What is /g/'s opinion of the Alienware Steam Machine? Is it worth buying one? Is it more efficient than a custom-built computer? I don't plan on getting a Steam Machine, but people talk about them a lot.
Don't leave me hanging, /g/.
fuck off, steam machine is total absolute fucking shit. anyone even considering buying one is probably autistic
literally prebuilt with linux
>>53552765
I hear they are bad, which is why I don't want one.
>>53552780
good. if you were, you should remove yourself from the genepool for the sale of all humanity
Steam machine is just bad.
Eh, not really worth it. It's a prebuilt, so more expensive than a desktop. Running Linux, so fewer games than Windows. It's more expensive than a console, yet can't do much more than a console.
fuck you
>>53552920
Fuck me or fuck Steam Machine?
>>53552915
ok thinking again I think the main issue is that the OS is entirely Steam-focused. If it could be a desktop at the same time then it'd be something to look at. Which you could easily do installing debian or ubuntu and then installing steam on top, but casuals can't handle that so they simplified it to be basically an alternative console with fewer games.
Steam machines came too soon.
SteamOS is still on beta. There's not enough games (I'm not talking about indie games), and it needs a better support from AMD and nvidia.
Things are improving a lot, but I think linux will be a decent gaming platform once games will be done using vulkan (if it become a thing), when wayland will be fully supported.
Things are improving slowly, so you can expect steamOS being good in... 1 or 2 years maybe. Year of the linux desktop : definitively not. But you might have some nice performances in game on a near future when playing on a linux machine.
And steam machines will be good when valve will release their own steam machine and not some expensive shit made by alienware.
>>53552932
I think there's a DE with steam OS, that you can still access if you want.
>>53552600
They might be worth it if you can find one for $300, but I ran into alot of performance issues while in games and out. Also the thing just ain't strong enough for PCSX2/Dolphin emulation. Sold it for a raspberry pi
>>53552932
>he thinks he's super hardcore for using linux and typing in commands for everything
please teach me senpai, did you learn from the notorious hacker known as 4chan?
get the windows version, linux one will still cost you windows since linux sucks for gaymes
ayylmao version though is low power and small for it is, so it's decent for use in small places
"AAA" games (actually AAA or AAA quality) on SteamOS right now (non-exhaustive list):
Satellite Reign
Empire: Total War
Total War: ATTILA
Witcher 2
Insurgency
CS:GO
Civilization V
Civilization: Beyond Earth
Worms Clan Wars
Worms Reloaded
Fishing Planet
Borderlands 2
Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
XCOM: Enemy Within
Left 4 Dead: 2
Portal
Portal 2
Company of Heroes 2
Metro: 2033
Metro: Last Light
Team Fortress 2
Spec Ops: the Line
DOTA 2
ARK: Survival Evolved
Kerbal Space Program
Cities: Skylines
Mount and Blade: Warband
Medieval II: Total War
Natural Selection II
Trine II
Bioshock Infinite
Torchlight II
Guns of Icarus Online
Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
X-Plane 10
RollerCoaster Tycoon World
Pillars of Eternity
Europa Universalis IV
Wasteland 2: Director's Cut
GRID Autosport
X Rebirth
Descent: Underground
Tropico 5
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
Verdun
Dead Island: GotY Edition
Victor Vran ARPG
Hard West
Oddworld: New n' Tasty
Expeditions: Conquistador
World of Diving
Saints Row IV: Game of the Century Edition
Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition
J.U.L.I.A. Among the Stars
Brutal Legend
Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Edition
Vendetta - Curse of Raven's Cry
Space Hulk Ascension
Star Conflict
Alien: Isolation
Shadow Warrior
Unreal Tournament 4 (in progress)
Shadowrun series
Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition
Oil Rush
Dust: An Elysian Tail
Ziggurat
Strike Suit Zero
Pandora: First Contact
Rochard
Unity of Command
War Thunder
Breach and Clear: Deadline
I'm probably including a few you wouldn't; I'm also probably excluding a few you wouldn't. SteamOS would definitely be for the gamer that doesn't like the current endless stream of assassinscreed/COD/Halo/GTA remakes that come out all the time. In particular, SteamOS caters better than any console to living room strategy and tactics gamers, but it has at least one AAA game for pretty much every genre out there now. It sucks compared to windows, but you can install that later.
You have 3 choices
Get a proper PC and install an OS compatible with pretty much every single fucking PC game
Get a console and get the exclusives that it has as a console
Or get something that doesn't have exclusives and doesn't have more than a fraction of the titles you can get on PC
And you choose the third? Idiotic. Truly idiotic. Waste that money on a simple laptop and try a new hobby.
>>53555734
Just as AAA doesn't mean good, many titles in that list aren't AAA titles, just merely indie ones that have been more successful than, say, something like Antichamber.
There's a pattern here, most of the titles not coming out exclusively on windows but reaching platforms like SteamOS are either indie releases that can be found in many, many platforms, PC exclusive games or the early access stuff.
>>53555907
As I clearly laid out in the very first sentence of that post, however, I put AAA in quotes, and then just for good measure, to stave off faggots like you, I put a parenthetical about how we are explicitly talking quality, not developer/publisher size. Since many of these games are designed to be enjoyed solo, popularity doesn't even enter into the equation. Others, like War Thunder, Company of Heroes 2, and CS:GO, are actually some of the most popular games in their area.
You guys love to move goalposts all over the goddamn place once we actually get into what titles are available, but the fact is you can have a lot of fun with SteamOS right now; it's a very viable platform for playing good games.
There's also a lot of bitching about "exclusives," but you have to remember that for a console gamer who is intimidated by a full computer experience ("I dunno whether my CPU box is gud enuf"), SteamOS's offerings are MOSTLY exclusives to them - games you actually can't get on any other console.
>>53552600
If you were to get a steam machine I would get the Syber one the Alienware one has laptop components while im pretty sure the Syber one doesn't. I think the $800 one isn't really over priced either I doubt you could build one yourself at that form factor for much less.
I would suggest building a mATX system yourself unless you just really want that compact form factor
>>53552930
both
>>53556629
I would buy a prebuilt steam machine at $800 than build my own though. That saves me a lot of time researching PSUs that will fit in a dedicated mATX case.
>>53556476
I'll play along.
Most games offered there don't require a great computer. In fact I'm willing to say that, at this point, anyone spending the same amount on a random prebuilt is going to still get a better deal. Many people don't know how to build a gaming PC or deal with some of the troubles involved with some "flashier" titles that would require such and usually don't work well at launch.
However, using a computer with Windows and installing Steam isn't comparable to this. It isn't half as complicated and I would ask you to bring a single person who both likes consoles and isn't able to install a program on Windows. There's no science behind something like that.
And to name the real exclusives, most of them are usually real strategy/grand strategy/simulators. You can bring me the steam controller and tell me that that's the "solution" to bringing a keyboard and a mouse for these, but some dumb console gamer isn't going to look for these. Not to mention some of those titles you listed are already on places like playstation network.
I'm just going to say, at this point even Apple products would have something going on for how overpriced they are, something different they can bring, whether it's good or not. A Steam machine is -directly- inferior. It brings less, and only less.
>>53556811
You're not playing very intelligently.
Look through the list again - there are actually a fair number of titles in there that will not run well, let alone at max settings, on any old store bought PC.
The problem with using Windows and installing Steam on top of it is only half the battle - and it's definitely hard enough that I get people asking me to help them set up Steam for them when build my customer's gaming PCs. The real problem is being intelligent enough to know whether or not the game you want to play will work on your system. To be fair to your point of view, SteamOS doesn't solve this problem (though they totally should) - but you can't criticize it for this AND claim that none of its games are resource intensive.
Add on top of that the confusing matter of updates, virus protection, controller configuration, configuring a proper 10-foot display, updating your graphics drivers, etc., and you end up with a very difficult system compared to a console. Having used SteamOS in my living room for a while now, however, I can definitively say that all of the above "just werks" in SteamOS.
Steam Controller is not the only way to play on SteamOS. It handles pretty much any wireless keyboard and mouse you want to throw at it without any configuration as well. Though for what it's worth, the controller does a fantastic job of handling strategy games where you don't need to drag-select units and maintain a decent APM.
Steam Machines bring greater simplicity and lower cost than any other PC-based platform out there, full stop.
>>53557061
>there are actually a fair number of titles in there that will not run well, let alone at max settings, on any old store bought PC
Mayhaps XCOM 2, not listed there. Chivalry because performance wise it's atrocious, Shadow of Mordor is a little bit more of an intensive title. Aside from that, not really unless you're talking about spending 400, maybe 500. A prebuilt for 800 is not -that- awful. Max settings is not something the console user looks for, if you're taking someone dumb enough not to know how to deal with that.
>Add on top of that the confusing matter of updates
Automatic
>virus protection
Built in
>controller configuration
Most games know what a 360 gamepad is and apply a default layout. Many games on consoles have controller configuration options. Better yet: Pressing the PS button or Xbox logo button on these gamepads opens big picture which is essentially the same thing, if you're willing to go that far.
>configuring a proper 10-foot display
Automatic unless you're using an ancient computer
>updating your graphics drivers
Automatic
>It handles pretty much any wireless keyboard and mouse you want to throw at it without any configuration as well.
Yep, like a normal PC
The simplicity you get is the removal of an initial setup, and skipping a desktop.
>>53557492
oooh boy, here we go. a secondary list of all the above games which are not going to just "run" on any prebuilt "gaming" PC you get:
- Satellite Reign (huge CPU and GPU usage even though fully multithreaded)
- Total War: ATTILA (GPU-intensive, single-thread CPU intensive)
- Insurgency (single-thread CPU intensive with bots)
- CS:GO (single-thread CPU intensive, worse with bots)
- Civilization series (single--thread intensive, esp. late game)
- Fishing Planet (GPU intensive)
- Borderlands 2 (will look like shit with horrible texture popping unless you play it with a decent GPU)
- Company of Heroes 2 (GPU intensive)
- Metro series (HUGELY GPU intensive)
- ARK: Survival Evolved (GPU intensive)
- Kerbal: Space Program (can be CPU intensive)
- Bioshock Infinite (single-thread CPU, GPU intensive for lower cards)
- X-Plane 10 (extremely single-thread CPU intensive)
- Wasteland 2 (can be GPU intensive, look like shit without settings turned up)
- GRID Autosport (can be GPU intensive, CPU intensive)
- Verdun (GPU intensive)
- World of Diving (GPU intensive, especially for VR)
- Dying Light (GPU intensive)
- Vendetta - Curse of Raven's Cry (poorly optimized so CPU and GPU intensive)
- Alien: Isolation (GPU intensive)
- Shadow Warrior (GPU intensive at higher settings)
- Unreal Tournament 4 (GPU intensive if you don't want it to look like shit and run fluidly)
- Oil Rush (GPU intensive)
- War Thunder (GPU intensive at higher settings)
>Add on top of that the confusing matter of updates
>Automatic
Oh yeah, like your java updates? Your browser updates? Your various driver updates? nah
>Virus protection
>Built in
you and I both know how much of a joke that statement is. Just stop.
>controller configuration
>Most games...
Most, but not all. Every single game I've played on SteamOS has steam controller options already.
>configuring a proper 10-foot display
>Automatic unless you're using an ancient computer
No, you don't know what a good 10-foot display even is.
>>53557492
>updating your graphics drivers
>Automatic
Nope, or did you forget that it won't come with GE or CCC/whatever AMD wants to call it now preinstalled?
>>It handles pretty much any wireless keyboard and mouse you want to throw at it without any configuration as well.
>Yep, like a normal PC
Exactly, you dunce. Hence, nothing is even lost here.
>The simplicity you get is the removal of an initial setup, and skipping a desktop.
Do not underestimate these things. Why do you think smartphones and tablets are so popular even (especially) among the technologically illiterate?
I don't think you guys even remember all the little things an experienced PC user does constantly to ensure their system is well-maintained - just little shit like not allowing your drive to get full, not installing endless plugins for shit, updating your supporting softwares in a timely manner, managing your driver issues, configuring basic shit like where your shortcuts go and whether or not to put them there... all that shit eventually adds up to create a very frustrating experience for the average tech-illiterate person, even on Windows 7/8/10. I work with these people; they describe their computer experiences to me before I build them a new one - I hear their complaints, and I know that SteamOS really does solve many of those complaints.
>>53557492
>go to amazon
>type in "gaming pc"
>narrow search to between $100 and $800
>strongest combination I can find is an FX-6300 with a GTX 750 Ti
jesus christ how horrifying.
>>53557663
>Oh yeah, like your java updates? Your browser updates? Your various driver updates? nah
...Yah? Maybe Java specifically can't update itself automatically (fuck me though, does such thing as a steam game requiring a manual java update exist?). That's the default behavior for most browsers and if you were not to install drivers manually, they're still updated through Windows update like I said.
>you and I both know how much of a joke that statement is. Just stop.
Windows defender is enabled by default and if you were to pirate games (that's on the user, to be honest) most often you will find it dealing with cracks. I don't get your "joke".
>Most, but not all. Every single game I've played on SteamOS has steam controller options already
And also multiple profiles. For which you don't need a Steam machine in any case.
>No, you don't know what a good 10-foot display even is.
Apparently so good that it doesn't handle this correctly...? Oh, that's the joke you were referring to. Ok.
>>53557765
>Nope, or did you forget that it won't come with GE or CCC/whatever AMD wants to call it now preinstalled?
-Comes- with CCC preinstalled, not Crimson though,
I'll give you that. I'm running with this even though we're still on the subject of "retard console gamer that doesn't need no complicated stuff but apparently does".
>Exactly, you dunce. Hence, nothing is even lost here.
Which I have not mentioned in the first place as a loss. I was talking about the software itself and I think I was quite clear.
>Do not underestimate these things. Why do you think smartphones and tablets are so popular even (especially) among the technologically illiterate?
Gimme a break, most people like this can't even handle a controller. You're bringing that platform to the same level?
By your last paragraph I can tell you're everything but an "experienced" PC user. You talk as a best buy clerk at best. Do you also claim to be a cook by using a microwave?
>>53558063
It's not that the games themselves require shit like a browser update or a java update - although every once in a while this does get in the way of that. More importantly, it's about little shit like that just getting in the way of the user feeling comfortable with their machine. I watch my wife use her PC - she treats the java update nags like some kind of punitive remark on her own illiteracy. It's both amusing and a little sad. I'm working on her.
Windows defender is a piece of shit and people still get viruses all the time in windows - and you knew that. You will get it just going online, in your browser, opening up the wrong email or going to a page you mistyped.
Steam machines make it very evident that the profiles are available; for a similar experience in Windows you'd want to have Steam start at boot and go right to big picture - at which point you might as well be using SteamOS, save for the windows game compatibility - but then that's the tradeoff for $100 more in cost, isn't it? And how many prebuilts do you think come configured this way?
>Apparently so good that it doesn't handle this correctly...?
Am I stammering, or are you literally retarded?
If you don't have the managing software installed, you don't get driver updates in a timely manner. That's what's the matter with the windows driver updates for the average dumb user.
>Gimme a break, most people like this can't even handle a controller.
That's a pretty retarded thing to say given that these are the same people who love consoles.
I've been building PCs for two decades of my life, using DOS, windows, and linux. My current PC was not only built entirely by me, it also uses obscure parts, obscure software and hardware configurations, overclocking, case airflow modding, and even a motherboard that required LGA repair. I know more about PCs than you, and I know more about gaming on PC than you. Feel free to test me any way you think you can.
>>53558354
>You will get it just going online, in your browser, opening up the wrong email or going to a page you mistyped.
For which things like Chrome which is pretty much the "thing" that most normal people see they can use to replace Internet Explorer (now Edge) right at the moment they open google, which is pretty much what's most familiar, even have options (by default) that filter websites that are not secure, sometimes taking it a little bit too far that "experienced" users have to disable that option.
Windows defender may not be the number one tool, but if you were to go back to the Windows 7 days you would find that this kind of shit is much, much less frequent.
That's a heck of a tradeoff, for $100 more maybe, add the cost of a Windows license as opposed to Debian which is free and that (I would hope) if you wanted to do something more on that machine than what a semi decent TV does already (play music and movies from a hard drive, web browsing) and linux games, you would have to switch to a desktop anyways.
>Am I stammering, or are you literally retarded?
I'd like you to explain yourself then. What's the issue with connecting a 10 foot display to a computer? If it's about resolution, the process would be the same. Besides, where do you live that dumb people just have these displays all over?
>If you don't have the managing software installed, you don't get driver updates in a timely manner. That's what's the matter with the windows driver updates for the average dumb user.
They still do their work unless there's an enthusiast looking for something in particular. However this is a valid concern, because the newest, "beefiest" releases often need the newest drivers.
>That's a pretty retarded thing to say given that these are the same people who love consoles.
Not really. Most stick to these devices. Most console gamers often browse the internet on computers rather than tablets.
>>53552600
ayylmaoware alpha a shit
its outdated
the zotac nen is p good tho, skylake i5 and a full gtx 960. would love one for lan and travel.
>>53559259
Damn they packed a lot of power in that size. Pricy though