According to Valve, the Steam Machine marks the return of the home console. However, its release date is still unknown, but an initial GeekBench benchmark offers a first glimpse into the performance of its CPU. Furthermore, this test suggests we won’t have to wait much longer to see the device hit the market. In any case, the results—if they are indeed accurate—raise some concerns about the machine’s capabilities.
Steam Machine: FirstGeekbench Test!
ACPU ~55% slower than a Core Ultra X7 358H!
Of course, this news should be taken with a grain of salt. Geekbench isn’t the most representative benchmark out there, though it does offer a rough indication of the machine’s capabilities. The results show a score of 2,334 points for Valve’s console compared to 2,868 points for the Core Ultra X7 in single-core testing. In contrast, in the multi-core test, the Steam Machine’s CPU (referred to here as Valve Fremont) gets completely outclassed: 7,316 points versus 16,104 points—a gap of about 55%.
Unfortunately, there are no results for the GPU portion, but we’re curious to see what the home console has in store. However, rumors suggest that the iGPU is based on a Navi 33 chip using the RDNA 3 architecture. In fact, we expect performance on par with an RX 7600, and estimated performance is said to be up to 50% higher than that offered by the 358H’s iGPU. In any case, Valve has mentioned the possibility of playing in 4K at 60 FPS via upscaling.
Are We Heading Toward Prohibitive Prices?
Now, the big question behind all this concerns the console’s retail price. With memory prices skyrocketing and the fact that Valve has sold out of its stock of inexpensive RAM(which led to a significant price hike for the Steam Deck), the outlook isn’t reassuring. It remains to be seen whether the device will be able to deliver a smooth gaming experience—if it does, Valve is headed for a huge hit!
