I'm a big Valve fan and avid follower of Gabe "He shall lead us into the 4th Dimension" Newell. I appreciate what he strives to achieve with the market dominance that Valve has within the PC gaming space. Sure, not everyone feels comfortable with Valve's firm grip through Steam, but I have had nothing but the best experience with the platform. It wasn't always this pleasant to work with, and I was there through the earlier days where stability was the leading issue, but it's largely flawless in 2025.

Valve's work with Proton is another huge win for my own gaming experiences, primarily using Linux for work and play. It has done wonders in allowing me to enjoy thousands of games not specifically developed for Linux without having to spend hours trying to get WINE to work with each title — that's not a dig at WINE, as it's an awesome piece of kit and plays a pivotal role within the Proton suite of tools. Being able to click Install and then Play, as you would on Windows, is nothing short of epic.

I also eyed up the Steam Deck, but never got around to buying one. I haven't actually bought any gaming handheld since the original Nintendo Switch, though I am eagerly awaiting MSI to see what the company cooks up next. That said, the Steam Machine caught my eye, and while I'm excited for what it can bring to the console and entertainment space, I've decided to continue going it alone. The Steam Deck isn't going to be cheap, and yet all you really need is a mini PC and Batocera.

Why bother with a mini PC?

They're almost as good as the Steam Machine

We don't have concrete information yet on precisely what will be in the final version of the Steam Machine when it comes to market, but I reckon what we know so far is probably fairly accurate. I'll compare the expected Steam Machine specs against those of my GMKtec mini PC, the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS-powered NucBox K8 Plus. Bear in mind that I bought the NucBox K8 Plus for $390, and the Steam Machine is expected to cost considerably more than that.

CPU will be in a similar ballpark, though the GPU prowess of the Steam Machine should outmatch that of the K8 Plus, and rightfully so. This is a system designed for gaming. A mini PC is a compact desktop, similar to a larger system, where it's tasked to do almost everything, from entering data into spreadsheets, browsing websites, and enjoying a game or two when possible. We obviously have to hold out until we get a Steam Machine in to test, but it's going to be a solid machine (pun intended).

A better comparison would be GMKtec EVO-X1 with an AMD Radeon 890M and 16 Compute Units (CUs). It is possible to completely outclass the expected Steam Machine with leading AMD or Intel processors. The impressive Radeon 8060S is a fantastic integrated graphics solution with a whopping 40 CUs. But my mini PC has a party trick in the form of an OCuLink port. This allows me to hook up a dedicated GPU using an eGPU dock, which can transform the system into something better suited to PC gaming.

Batocera offers decades of fun

Retro to modern (and back again)

We've covered Batocera at great length here at XDA because it's truly one of the best Linux-based distros available for creating the ultimate retro gaming machine. You'll find baked-in support for many of the most popular consoles from a wide collection of generations, and there's even Steam support. With the K8 Plus, the big screen suddenly becomes the ultimate gaming playhouse with access to not only countless classics from our childhoods, but also many more popular games too.

The AMD CPU and GPU won't win any awards for performance and frames per second, but what this combo package does provide is ample firepower for running most games with excellent results. So long as we keep our expectations in check and turn down a few settings for the most demanding titles, we don't have any trouble running a huge library through this single box. And that's why I don't believe I'll buy a Steam Machine or any console again.

I'm not really sucked into the console exclusives. Gone are the days when I'd pour thousands of hours into Halo multiplayer. Most of the games I enjoy playing are available on PC, and if they're not, I'll pick up a physical copy and wait until an emulator is available with support through Batocera and enjoy it then. It's what makes this more of a hybrid approach and really appeals to me. The ability to collect classic physical game copies and showcase them without needing to tirelessly work with older hardware with one too many problems.

There's also something for everyone at just a button press away. No switching platforms, swapping out cartridges or discs, and no swapping cables. If you haven't already done so, download a copy of Batocera, connect your Steam, and add a few classic games you have a copy of to see how you get on. It may surprise you just how capable this platform is, and all you need is a compact mini PC with a decent enough CPU for older games and a GPU for handling the newer stuff.

Will I cave and eventually pick up a new gaming handheld and Steam Machine? To be continued!