PS4 vs PC vs Steam Machine

I see no reason on getting a steam machine. A top end pc can do your normal functions and you can downlaod steam.

I have a ps4 and a pc. Right now ps4 is a waste of money IMO untill march when infamous SS comes out, then the ps4 games start to pick up!

I would definitely build a PC. You will get WAY more out of it than a steam box and the ps4 combined. It is definitely the best option.

short and correct answer: pc

Steam Machine: Providing Games without the cost of hardware updating common on the PC platform. Basically utilizing the 'server does the work' approach, where the servers (like youtube) process the gaming, the graphics, etc. and 'stream' the video results to the Steam Machine to display, the steam machine then reads your inputs (move left, look right, fire weapon) and sends them to the server to process. This concept succeeds only on HIGH bandwidth connections.

PS4: Console that will also 'STREAM' gaming then instead of downloading to internal HD and loading locally on the PS4 to then connect 'online' to play. While DVD and downloaded gaming still occurs, the console provides the EXACT same experiance no matter who plays it, when it is played, what game is loaded, what TV, controller, etc. is used. As compared to PCs this is a godsend, as you never have to worry about viruses, drivers, if your power is enough to power the graphics, a new game coming out 'won't play' because your system doesn't meet the demands, etc. All that is not a issue and there is no 'management' (updates, patches etc.). For EASE of solution there is none better answer, except MAYbe the Steam box (best of both worlds?).

PC: Costly, high maintence, prone to 'issues' that frustrate those without technical skill, complex and 'your on your own'. For all this you get the ability to mold the system to your tastes and needs, you can use the computer for any purpose you see fit / want to spend on. Steambox/Console is a SINGLE PURPOSE device, you can't expect it to scan in your W-2s to email off for your tax filing on them, but you can on a PC. Want better graphics then your neighbor, or maybe now you want to have a three screen display, sure buy a more powerful PSU and GPU and boom now your rocking. Want better performance in your gaming, Keyboard / mouse ALWAYS beats controller in FPS. And so on, but you need to be honest with yourself, there is no 'cheap' model for PC Gaming, and you can't 'short cut' your way. Think of it as your body, if you 'cut off a leg' just because it costs too much, can you really expect to perform in the top 10 of the Trimarathon? If you don't keep yourself healthy, do you honestly expect never to get sick? Same for computers, don't keep up on maintaining them (cleaning them out, running virus and malware scans, etc.) then they get sick and break down too (just think how bad you felt with the flu, 10000x worse for the poor PC).

@Tom Tancredi:

What on earth are you talking about? A Steam Machine is a not a content streamer! It is a self-contained computer with all the usual PC gaming components running a new operating system built around the Steam library. If it was just a streaming receiver, why do you see Steam Machines with GTX Titans in them???

Steam OS does have the capability of using another PC IN YOUR HOME to render graphics and stream them down, but that is totally different to Cloud gaming.

Your PS4 explanation makes no sense whatsoever either, and your image of Doom and Gloom for the PC is simply unfounded.


@Maanav:

Do not bother with a Steam Machine. It is just a gaming PC with a different operating system on it. In fact, because Steam OS is based on Linux, only a small portion of the Steam game library can actually run on Steam OS, and any game based on a Windows DirectX engine will simply not run.

So it's either gaming PC or console. And then I say it depends entirely on the games you want to play. A PC will be more versatile and you can get a ton of great indie games and fun stuff for cheap through Steam. But if the games you want to play are on consoles then get a console.

Ultimately you want to play games, so put your money towards something that will let you play the games you want!

~500-600$ custom pc is all you need.

No Doom and Gloom for the PC, I was expressing at the level most of the 'users' (the people whom aren't technical) find when suddenly 'dropped in thier lap' something that isn't as easy as a light switch to deal with, which is how ALOT of the 'consolers' feel when dealing with 'all the stupid issues' one has to deal with 'just to play a game' on the PC side.

Your apparently not keeping up with what is happening beyond your screen so let me fill you in, including links to specifically what is being said. Microsoft, Oracle, CISCO, fill in a name in the blank have all stated EVERY company is changing from the current Personal Computer does all the work / interchangeable parts / end user is on their own model to a Software as a Service (SaaS) model. All hardware will be 'irrelevent' as the host provider 'streams' the software content as a service, to be charged usually on a 'per use' model (need to do a Powerpoint one time, then just get charged a small fee to use it and never worry about license, installs upgrades, etc.). This is already a proven model for PC games too as demonstrated by Onlive, which lets you play ANY GAME (Except Multiplayer) on ANY PC REGARDLESS OF HARDWARE http://games.onlive.com/. Want to play Crysis 4 on a Intel Celeron with a IG video? SURE CAN!.

PS4: I explained there will be different models to getting the games, be it as PLAYSTATION already made the big announcement that it also is starting this for it's titles ( http://blog.us.playstation.com/2014/01/07/playstation-now-streaming-game-service-coming-this-summer/ ) or to download from the PLAYSTATION Store (similiar to downloading currently from Steampowered). The point being that no matter 'WHOSE' PS4 you use, where you use it, what TV / LCD you hook it too, anywhere, anytime, you get the SAME EXACT experience in game play, because that is why consoles are 'CLOSED ENVIROMENT' systems. You can't get that same 'performance / experiance' like that when you want to do that with PCs, and further the licensing also won't let you just do it either (you can take your PS4 DVD and put it into any PS4 and use it, there is no 'key' and all that like in PCs that says 'this game is already installed someplace else). Further though you can't just crack open a PS4 after being at Walmart and toss in a new Video Card because you want to, or add a second hard drive because you want 4TB of storages, which is also the downside to consoles.

Steam Machine runs ONLY the STEAM OS, which is a Linux based OS as you said, and the STEAM OS streams games from the current MAC/Windows based PC to a TV screen elsewhere in the house (Your PC is the 'server' I was mentioning). So that the PC/MAC is 'processing' the software and just 'streaming' the video image (think YouTube) to the TV Screen and any inputs from a controller adjust what is 'happening' on the screen. As noted here http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamMachines/ "What games will be available during the beta?
The nearly 3,000 games on Steam. Hundreds already running natively on the SteamOS, with more to come. The rest will work seamlessly via in-home streaming." So if a game isn't natively Linux coded, your home PC/MAC will 'process' the game and 'stream' that image to your 4K 65" LCD in the living room your Steam Machine is hooked up to (so yes it will play those 'DirectX games' you said it wouldn't because SaaS doesn't care about DirectX or anything else). So even if you forked over $3K for the Chronos Steambox (http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/06/valve-steam-machines-specs/) it really won't make a difference if the games your planning to play are NOT " running natively on the SteamOS" (aka rewritten the games to be coded for LinuxOS) but instead will have to play it "via in-home streaming."

EDIT: New article here on Toms discusses this very thing I am saying: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/steam-box-machine-streaming-valve,25795.html

"As it stands now, the entire Steam catalog will not be available to Steam Machines on a native level. Sure, there are a number of Linux games, and developers are currently working on titles that will run natively on SteamOS. But until there's more to offer, the next-best way to get PC games on a Steam Machine is to stream them from another Windows-based computer.

"Any two computers in a home can be used to stream a gameplay session and this can enable playing games on systems that would not traditionally be able to run those games," reads the company's explanation. "For example, a Windows only game could be streamed from a Windows PC to a Steam Machine running Linux in the living room. A graphically intensive game could be streamed from a beefy gaming rig in the office to your low powered laptop that you are using in bed. You could even start a game on one computer and move to a more comfortable location and continue playing it there.""



Given the NOW released pricing scheme ((My post was before the sytems and pricing were finally announced at the 'big' event)) of the SteamBoxes, as a consumer looking at them and compared to a PC priced system, I would tell Steam to go fudder itself. I think this is bad vaporware, and Steam's idea to offer Linux as a Gamer's OS was a nice idea, but all the relevent titles are MSOS based so, OOPS! I think Steam / everyone on board will see there are 'some limited purchases' but not the overwhelming 'support' they believed would occur and some beancounters are gonna drop this like a heartbeat (given that even INTEL just fired 5,000 people because sales are that poor for the PC market). I think what Steam should do is look to buy out Onlive, and integrate that (like Sony is with the new PS game delivery and MS is going to do with XBox games too) into the SteamOS with LOW COST (undercut the competition) systems that will actually sell (ask Joe Consumer want to spend $1200 for a SteamBox or $200 everyone will say $200). Imagine some i3 Haswell IG Video box looking pretty like these (http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/06/valve-steam-machines-specs/) but still running BF4 as well as any PS/Xbox/HighEnd PC because all the processing is done on the 'Steam Servers' and just streamed, instead of needing a PC/MAC at home to do that same job?

tl;dr because you're just making the entire issue far more complex than it needs to be based on suggestions, future developments and corporate hype.

SaaS and Cloud gaming are a long way from mainstream adoption. And even then it's not in the initial vision of a Steam Machine. Even the game streaming capabilities of Steam OS are a secondary feature aimed at getting around the massive issue that there simply is no decent OpenGL-based gaming library on Steam. If you have a gaming PC capable of decent gaming, why bother with a Steam Machine, or even dual-boot with Steam OS. I'll be doing a APU Steam box because I'm a geek and want to experiment, but I am not the target audience.