A French retailer has launched the Stim Machine, the first knock-off of Valve's Steam Machine. Priced at €1,039, it matches the base Steam Machine in cost but uses more powerful components.
The Stim Machine comes in a cube-shaped case similar to the Steam Machine. It features a 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 8400F CPU and an AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT GPU, which delivers up to 70 percent more performance than the Steam Machine's semi-custom AMD RDNA 3 graphics according to Gamers Nexus testing.
The new machine has a larger chassis measuring 222 × 181 × 285mm compared to the Steam Machine's smaller 156 × 152 × 162mm dimensions. Its discrete components also allow greater power draw than Valve's design, which prioritizes heat control and low power use.
Valve's Steam Machine supports CEC technology over HDMI, enabling console-like interaction with TVs such as automatic power control and input recognition. The Stim Machine lacks this feature, limiting its ability to function seamlessly as a living room device.
Valve recently released a standalone version of SteamOS 3.8, allowing users to build similar systems with off-the-shelf parts, though hardware limitations like CEC remain.
