What’s Inside Valve’s Prototype STEAM Console?

Valve’s Steam Machine was their first game console, and we’ve got a prototype! But it’s broken… Can we fix it? And if we can, should we, or should we have left it in the past?

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MUSIC CREDIT
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Intro: Laszlo - Supernova

Outro: Approaching Nirvana - Sugar High

CHAPTERS
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0:00 Intro
1:26 But why did Steam Machines exist?
2:15 Basically PC consoles - They even made a controller!
2:53 Linus broke the script
4:02 It was already broken. Let's tear it down and fix it!
5:36 It's all standard hardware, but a very nonstandard chassis
6:58 The GPU is NOT stock.
7:49 This was so ahead of its time
9:40 Linus breaks the script again
10:53 Hardware was only half the problem...
11:43 HoloISO to the rescue!
12:42 IT LIVES! But it's not a good experience
13:53 Tragedy.
14:23 Controllers, old hardware, and shaders, oh my
15:29 What would a modern version without these problems look like?
16:58 Hang on... How did Valve plan to deal with hardware variations?
17:44 Conclusion - All hands on Deck

[Lurker-dkjk]

The grill on top of the unit... there should be exactly 300 holes in it. The one drilled larger than the rest indicates which unit you have. You have #78 of 300 (1:39). My friend had one equipped with a Titan for Christmas, 2013. Came in a small wooden crate. The controllers were a bit janky.

[Plain--Jane]

I actually appreciate them addressing sleeping on the steam controller - time has been really kind to steam's hardware ecosystem honestly, they've put in the work with updates and steam input is genuinely such a boon for everyone using something that isn't a keyboard and mouse

[bigboomer]

I am constantly in awe of Anthony's knowledge about PC hardware. Man's a genius

[BakersTuts]

_But you know who’s NOT prototype? Our sponsor!_

[rcuk]

I for one would support a new Steam Machine if one came about. The Steam Deck has been awesome!

[nova]

Honestly, all I can imagine when I think a modern day Steam machine, is just a non-portable Valve console type thing like the Deck.

Built in house by Valve, with a custom chip, aiming for roughly Series X/PS5 performance, but with your existing Steam Library, and honestly, I'd buy that.

[GabeDobsky]

Did you know that Linus has thermal paste in between his toes

[Ekgladiator]

As a beta tester, it is awesome you are showcasing this machine. In many ways the steam machine laid the ground work for the steam deck and I personally think it would be a fantastic idea for a dedicated vr machine in the future.

[FadeBlackSS]

0:18 I actually had one one of these back in 2014-2015. With a RAM upgrade, better wi-fi card and a good SSD, it was a decent mid-grade machine for what I needed it for. I used it for around 5 years until I eventually built my own PC.

[chompskii]

My first gaming PC was an Alienware Alpha, which was essentially a Steam machine, however I used a default windows profile so it was more like a normal PC. It had an i3 dual core and 4GB of RAM. That little thing was awesome for Minecraft and CS:GO, which is about all I played back then. Once I got my current PC, I tried to wipe the Alpha to eventually sell it, but it never booted. It lasted literally until the day I got my new PC, then died. I like to think it held out until it knew its purpose was fulfilled.

[michaelcnapier]

Watching Linus watch Anthony work is always a good video.

[__jare]

So nice to see Anthony making his way back into the videos. He always brings the good vibes.

[Bears]

I love how Anthony felt like a special guest for this episode! Thank you!

[KouroshFarrokhzad]

Anthony is like a super hero who always shows up to save the day, even for old hardware which was way ahead of its time. Bring back the Steam Machine and make Anthony lead designer. 😎

[Nightghoul]

Got to say. Linus and Anthony videos are ALWAYS my favorite. Learned almost all I know about computers and tech from you guys. Thank you! Just finished my liquid cooled 4090 pc❤️ my first build was back in the Radeon HD days. Time flies.

[MedalOfKranz]

The Xbox Controller connectivity issue is easy to fix: just update the firmware of the controller via the Xbox Accessories app on an Windows pc. That was an known issue with Steam OS and Microsoft fixed it shortly after the issue was coming up.

[blaked]

I built a steam machine about a decade ago myself. I took some old hardware from work that was gonna be recycled and decided to build a homebrew box to mess around with. I used a dell precision server box with dual xeon cpus and four quadros that were good for the time. It was a fun experiment before junking the old hardware.

[-B.H.]

I want a Steam Controller 2 already! After the Index controllers and Steamdeck I can't wait to see how a newer version would feel. Still one of the best controllers made of all time.

[MmntechCa]

They could probably do a modern, compact Steam Machine with just a R7 6800U, but it'd have to be cost competitive with the Series S. Valve is supposedly releasing Steam OS 3.0 official for general desktop use at some point this year, so you should be able to build your own.

[christiangalaz]

The Steam Controller is my favorite controller of all time by far, as a person that didn't grew up playing shooters in consoles the SC is the closest to M&K experience, nowadays I use traditionals controllers only for emulation and 2d platformers.

The SC may not be for everyone but it clearly has a market, I would absolutely love a SC2 that "premium" materials and bigger buttons since those are the only aspects I would change de SC.