Steam Machine Price Surprise Leaves Gamers Speechless

Gamers are buzzing. A massive price leak for Valve’s Steam Machine has hit the internet. Is this the console killer everyone has been waiting for? Or a wallet buster? 

The leak comes from a Czech retailer called Smartly. Code snoopers found prices hidden on their site. The 512GB model retails for approximately $950 USD. The 2TB version hits $1070. Fans are stunned. These numbers top the PS5 and Xbox Series X.

But hold on. Not everyone agrees. Tech expert Moore’s Law Is Dead crunched the numbers. He says parts cost just $425 total. Value could price it at $449 to $599. That matches Stream Deck margins. It would crush rivals like the Xbox Series S at $399. 

Valve stays quiet on official prices. A coder once said it prices like an “entry-level PC” but a good deal. Build a similar PC yourself. It costs $500 to $800. No loss sales for Valve. They aim for Stream dominance. 

Ram crisis adds drama. AI data centres hoard chips. Prices soar for DRAM and NAND. Launch might slip. Valve fights to keep costs down. 

Release date fuels the fire. Valve targets early 2026. Think January to April. Pre-orders? Not yet. Wishlist it on Steam for alerts. No Deck-style reservations so far. 

Specs scream power. Six times stronger than Stream Deck. AMD Zen 4 CPU with 6 cores. 12 threads at 4.8 GHz. RDNA3 GPU with 28 units at 2.45 GHz. 16 GB DDR5 plus 8 GB GDDR6 VRAM. Storage: 512GB or 2TB NVMe SSD. MicroSD slot too. Internal power supply. 

It rivals PS5 performance. Hits 120 FPS in some games. Targets 60Hz mostly. Separate system and video memory might trip up Unreal Engine 5 titles. Still, living room Stream access thrills. 

Bundle includes a new Stream Controller. Dua: trackpads, gyro, buttons. Like Deck’s but screen-free. Buy extra if needed. Switching to desktop mode is easy. StreamOS powers it all. 

Europeans gripe first. Smarty lists it now. No buy button. Global prices? Unknown. Tariffs and shortages loom. 

Fans debate online. Reddit calls it PC-priced but accessible. Valve skips subsidies. Focuses on OS for others, too. ARM Proton hints at the future. 

Will it twist the knife into Microsoft? SpawnWave YouTube ponders wild cards. Linus Tech Tips notes Valve went silent at the $500 talk. 

Early 2026 nears. Excitement builds. Price wars rage. Stream Machine could reshape couches. Gamers, ready your wallets? Stay tuned. More news is coming.