In case you haven’t been following the path of the Steam Machine for who knows how long, everyone has been waiting on this small SteamOS-powered PC to hit the market, and thanks to recent Geekbench 6 scores, we might finally have a better idea of what we’re looking at.
In case you’ve missed it, the Steam Machine has been pretty open about what specs are behind it, though with no specific name to its parts due to being a lot of custom developments between Valve and AMD. For the CPU, you’re looking at a Semi-Custom Zen 4 CPU with 6 cores and 12 threads. All of this running at 4.8ghz with just a TDP of 30 watts. For the rest of the specs, be sure to check the entire spec sheet provided.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Hardware | |
| CPU | AMD Zen 4 6C / 12T (Semi-custom) |
| GPU | AMD RDNA3 28CUs (Semi-custom) |
| RAM | 8GB GDDR6 (VRAM), 16GB DDR5 |
| Additional Details | 17 individually addressable RGB LEDs |
| Storage | |
| Internal Storage | 512GB, 2TB |
| External Storage | microSD |
| Battery | |
| Additional Details | AC power 110-240V |
| Connectivity | |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Ports | DisplayPort 1.4, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.0, 2x USB-A 2.0, 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 |
| Additional Details | Integrated 2.4 GHz Steam Controller wireless adapter; HDMI up to 4K @ 120Hz w/ HDR, FreeSync, and CEC; DP1.4 Up to 4K @ 240Hz or 8K @ 60Hz w/ HDR, FreeSync, and daisy-chaining |
| Video Out | Yes |
| Physical | |
| Dimensions | 157 x 162.4 x 156mm |
| Weight | 2600g |
| Software | |
| Operating System | SteamOS |
| Additional Details | Arch-based, KDE Plasma |
What does this all mean for you? Well, it’s key to look at the Geekbench Scores that just surfaced for the Steam Machine, or Valve Fremont. The machine pulled out a 2282 single-core score and a 7392 multicore score. That puts it in a bit of an odd spot in terms of which chip this is closest to.
In terms of single-core scores, that’s in the neighborhood of the Ryzen 5 7640U, another low TPD, 6-core, Zen 4 CPU. That being said, the fairly low 7392 multicore score is more in line with something akin to the Ryzen 5 5500 or 5600.
From the get-go, everyone has estimated the Steam Machine to be close to the performance of a low TDP Ryzen 5 7600, and either an RX 6600 or RX 7600 GPU. That means you’re not getting a boatload of power, but just like the Steam Deck, you’re getting enough performance to play most games on the platform.
The last bit of information we’re waiting on is potential GPU performance, but also the price; the one thing that will let the Steam Machine sink or float. Some still believe it will be priced under $1,000, while many others have been steadily raising their estimates to a decent bit above that.
Regardless, I think we’re closing in on the proper announcement and release of the Steam Machine or Steam Frame at this point, but all we can do is hope. Hope on pricing, and hope on availability, which should hopefully be better thanks to the ordering measures they put in place for the Steam Controller.
But what do you think about the price? What about the performance? Is this something you could see yourself picking up?
