Ok but why not buy a cheaper or more performant machine and install SteamOS on it?

As an adult with kids, why would I want to spend my scarce time and energy building my own machine, installing and configuring shit when I can just buy this that is guaranteed to work well. Yeah, when I was 18 I'd probably do it myself, but I just don't have the patience for bullshit anymore.

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modriano a day ago | parent | next [-]

If you go to pcpartpicker.com, you can select components and it only shows parts that are compatible with the parts you've already selected. It made selecting parts super easy. And I was shocked at how easy it was to build a PC. It only took maybe 90 minutes including 20 minutes skimming a YouTube video on how to assemble a PC. And installing Ubuntu was maybe 30 more minutes (15 minutes to make a bootable thumb drive and 15 minutes to install the OS on my new machine).

It was so much less of a hassle than I had expected.

That being said, I wouldn't make a PC until RAM and storage prices come back down to earth.

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alashow a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I'm sure you don't need to build your machine just to install SteamOS on

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iLoveOncall a day ago | parent | prev [-]

I built my last computer with my kids, it was done in 2 hours and it was a family activity.

You'll also need the exact same configuration on this than on any other computer on which you install SteamOS.

There's also absolutely no guarantee that this will "work well". I fully trust Valve to be fair, but you're talking about a completely untested piece of hardware.

Grasping at straws.

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pendenthistory 17 hours ago | parent [-]

This is on the level of "just use rsync bro". I prefer the console experience of clicking a button to order, plugging it in and playing. Valve is doing the vertical integration, they're putting together the hardware, the software and the OS, of course you'll be getting a better experience than pulling together random stuff. Also game devs will be optimizing games specifically for this hardware combo, just like consoles.

	▲	fluoridation 10 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		>I prefer the console experience of clicking a button to order, plugging it in and playing. You're mixing up the experience of putting together the machine and using it. Why do you think playing games on Steam is not just clicking play and playing? >Valve is doing the vertical integration, they're putting together the hardware, the software and the OS, of course you'll be getting a better experience than pulling together random stuff. I mean, the GN review already talks about how some things don't quite work right because games are seeing Steam OS and assuming the hardware is a Deck. I'm not so sure it's such a given that the experience will be smoother, at least in the early days.
	▲	iLoveOncall 16 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		You can order a prebuilt with any OS installed to have the exact same experience. Game devs will NOT be optimizing specifically for this hardware lol, that's ridiculous. PC optimization (and this is a PC) has nothing in common with console optimization.