It has a custom soc that is most likely soldered and most of the components (except maybe storage and ram) are custom as well. If you need to repair it, you depend on steam still providing the parts. I doubt the parts will be available in retail stores, so that’s another inconvenience. Upgrading (the cpu/gpu, etc) will also probably be impossible.
Also, building a pc is a lot simpler than you make it out to be. Not sure what you mean about that “support” bit either. People have always been fixing their computers getting help online. Either from forums or manufacturers.
To top it off, the “benefits” you’re mentioning are literally the same as if you bought a prebuilt pc.
Not a fan of prebuilts tbh. As far as linux goes, Bazzite is free so create a bootable thumbdrive with rufus and literally just follow the installation prompts. If you can’t even do that, then maybe you ahould learn how to.
Why would you want “steam” installed? It’s just a normal program, you can install it yourself in 5 minutes.
The steam deck seems very repairable, I would be surprised if this machine won’t be. They know their core customers and how to please them.
It’s simple for you and people you know to build a pc and install an operating system. I think that kind of people % of total population is way smaller than you think it is.
And prebuilt PCs 95+ % of the time come with windows and all crap it brings along pre-installed. Really, installing Linux seems child play for you and me but for the vast majority of the population it’s still a big big scary thing to try. On top, I expect for the hardware you get it will be very well priced, just like steamdeck was, because the real revenue is customer bonding and steam purchases.
It’s not repairable in the sense that it doesn’t use standard parts so whether you can get replacements or not depends on where you are, geographically. If it used a standard atx psu for example, you’d be able to buy that anywhere. Same thing for the cpu, if it used a standard cpu+gpu instead of a custom apu, you’d be able to replace just that if it broke, instead of the whole motherboard. Or even upgrade it if you wanted to.
Even motherboards themselves have different features. You might need 2.5g ethernet whereas someone else is fine with gigabit but wants better wifi. In my case, I always buy boards with spdi/f to use them with a dac. You lose that flexibility with a device like this.
Regarding the OS in prebuilts, it’s very common to have the option to order them without Windows. If you don’t know how to install Bazzite, just pay a technician to do it. It will still be cheaper than Windows. That’s not an excuse or impediment.
It has a custom soc that is most likely soldered and most of the components (except maybe storage and ram) are custom as well. If you need to repair it, you depend on steam still providing the parts. I doubt the parts will be available in retail stores, so that’s another inconvenience. Upgrading (the cpu/gpu, etc) will also probably be impossible.
Also, building a pc is a lot simpler than you make it out to be. Not sure what you mean about that “support” bit either. People have always been fixing their computers getting help online. Either from forums or manufacturers.
To top it off, the “benefits” you’re mentioning are literally the same as if you bought a prebuilt pc.
Do you have a favorite pre-built PC that ships with Linux and Steam installed?
That’s something I want pretty badly, but haven’t run across a good lead for.
With a good recommendation, I might not wait for (the Steam Machine in) January!
System 76 sells pre-builts
Not a fan of prebuilts tbh. As far as linux goes, Bazzite is free so create a bootable thumbdrive with rufus and literally just follow the installation prompts. If you can’t even do that, then maybe you ahould learn how to.
Why would you want “steam” installed? It’s just a normal program, you can install it yourself in 5 minutes.
Because having Steam pre-installed signals that the hardware producer planned for gaming and has done some basic testing for gaming.
The new “Steam Machine Verified” badge is the most exciting part of all this.
The steam deck seems very repairable, I would be surprised if this machine won’t be. They know their core customers and how to please them.
It’s simple for you and people you know to build a pc and install an operating system. I think that kind of people % of total population is way smaller than you think it is.
And prebuilt PCs 95+ % of the time come with windows and all crap it brings along pre-installed. Really, installing Linux seems child play for you and me but for the vast majority of the population it’s still a big big scary thing to try. On top, I expect for the hardware you get it will be very well priced, just like steamdeck was, because the real revenue is customer bonding and steam purchases.
It’s not repairable in the sense that it doesn’t use standard parts so whether you can get replacements or not depends on where you are, geographically. If it used a standard atx psu for example, you’d be able to buy that anywhere. Same thing for the cpu, if it used a standard cpu+gpu instead of a custom apu, you’d be able to replace just that if it broke, instead of the whole motherboard. Or even upgrade it if you wanted to.
Even motherboards themselves have different features. You might need 2.5g ethernet whereas someone else is fine with gigabit but wants better wifi. In my case, I always buy boards with spdi/f to use them with a dac. You lose that flexibility with a device like this.
Regarding the OS in prebuilts, it’s very common to have the option to order them without Windows. If you don’t know how to install Bazzite, just pay a technician to do it. It will still be cheaper than Windows. That’s not an excuse or impediment.