One of the largest and also one the most upgradable steam machines next to the build your own. It may not be the exact same in terms of money spent and fulfilling for computer enthusiasts as the build your own, but it comes with a warranty on the whole machine, unlike the build your own which only has warranty on one part at a time, and is pretty close in power for what you get when building yourself along with the costs. Plus, it saves you all the time making it an ideal plug and play box that outperforms an Xbox One and a PS4. And unlike those two consoles, you can keep this one box and upgrade the components to get even more life and longevity out of it.
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Pros
Pro Takes up less shelf space
Along with being able to keep playing brand new games, it only takes up one section of shelf space while consoles have many iterations and can take up more than ample room. This box is one and done.
Pro Completely upgradable
Unlike some of the smaller Steam Machines, this one is completely upgradable like a normal desktop.
Pro Long life on original specs which were....
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4690K CPU @ 3.50GHz 3.50 GHz
Installed RAM 16.0 GB
1 x 128gb SSD
1 x 1TB SSD
Nvidia GeForce GTX960
Windows 10 Pro
Pro Tons of options
When you visit their website, the machine comes with whatever you want inside the system (from their options list) and what you would like to come alongside with the unit like a steam controller, Xbox controller, monitor, mouse, and more.
Pro Longevity
Unlike a console, this particular Steam Machine can still get the latest and greatest and all you need to do in order to play those titles is to upgrade the components.
Cons
Con Gets pretty hot under load
Playing more demanding games makes the fans spin up which can be fairly noisy.
Con Glossy finish
Although it sports a pleasing architecture, the glossy finish is something that makes you want to facepalm. We all know that with glossy finishes, leads to dirty fingerprints. Unless you're among those who won't touch the console without latex gloves or something in order to not get fingerprints, you might want to ask if glossy finishes will be a deal breaker for you or not.
Con Relatively expensive
It is more powerful than a console but that power also shows in the cost. Whenever you upgrade to the desirable specs to last you for quite awhile, it can cost a couple hundred dollars more than the consoles. Making it not so competitively priced with the current gen systems.
But, for the price and longevity of the system compared to spending an additional $400 after the few years of the console lifespan has ended and doing that same buying again and taking up shelf space, the Steam Machine is still a better investment even with this con.