HOT STUFF
ALL THE BIGGEST STORIES FROM PLANET TECH
[ Words Tom Wiggins ]
You 6E thing
You get Wi-Fi 6E with your Steam Machine, but there’s also Gigabit Ethernet in case you’d rather go wired, plus Bluetooth for anyone who wants to use third-party controllers.
Slot in the dark
There are plenty of ports on the front and back panels: four USB-As, one USB-C and a microSD slot, along with a DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 for 4K@120Hz output with HDR.
Love on swap
This blank face-plate is magnetic and can be removed, with Valve planning to make the 3D printing files for it available online so people can create their own. Photo of your cat, maybe?
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SQUARE WAY TO HEAVEN
Valve Steam Machine
Gaming PCs aren’t exactly famous for their subtlety. Often the size of a suitcase and invariably covered in flashing lights and logos, they can make your living room look like a Twitch streamer’s den – but the new cube-shaped Steam Machine is so understated it makes a PS5 look absurdly ostentatious.
Despite its diminutive dimensions (it’s about the size of a Nintendo GameCube), Valve reckons the six-core AMD chipset inside makes it as powerful as six Steam Decks, with 16GB of memory and 8GB of dedicated VRAM giving it enough grunt to run games at 4K@60fps (albeit with FSR upscaling).