Valve confirms summer window and new performance claim for Steam Machine

HARDWARE NEWS manhkbrady - 3 hours ago

Valve has provided a fresh update on its long-awaited Steam Machine and Steam Frame hardware, suggesting that both devices are finally approaching release after earlier delays caused by industry-wide memory and storage shortages.

According to an update published on the Steamworks Documentation website, the upcoming Steam Machine will feature a semi-custom AMD platform combining a Zen 4-based desktop-class CPU with a custom RDNA 3 graphics processor. Valve is targeting 4K at 60 FPS in select titles, while developers will need to achieve at least 1080p at 30 FPS for games to earn a Steam Machine verification badge.

Although Valve has not shared detailed benchmarks, the company claims the Steam Machine will be roughly six times more powerful than the Steam Deck. On paper, that estimate appears plausible. The Steam Deck uses a Zen 2-based APU with a 4-core/8-thread CPU and an 8-CU RDNA 2 GPU delivering around 1.6 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. By comparison, the Steam Machine reportedly includes a 6-core Zen 4 processor and a discrete RDNA 3 GPU featuring 28 compute units, up to 8GB of GDDR6 memory, clock speeds reaching 2.45GHz, and a power budget of up to 110W.

The Valve Steam Machine gaming console, VR headset, and controllers are arranged on a light background.

Based on the GPU specifications alone, theoretical performance lands around 8.8 TFLOPS, roughly 5.5 times higher than that of the Steam Deck. Combined with architectural improvements, dedicated graphics memory, and a significantly stronger CPU, Valve’s estimate of a sixfold performance increase seems reasonable.

Of course, that figure should not be interpreted as a direct sixfold increase in frame rates across every game. Performance will still vary depending on factors such as resolution, graphics settings, optimization, CPU and GPU bottlenecks, memory usage, and Proton compatibility. Even so, the Steam Machine is expected to offer a substantial leap in gaming performance over Valve’s handheld.

Valve also provided additional details about the Steam Frame. While the device is designed primarily for high-quality PC game streaming, it will not be limited to that role. The company confirmed that Steam Frame is a fully functional SteamOS-powered system capable of running games natively, without requiring a connection to another PC.

Valve has yet to announce pricing or specific launch dates for either product. However, with both devices now reportedly scheduled to begin shipping this summer, more information is likely to arrive soon.

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