The Steam Machine will be upgradable! Valve Confirms
Valve discusses Steam Machine pricing and upgrade options
As part of a new FAQ post on their Steam Machine gaming system, Valve has confirmed that their Steam Machine, Steam Controller, and Steam Frame hardware will launch in the first half of this year. Furthermore, Valve has confirmed that its Steam Machine is upgradable. Sadly, pricing remains unconfirmed, as the limited availability of memory and storage has forced Valve to “revisit” their shipping schedule and pricing. Once again, this is an instance of rapid AI datacenter buildouts ruining the electronics market for consumers.
Valve also confirmed that they are working on HDMI VRR, improved upscaling, and optimised ray tracing (at a driver level). These changes will make the Steam Machine a better product for everyone.
Before we dive into some of the hardware-specific questions we’ve seen, we want to get straight to the two we know everyone is wondering about the most: When will these be launching, and how much will they cost?
When we announced these products in November, we planned on being able to share specific pricing and launch dates by now. But the memory and storage shortages you’ve likely heard about across the industry have rapidly increased since then. The limited availability and growing prices of these critical components mean we must revisit our exact shipping schedule and pricing (especially around Steam Machine and Steam Frame).
Our goal of shipping all three products in the first half of the year has not changed. But we have work to do to land on concrete pricing and launch dates that we can confidently announce, being mindful of how quickly the circumstances around both of those things can change. We will keep you updated as much as we can as we finalize those plans as soon as possible.
– Valve
Hardware upgrade options
Hardware-wise, Valve has confirmed that two parts of its Steam Machines are upgradable. First, the system uses DDR5 SODIMMs, enabling DDR5 memory upgrades. At stock, Valve’s Steam Machine will likely feature two 8GB DDR5 SODIMMs. Additionally, the system supports NVMe 2230/2280 SSDs, allowing for storage upgrades. At stock, Valve’s Steam Machine will be available with 512GB or 2TB of SSD storage.
What components of Steam Machine are upgradeable?
Steam Machine’s SSD (NVMe 2230 or 2280) and memory (DDR5 SODIMMs) are both accessible and upgradeable.– Valve
Other upgradable parts of the Steam Machine include the system’s face plate. CAD files for their Faceplate will become available over the coming months, allowing 3rd parties to create custom plates and enable users to craft their own.
You can join the discussion on the Steam Machine’s upgrade options on the OC3D Forums.
