There's literally no difference between Steam Machines and Windows gaming PCs.

Well, other than Windows PCs are much cheaper, can do so much more, more customizable, and have better compatibility with pretty much everything.

Also, if you ever want to play an EA game, you can't on a Steam Machine (EA only makes games on Origin, which is mostly Windows-only).

Just go to cyberpowerpc.com or some other PC maker website, pick out your parts, and they'll assemble it and ship it to you. I'll even help you pick if you can tell me your price point. It'll be slightly more expensive than just building your own PC (which is what I would reccomend, it's fun, and not nearly as daunting as it looks!), but still more affordable than Steam Machines. 

The user interface is natively different. One is a console like UI and the other is a computer like UI. The form factor is (usually) different. On is small and shaped like a console for easy tv placement. The other is big and not made to be urganomic with your tv. I understand that a lot of people enjoy customizability, but I prefer systems that are simple and don't need to be changed much to get the job done. It's like the whole Mac vs PC thing. I don't think Mac is better, but I prefer macs and they are better for me. I literally use my Mac to write papers, music, and browse the net. That's all, so I don't need a PC that can do everything else better. I prefer what the Mac has, and I don't mind the limited customization I lose because I've never once felt the need or want to. Same with iPhone vs android. Same with steam box vs PC.

If the comparability becomes an issue, I'll pass on buying it though. Like I said, I'll likely wait a year and see.

My opinion: Steam Machines are terrible and pointless. Even if you don't plan on building your own, a pre-built pc for gaming can be found cheaper. Steam Machines are nice for their novelty. That is it. Steam is an awesome service but not the machines people are developing with that in mind.

1. You can use Steam Big Picture mode and just leave that on. It's a console UI made for playing on television with a controller.

2. Steam Machines aren't all small. They are pre-built computers, plain and simple. If you go to that website, you can customize a computer that is around the size of a Steam Machine and easily fits under your TV, while at the same time is more powerful and cheaper.

3. Modding (one of the most amazing aspects of PC gaming) isn't available on Steam Machine. Modding is so easy (nothing difficult about it when mod managers do all the hard work for you) that you will really be missing out if you don't try it. Bethesda games are so well-loved on PC precisely because you can mod them, and make them simply gorgeous.

4. If this is a question of Windows vs. OS X vs. Linux, you might as well walk away from PC gaming now. Windows has been and will continue to be the primary platform for which games are designed and optimized for. Steam Machines are attempting to bridge that gap, but there are games outside of Steam as well that simply won't work on Steam Machines, hell, a lot of games on Steam itself don't work properly on Steam Machines. If you really feel like you'll be betraying Apple or something by buying a PC, it's probably best to stay out of PC gaming. 

Thank you for understanding. I know that I'm in the minority, and I'm fine with that. I think that another thing that I may not have articulated well is that there's a value I place on a console like UI. If I can turn on my theoretical steambox with the controller and do literally do everything pretty comfortably with that controller, out of the box, that already has a lot more value to me personally than a PC. I'm sure there are cheaper pcs for my money, but since that console like native experience holds more value to my personal preferances few than the power I'd lose for the price difference in a regular PC, I won't feel as ripped off by it as many of you probably would.

And I want to make this clear; I like the PS4 and XBO. I like their controllers and everything about them. I've beaten/played games on both. Infamous SS on PS4 and Killer Instinct (AMAZING fighting game) on the XBO. I literally just don't like that you have to pay for online. No matter what way anyone puts it, I just don't think it's fair to charge extra for online. If PS+ worked like it worked last gen, I would have just gotten a ps4. Even though I like the XBO better. 

What? I myself am having a hard time understanding you. What are you personally looking for??? If your looking for something to play casual then I don't understand why the XB1 and PS4 are not in the picture. There will be extremely small minority of casual gamers that would pick a Steam Box over a XB1 or PS4. A lot of them probably never heard of a Steam Box and won't when its released. If you don't care then your mind should be more open than have it squarely on a junk box.

EDIT: At least you mentioned you don't like to have to pay to play online. I can understand more where you are coming from now. I can respect that, especially as a principle.

1) I know about big picture mode now. If you leave it on, and turn the PC off, when you turn the PC off and then turn it back on later, will it go directly to big picture mode, or do you have to boot up big picture move whenever you turn the PC on. And does big picture mode let you turn the PC on and off with your controller?

2) I know they aren't all small, but some are. Like the Alienware one I was advised not to get. Those are the only ones I'm considering.

3) I know a lot of people like modding, but since I've never personally done it, it isn't really something I'll miss.

4) It's not. I was just using that as an example of how I don't really mind paying a little extra for what other people feel is more restrictive hardware if those restrictions don't impede on my enjoyment of the product. Less power and customization won't impede my enjoyment of a steam machine. I used to have a windows phone and I loved it. I have nothing against windows or anything.

1.) You generally wouldn't turn the PC off in the first place, you would put in sleep mode (it would go in it by itself after an hour of inactivity). Then you can start right back from where you were in BPM.

2.) Then you should also consider smaller Windows PCs.

3.) If you're going to try a new platform, why not try the benefits that come with it? Seems kinda a waste to not branch out and experiment.

4.) In that case, I don't see why you would want a Steam Machine. It's easily the worst OS even in terms of convinence. 

Look, if you want a Steam Machine (and I doubt anyone's gonna pursuade you at this point), just buy one down the line, and if you like it, you like it, if you don't, you don't. 

/Thread

This thread represents all that is wrong with the "video game elitists" in my opinion. If somebody disagrees with their concept of value (which is subjective) they get fussy and resort to aggressive or passive aggressive activities. It is no wonder that many stereotype gamers as immature adults who need a lot of growing up to do. It is one thing to express your opinion, especially when it was asked, it is another to criticize another person's concept of value in an aggressive or pass aggressive manner in order to persuade them: that is the actions of a bully.

Furthermore, it is kind of deceptive to say that PC Gaming is as simple as say, console gaming. I mainly game on PC (don't even own a current-gen console), but that is because I am not bothered with troubleshooting games and expending the cost of time in exchange for customizability and control over the environment I play in. When you play a game on a console, you are pretty much guaranteed it will always work, and if it doesn't, somebody will fix it for you. With PC games, one month you can play a game for dozens of hours, go away from it, and because of some ridiculous update by Microsoft to Windows your game crashes at startup a month later when you go back to it. Then you have to find a resolution that doesn't even seem like it would be relevant so that you can play a game you just wanted to play with no hassle. I've just experienced this today, not with a game, but with fraps. It was an easy 5 minute fix after I had searched, but it is still annoying to have to fix it in the first place, and sometimes the fixes aren't so simple. When you are trying to play a game to relax and enjoy yourself, it can definitely dampen the mood to have to go through the work of troubleshooting first. Steam has made this much less of a problem, but it still exists.

PC gaming is definitely not for the casual gamer for this and many other reasons.

Anyway, to address the OP, I think it is a great idea that you're waiting to see if steam os meets its potential. Chances are it will not, so it would be very risky to buy a steam box right away. But if steam os is successful, why not? It seems to be what you want, and any loss in value due to cost of comparable specifications to premade hardware you will gain in convenience.

THANK YOU! Another one who gets it! I have nothing against PC gaming. It just isn't for me in it's current state. If Steam OS fits the bill, and I'm not sure if it will, hence the entire point of this thread, then I'll get it. I've decided to wait a while after it launches to see if it's supported well enough. I really like the concept behind their new controller. I think it's a nice compromize, in theory, between the presision of mouse and keyboard and the comfort of a gamepad.

The Steam Machines, on paper, is exactly what I'm looking for. Hopefully the end product delivers.

I was planning on getting the Alienware entry model of the Streambox, if I were to get one at all, but many users here advised against it because they apparently tend to overcharge. They said that their entry model would be similar in specs to the PS4 and "competitively priced" to the PS4 and XBO, which I assumed means $500. If that ends up being the price, is that a ripoff for what I'm getting? What is your opinion of Alienware. I've been told that the ibuypower and CyberPowerPC would probably be a better value for what I'm getting. While I don't really care about power, obviously if there are two identical consoles that play the same games with the same controller for the same price, but one of the is more powerful, I'll go with the better box.