dirt, poor legacy drivers, and doesnt support vulkan anyway.

[@nich98]

@@FlameSoulis drivers for maxwell 1 didn't support Vulkan, so using proton isn't possible. You can get it to work in older linux native games, but it would require DAYS of full time tinkering for sort of running A game. Only real option for (nvidia) gpu older than pascal is windows (and maybe maxwell 2.0)

[@thatzaliasguy]

Note that SteamOS was Debian-based Linux, and SteamOS3+ is all Arch-based Linux with _very different_ OS performance and kernel patches.

[@arcadeportal32]

This, SteamOS3, really isn't available to the public yet, just the ancient Debian version. However, I do see it has an old nVidia gpu with linux, which can be a pain with modern games as nvidia only gives good support if they are RTX branded cards. You're usually stuck with dated drivers, usually if below GTX or misc chips like this. AMD chips are usually much better off..

[@Baconpotato710]

I'd love to just chuck a modern tiny-at board in one of these and make a sleeper like my beige box builds

[@NothingCoherent]

I'm watching this from a docked Steam Deck in desktop mode right now. I have it connected to a 1440p monitor and a keyboard and mouse. This is my home PC of choice. SteamOS has come a long way and Proton is great. Obviously the Deck can't run modern games at higher resolutions, so I mostly play Doom mods and emulators on here. But I love it a lot. I would buy a more powerful Steam Machine instantly. I am done with Windows. I think a lot of other people are ready to jump ship as well.

[@hornantuutti5157]

Lets hope valve releases steam os. Bazzite is not an option as it is too janky

[@BearyCoolDude]

Great video, per usual! The idea behind a Steam Machine is great but with how many advances have come out for Big Picture Mode since Steam Machines attempted inception and being able to basically boot into it, along with the Steam Deck covering the other bases, it just doesn't really have a niche to fill anymore. I'd love to see one still, but I can't imagine Valve putting a lot of money into it when they have the Deck to invest in.

[@dionelr]

I bought one of these as a secondary TV PC and it was great. Mine came with an Xbox 360 controller and had the DVDs for Windows and SteamOS. One note about the HDMI ports, is that one of them is actually an HDMI passthrough​ and can only be used as such. It's a very janky implementation, as you have to have the machine on and press a specific keyboard combination and it switches the input to that device (not a capture device, it just passes it to the output). Very limited use case.

[@smashpro1]

And I only actually managed to get it to work once and never again.

[@Patrick-jq3lw]

It seems like a cool game console back then, not sure how different a current steam machine would be from a PC but I would like to see that build 🎉

[@dorkydicken]

You didn't even give it a real chance as I heard no mention of Bazzite vs Chimera vs Nobara vs PlayTron

[@tonkahanah5890]

probably wouldnt have mattered that much. the support for the old gpu's on linux is not great regardless of which distro he picked and a quick google search suggests the 860m didnt have vulkan support meaning it would be limited to linux native titles as proton requires vulkan to function.

[@ZaberfangX]

When you try to install Nobara it's maybe problem with Secure boot was on needed to switch it off, if it was the gpu it would of got pass that and not show a picture.

[@SwagMaster824]

I remember seeing these for sale at GameStop. Crazy how much the industry has changed in 9 years.

[@smashpro1]

10:30 Yeah, I remember Borderlands 3 stuttering at a consistent pace when I played it on my Alpha. A far cry from the buttery smoothness I am getting on my current system.

[@tonkahanah5890]

thet steam controller is really something you wont be something you'll pickup and be comfortable using overnight, it takes a bit of getting used to and finding what settings work best for you. when i first started using it back when it came out in like 2015, it took me maybe a week or two before it really clicked on how to use it, but its kinda like riding a bike, once you get it then you're kinda locked in and it becomes a new norm for you. personally I like to turn off the trackball settings and just go full 1:1 mouse input. make sure you're learning how to use it with the gyro though, the track pads alone will get you like 90% of the way there but the gyro is the icing on the cake that makes it as good as it is.

[@FlameSoulis]

A note about the Steam Controller: USE THE GYRO. A major thing about the controller is that it's gyro aim assist can be toggled on and off via capacitance, meaning you can have it not do gyro until you are aiming down the sights. It's meant to be tinkered with and played around, but if you just use it as a stock controller, then it won't be great. My personal suggestion is the roller ball mode for the right trackpad, which lets you panic fling in a direction and tap it to stop. The tactile feedback for it is legendary, and remains my most beloved controller in my collection.

[@adamcdx]

I remember grabbing one of these for under $200 either in 2015 or 2016 from a GameStop trying to get rid of them. I believe it was the i3 model and upgraded the ram, installed an SSD. It ran beautifully until it one day just died, but probably should have replaced the CMOS battery in retrospect. Since I had an already dedicated PC, I just hackintoshed it instead and from memory most of everything was working and was way better than the released Mac Minis at the time.

[@Pickles-o8q]

My first pc was a Alienware alpha r2 with the gtx 960 and man it was a good little pc

[@Stoppskylten]

Can just as well install a random common Linux dist and run Steam big picture to get around the Nvidia issues. The specifcs workarounds for portable use isn't really needed on a home console.

[@emlyndewar]

I bought one of these a couple of years back to play around with. Upgrading to the i7, 16gb memory, and copper heatsinks, made it pretty nice to use (for indie titles). I always liked the Alienware Alpha. Would be nice to see a revival from Dell, now that mini-PCs are so popular and SteamOS is great now.

[@GrumpyWolfTech]

I forgot all about these things.

[@HoHoPlays]

Wow didn’t realise steam controllers are going for $60 now. I picked a few up from GameStop for $5 when they discontinued it.

[@MegaManNeo]

With the official dock and the Deck, I don't really have a use case for a new SteamMachine but damn, did I want one of those back when these things were on sale! Since I was into PC building back then too, I decided to make my own using a Node 202 and a Kaby Lake Mobo with said CPU and a 1050Ti. It lasted real long even next to my gaming rig at the desk. Not gonna lie, I'd come back to that Node202 and built something if there was a board with a APU similar to the one in the Deck since I can play all my games other than VR ones already.

[@jhopkins1515]

I have one of these i purchased about 6 years ago. My is a true steam machine and had a hard drive with the original steam os that had completely bricked. My currently has 500gb ssd 16gb ram and wifi 6 with the i3. However seeing i7 4765t are $20 on ebay ill make the upgrade. I dont even use it but its cool to have it at max strength.

[@mikeb714]

I still use mine as a HTPC and Plex server. As a bonus it works great for emulating every Nintendo console (even the one that must not be named). It fits perfectly into a entertainment unit

[@bigrob029]

I have one and it is running Linux great right now. The install of Nobara and Bazzite were both pretty wonky before the recent Nvidia drivers update... But now it's running very smooth on Nobara 40. I did the SSD and RAM upgrade, may do the CPU one when the cmos battery inevitably gives out.

[@bigrob029]

It was at the beginning of the year but I did do a video of the install. Batocera is a great option for the Steam machine too as it is a pretty op retro gaming beast. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqHVp2mCYtpsp80si=_VwY_lib80IpNiW4

[@murrethmedia]

I love that companies are trying to remove the stranglehold Windows has on PC Gaming. If I could play every game and run every program I can on Windows on Linux I'd switch in a second, especially with all the spy crap in Windows 11, which I'm avoiding like the plague.

[@HNedel]

Now that they have the steam deck and are working on a replacement, they could reuse a lot of the design and features to put the same or similar board in a bigger case and sell it as a console. Just in plop in better cooling to allow higher TDP limits and make it quieter and faster, add support for external GPUs and call it a day. Without the display, battery and controller bits, they should be able to get the price down to $249 or similar to compete with the xbox series s

[@DarkGT]

The GPU could be overclockable with Afterburner, the cooling have some margin for handling more performance. Some old GPU can support flashing custom BIOS and actually messing around with the voltage.

[@GuyManley]

Cheaper than a dell office micro PC. With an old but still dedicated laptop gpu. I still have my steam link hooked up to this day. It beat the pants off of all the software steam link solutions.

[@Ghostkielx]

These things are GREAT Linux Retro gaming machine. I used mine for all of my PS1-PS3 games. and some PC gaming. Install Batocera and it becomes a beast.

[@zora_tech]

I don't think they should make another steam machine like console. The steam deck is a handheld but can also double as a console/desktop and works pretty good for that. I think most people would just want the official Steam OS so that they can install it on there own machines if they want. I am not really sure if there is a market for a steam machine at this time. So I think it would kinda be a waste to pour resources into one when they can probably make a Steam Deck 2 or the standalone VR headset.

[@IcoKirov]

I think valve would definitely return the steam machines. Probably under a different name, but they will. Now that the deck is so successful and proves that linux gaming is possible and it does feel console like, they would surely release a new "home console" that recreates the steam deck experience, but in the living room with a lot more performance. Honestly it would be stupid or at least a waste not to do it.

[@drakeb6168]

why not do a budget optiplex steam os build?

[@aliabdallah102]

It didn't fail, steam os was still made, the boxes existed. It just took a nap and woke up a steam deck.

[@gkjester]

I still have mine from around 2018.

[@demonzero677]

Honestly, Steam was on the right track with these, just fluffed the execution. Imagining these with some entry to mid range ryzen parts with Steam OS 3 in them is incredibly tempting. Especially if Valve gives Steam OS 3 the proper support it needs to be a stand alone gaming OS for ANY system. I'd dare say they could revolutionize the PC gaming space if you could legitimately put Steam OS 3 on any system, qwith official support from valve AND AMD to support all their AM4 and AM5 CPUs and 5000, 6000, and 7000 GPU lines. No joke I'd dump windows on nearly every machine I have it on currently at that point.

[@AnanyoSaha]

steam machines have been replaced by mini pcs now and steam already has steamdeck i doubt they'll bring back another mini pc

[@gogereaver349]

they didnt make those and that was the problem venders would just slap the name on any old hardware they had so they could sell it for more then it was worth. then telling devs they needed to make linux ports with there 1% market didn't fly at all. the steam deck is the correction of those errors as they now control the hardware and made huge jumps with wine. the deck is a handheld because they saw how the switch printed money. where the PC handheld market was all but dead.

[@jordansimpson5163]

Mines still going strong i just wish the bios let you boot from the usb on the bottom

[@kthxmatt8889]

Install Chimera or Bazzite OS as these are technically SteamOS

[@brandondegantevillasante538]

Rx 6400 for that authentic Rx 780m performance if you’re doing a diy steam machine

[@DavidBerger-g2h]

Hooefully Steam makes Controllers Again like the Steam Deck would buy that rather than Xbox

[@thcriticalthinker4025]

I believe a Xeon e3 1265Lv3 should work in there too, though dell could also be dell and say no

[@MasterChief0093]

I'm pretty sure a 4790T or S exists for that 35w TDP

[@MasterChief0093]

not that it would help with anything gaming wise. That upgrade you did almost halved the CPU usage. Which I would assume may make the machine run more quietly since it's not working as hard...

[@GrandMasterJarf]

One hdmi was an input and the other was an output. And there is a usb hidden under the system 😊

[@aisaffnata]

i think something like m920q + riser for dedicated gpu would be a good today's steam machine or maybe something like amd's deskmini

[@The-Singularity-X01]

If Valve were to release a newer version of this thing and somehow get Proton working with... well most programs Windows can run, then they'll officially become a genuine threat to the likes of Microsoft.

[@NothingCoherent]

There must be a segment of PC users who only use their computers for gaming. Valve could pretty easily get those people off Windows and onto SteamOS if they release the right product. The Steam Deck already has people warming up to the idea.

[@The-Singularity-X01]

@@NothingCoherent While that is certainly far more realistic, it's not going to really make waves which is what the industry needs.

[@nluna75]

The Gen 2 version is much better and has a port to use the alienware graphic amplifier which u can use an external card.

[@bumaye6982]

Try SteamOS on it with the same game tests

[@TheDragonfriday]

I own a steam machine when it was clearing out for 5$

[@Downlinx]

i put a lenovo p720q motherboard with a p1000 quadro in the case with a mod.

[@lloydcadiz5797]

Have you tried using it as an emulator? Like installing switch emulators and such

[@mindfreak2121]

I would like to play my PC games on my TV. But I don't want to use a long HDMI cable. Should I get a Steam Link or use my Nvidia Shield Android box and install the Steam Link app?

[@sinixynta]

get the Shield, you can do a lot more with it

[@staticziao]

Funny im watching this video on a upgraded alienware alpha r1(i7 4790T, 16gb of ram, 240gb ssd and a mediatek wifi 6 card) that im using as my main gaming pc due to asus gaming laptops being horrible

[@latibass]

Upgrade the cpu and show us!

[@mexvids]

can you put steam os (variant) and test it ?

[@Christosan88]

what about the steam OS?

[@Leacro]

I hasve a friend that has the steam contorleler joewasdfdf

[@rabidrivas]

Why you use windows

[@rabidrivas]

Why you use windows :(

[@jeffreypeters5578]

i bought the alienware alpha lol

[@MM-zc6qv]

The French man is interested

[@danteinferno8983]

good

[@hvdiv17]

no need for a steam box just get a cheap pc and run gforce now.

[@arch1107]

no, i will not pay to nvidia to stream content, you do that

[@hvdiv17]

@@arch1107 im not going to pay $2000 for a pc with a 4080 in it when i can pay $240 a year for gforce now and rent one. there is zero need for any high end pc build with gforce now......maybe thats what your afraid of.

[@Gladiator.6]

400 views in 51 minutes bro fell off

[@joshbohorquez3226]

FIRST

[@tanikrush_fire1007]

second

[@joshbohorquez3226]

idk seems like an average size system to me