Steam Machine

Steam Machine is finally on the market, albeit at a somewhat unconvincing price. Despite some skepticism and anomalies like RLOD already appearing online, Valve has launched the support phase with a bang: it has already released the drivers for the installation of Windows 11. The company thus provides the necessary tools to install the Microsoft operating system, but some limitations persist that were already encountered with Steam Deck.

The new Steam Machine joins the family of Steam hardware alongside Steam Deck OLED, Steam Controller, and Steam Frame VR headset. As is the case with other devices on the platform, Valve confirms that the system is a normal PC, meaning users can install other operating systems and use stores different from Steam.

The official drivers available include four packages dedicated to the main hardware components. Valve has distributed a graphics driver, a Wi-Fi driver, a Bluetooth driver, and a driver for the SD card reader. For the GPU and SD reader, it is sufficient to run the Setup.exe file, while for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, users must manually install the INF files via the Windows context menu.

However, the company clarifies that it "will not provide technical support for Windows on Steam hardware." The drivers are distributed "as is" and any troubleshooting remains the user's responsibility. Valve still offers an official guide dedicated to recovery and troubleshooting SteamOS in case it is necessary to reinstall the original operating system.

Installing Windows requires the complete removal of SteamOS, as official support for dual boot is not yet available. Valve specifies that Steam Machine and Steam Deck are fully compatible with dual boot, but the wizard within the SteamOS installer is not ready yet. This feature will arrive with a future operating system update.

During the installation process, there is also another important limitation. It is necessary to connect Steam Machine to the Internet via Ethernet, as Wi-Fi drivers are not available during the early stages of the Windows installation and only become usable after the initial setup is completed.

Valve has also published some guidelines for starting the installation. To access the boot menu of the Steam Machine, one must completely power off the system and repeatedly press the Escape key during startup to select the Windows installation medium.

In conclusion, Valve opens its platform to other operating systems, but maintains Steam OS as a reference for the Steam Machine experience.