this post was submitted on 12 Nov 2025
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The cube needs to have a really good price to be worth it. It's launching at the like the bare minimum specs for 2025 with the 8GB of VRAM and 16gb of system RAM. The GPU is equivalent to a low end one from last gen. The advertising (I think deceptively) says it runs 4k with FSR, but I don't buy it, as that's something that a lot of desktops struggle to do without the game becoming an unrecognizable smear. The Steam Deck was left behind within a year or two of its launch because of the specs it launched with and this seems to be similar. I think anyone considering it should really temper their expectations if they plan to actually use it with a 4k TV, which I assume most people buying it will do without knowing any better. This is perfect for someone who still plays at 1080p or only plays indies. There are other options for someone who just wants a mini PC for web browsing and stuff. You also can't replace the CPU or GPU since they're soldered on, so it's pretty much impossible to upgrade in a meaningful way.
It seems like it's targeting people that don't have a PC or since a lot of Steam users already have a powerful PC this would be their secondary PC for the living room or for their partners / families. Since Xbox is trying to charge $30 a month now any way to escape a monthly subscription will be getting more appealing
Xbox is dying and it looks like this is basically perfect for getting those people into Steam instead (especially considering how good this will look compared to the $1500 Xbox 6)
The steam deck's power for me has been less of an issue because low latency streaming from a main PC has gotten incredibly good (and when there's really well optimized games like BG3). They added HDR to remote play recently and it looks amazing, especially at 90fps.
Strategy wise it feels like Valve is setting a floor for 3rd parties that will release more powerful Steam Machines (like Steam Deck to Lenovo Legion 2) and potentially trying to cap developer excesses like Borderlands 4 expecting people to have 5080s at the minimum 🤢
I always thought one of the main selling points of the borderlands series was because of its art style it could look good and run well on lower end hardware. I played a bunch with people who didn’t normally play pc games or even just had a laptop cos it was a great first looter shooter anyone could play.
This seems intended to compete with the console market, which also aim for “4K”. That’s the standard I expect valve to be comparing to.
I don’t see enough info here to accurately predict performance on the gpu side but a very vague approximation would put it inbetween the ps5 and ps5 pro or the horrendously titled AMD ryzen AI MAX strix halo 385.
I think there’s a market here for people who want a new pc but not to engage with the current pc parts hellscape, or want to move to Linux with a hassle free experience.
I still play at 1080p and mostly indies and lighter games, so it'd probably be perfect for me. Apparently the GPU is similar to a 4060 which I do have on my main PC and runs games that are just a little too demanding for Steam Deck. Dunno, maybe building a new PC is still a better option.
Seems like it'll still be an improvement for abused Nintendo customers, which I think might just be the bar they're aiming to pass: casual customers that don't want to mess with anything too technical.
I can't even judge, I am that person.