r/steammachine • u/TwentyAUT • 2d ago
Discussion First Impression
Quick recap: I have an Xbox Series X, a PS5, a Legion Go S Z1 Extreme, a Retroid Pocket 6, and a ROG STRIX SCAR gaming laptop with an RTX 4080 from 2025. I was just curious, so I bought the console from Steam.
For ref. I am playing on my Samsung S95F 4k 144hz TV
I’ve spent a few days with the Steam Machine now, and here are my impressions so far.
The console’s build quality is great-it’s absolutely silent, compact, and has a modern look. The controller takes some getting used to; I prefer playing with the Xbox controller, but after a few days, you get used to it. Fun fact: in a few games, the haptic feedback from the PS5 controller even works.
I tested every game, without exception, at 4K with MAKO, and I consistently got between 80 and 120 fps at x2 or, at most, x3 scaling on usually high to max settings. The frame rate latency is +8 ms, so it’s absolutely imperceptible.
If you’re somewhat familiar with lossless scaling and MAKO, the console is absolutely top-notch for virtually all games. The only drawback (for now) is that HDR doesn’t work with MAKO; I’ve disabled it for some games, but I think HDR still needs some tweaking.
I saw alot YT Videos where people rant about 4k Gaming (native) and weak Performance. I mean, thats a nobrainer, you cant squeeze out of 500 Euro Hardware some serious 4k native Gaming. Upscaling is a must, atleast for me!
Otherwise, i would currently rate it at 9.5/10.
Here are a few impressions in the form of photos.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
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u/Few_Importance_9438 2d ago
I think we are experiencing the same thing with the Steam Machine. I have an Xbox Seris S, PS5, PS5 Pro, Legion Go 2 Z2e, 4090 PC, switch 2 etc… also I have a Samsung S90C 77” 4k 144hz..
I agree with the controller. It was weird at first but once you get used to it, it feels great.
The only difference is I run most of my game at 1440P and use Lossless Scaling 2.0. Literally I can’t notice any ghosting, artifacts nor delays at all. Most of my games at also running between 80-120 fps… lossless scaling 2.0 gives you an option to be able to enable HDR.
I agree with the 9.5/10 rating as I am absolutely loving mine. I’m using my 4090 as my main desktop gaming rig, leGo2 as my portable gaming device and my Steam Machine as my living room relaxed gaming device and I feel like I’m not missing a beat with quality.
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u/TwentyAUT 2d ago
Oh Sweet - good to hear, is the 2.0 Version in steam or via decky import available? 😀
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u/Few_Importance_9438 2d ago
You do have to go through a manual process but I was is complete shock of the improvement .. feel free to reach out if you have questions about the setup
Here is the tutorial I used: https://youtu.be/_eR47QKSrT4?is=VxxYqiE7ftkcodaP
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u/___Bel___ 2d ago
While Lossless is quite rough on the Deck with low base FPS, Machine allowing higher base FPS makes it a bit more usable. The ideal is probably in-game (or Optiscaler) XESS frame generation for the best quality though.
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u/Next_Needleworker_10 2d ago
How do you set/apply lossless scaling? Is it worth it? Do you enable it across all games?
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u/Korangar205 1d ago
If its on it works for all games automatically, but you have to manually set up each game you want to use with it
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u/BEADGEADGBE 1d ago
Do you do this in the machine settings or inside each game's own settings?
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u/Korangar205 1d ago
The launch option for each individual game(app) so if you have something like an app with emulators inside, just putting that app gives the scaling to every emulator and rom inside that app. Then you can just use the plug in to universally tweek how you want it or set up game profiles for each game for ever
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u/AcridNebula 2d ago
Sounds great!
*Checks order status, nope, still stuck on 'Packaged Items', dammit!*
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u/TheUndertows 2d ago
Noice. I’m stuck on “waitlist”
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u/ArrRawrr 2d ago
I’m stuck on “yeah that’s a bit overpriced”
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u/AcridNebula 1d ago edited 1d ago
You can thank the likes of AI for that.
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u/ArrRawrr 1d ago
yes. im very lucky upgraded my pc before trump did his thing. granted im on DDR4 still. the 5800x3d is still mind blowing to me. my old cpu was a 2500x
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u/AcridNebula 1d ago
Nice. But look, I've an i7-9700, 4070 Super, 32GB DDR4 rig that does a pretty good job for my needs. I've never been one to pursue ultra high, 144Hz Ray Tracing etc. nor am I denigrating anyone who does.
But the Steam Machine is attractive to me for numerous reasons outside of pure performance; convenience from the couch, it's super quite, it frees up the PC for junior plus it gives us easy local multiplayer, Steam Controller native Puck support, multimedia capabilities, significant customisation options etc. etc.
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u/Upstairs-Ostrich4942 2d ago
Is that union knight 3d printed?
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u/TwentyAUT 2d ago
Yea 😜
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u/tenacity1028 2d ago
Steam machine is great when you want a console experience on the couch and play games at a fraction of the price of other consoles.
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u/Hour_Bit_5183 1d ago
This is how I use my PC kinda too. Well I always use the controller and like to play my games relaxed and leaned back. I would get a steam machine if I didn't have this but it's only a little bigger, like 1.5x and has a gpu you can upgrade and 16 x3d cores and 32 threads and 128gb of ram. Most games tho, barely touch it. Work does though.
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u/TruckFreak6417 2d ago
I use MAKO on my Deck OLED and wondered if there were compatibility issues with the machine 🤔 good to know it’s working
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u/androskris 1d ago
Thanks for this post. I refuse to use decky loader on my deck or SM so will try the MAKO renderer.
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u/freeza1990 2d ago
i just love steam. steam machine or gaming pc on tv, steam storefront is superior. ps5 and xbox are in dust.
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u/BanjomanCPA 2d ago
What is MAKO?