According to a Valve Engineer, the Steam Machine specs outclass the most common PC configurations. The company relied on its own hardware surveys to choose the system’s components. Even as an entry-level option, Valve claims that 4K/60 fps performance is realistic, despite a memory-limited GPU.
They have to find a price/performance ratio that most users would be satisfied with, it’s a difficult task and some one will always be left out. It’s not future proof for sure, but I am sure it will be a banger value in present(whenever it launches).
and starting with this model leaves room for a “steam machine pro” for people that want more, just like playstation has done
… and also perhaps a “steam machine lite” for people that just want a little bit of retro/2d gaming on their tv
The point is that 4K TV is a lot more prevalent than 4K monitors and my understanding is that this device is targeting exactly the former audience. And this device will struggle with more demanding titles big time even with frame gen and FSR.
Again I am really hoping I am wrong here as we need more competition in the console segment. And it would be great for Linux compatibility and force more studios to create Linux ports and will be great for the overall compatibility.