• A Great friend to the HardForum with a great kid that he is trying to get a scholorship to continue his schooling. Please give hime a vote! Only 24 hours left! Thanks.
    If you have an VOTE FOR KEENAN!

Valve Steam Machine, SteamOS Desktop, Steam Frame VR and Steam Controller

Flogger23m said:
About what I was expecting. Nice, but it is more premium priced. But I have to assume originally they intended on a $600 or so price tag. I would like to upgrade my $200 Quest 2 but will wait for prices to come down. Might be a while at this rate though.
Click to expand...
I paid $300 for a used quest 3 and I'm happy with it for now... I use it stand alone though, also for now... It was worth upgrading from the two to three for the resolution, the pancake lenses and the better external cameras, it's super easy to navigate reality while you're still wearing the headset.
 
With the Frame one hour battery life for on-headset rendering seems pretty restrictive, from the extensive Tested review about this. Two hours tops only if streaming from PC.

Like, if the whole goal of the device was no wires but it heavily sacrifices battery life, only for wires to augment it (USB chargers continuously plugged in with cables dangling) then may as well go wired. I suppose the benefit at that point is just low latency wireless streaming, if you can supplement the battery with some on-hip extra battery or something.
 
I'm 50/50 on this. I have a quest 3 (And a few Vives), and do VR a lot, and rarely ever Standalone , so it could make sense, I just don't think it's much different than a Q3. I do love the PCIE expansion port basically, and doing some spatial capture with the available Camera attachment makes a ton of sense for some of the things I do.

Honestly it's biggest seller to me is probably that it's a headset running SteamOS basically, which is big, but not sure enough to purchase.
 
Okatis said:
With the Frame one hour battery life for on-headset rendering seems pretty restrictive, from the extensive Tested review about this. Two hours tops only if streaming from PC.

Like, if the whole goal of the device was no wires but it heavily sacrifices battery life, only for wires to augment it (USB chargers continuously plugged in with cables dangling) then may as well go wired. I suppose the benefit at that point is just low latency wireless streaming, if you can supplement the battery with some on-hip extra battery or something.
Click to expand...

Connecting a power bank and putting it in your pocket is way better than being tethered to a PC.

I'm sure there will be third party headstraps like what the Quest has with better battery solutions. A popular one for the Bobo that has a hot swappable batttery pack on the back. It comes with 2 battteries and you just charge one while you use the other.
 
I wish I was more excited about this but those displays man... It's 2026, why haven't we advanced from a 3 year old Quest? And talk about a depressing passthrough. Every time you put the thing on you're greeted by a blue tinted nausea inducing hellscape. But it's cool that it's more privacy focused and less likely to scan your genitals to train AI on how to identify a micropenis.
 
Okatis said:
With the Frame one hour battery life for on-headset rendering seems pretty restrictive, from the extensive Tested review about this. Two hours tops only if streaming from PC.

Like, if the whole goal of the device was no wires but it heavily sacrifices battery life, only for wires to augment it (USB chargers continuously plugged in with cables dangling) then may as well go wired. I suppose the benefit at that point is just low latency wireless streaming, if you can supplement the battery with some on-hip extra battery or something.
Click to expand...
And the USB port it has is USB2, making wired mode a non-starter as well. Quest 3 when wired with the Meta app you can do 1Gb bandwidth and get pristine visuals and very low latency (far lower than Wifi even 6ghz). Ok niche use-case, I get it. Wireless VR is amazing of course, but if I'm playing some driving or flying sim I don't need wireless so for me it's still important.

I think the biggest mistep Valve made though is putting 16gb of RAM and a 256Gb (or more) SSD in this thing. This inflates the price so damn much (even before the AI boom) but there is very little you can actually play standalone - Alyx has a standalone ARM version they just pushed out but it runs and looks like crap, at 36fps reprojected to 72. If that money had been used to give us new and better lenses (OLED something...), the conversation would be different, and we might be able to call it a premium wireless PC-VR headset.

Like, by trying to make an headset for "everything and everyone" (standalone VR & PC VR), they end up making an expensive kit (easily twice the price of a Quest, probably more especially for those who bought a Quest around release) appealing to nobody, except the Valve diehard fans.
 
I'm OG vive and have refused the meta "deal with the devil." I'm all in on this. Price is teh suk, but VR is the only thing that gives me near the dopamine hit that late 90s GPU releases did for me. That was back when computing was "magical" to me (Apple's subsequent claims notwithstanding).
 
sc5mu93 said:
I'm OG vive and have refused the meta "deal with the devil." I'm all in on this. Price is teh suk, but VR is the only thing that gives me near the dopamine hit that late 90s GPU releases did for me. That was back when computing was "magical" to me (Apple's subsequent claims notwithstanding).
Click to expand...
what do u do/play in VR? are u going to do the same stuff just better with the frame?
 
I'm considering picking one up, but am heavily disappointed by the complete lack of PC wired support dedicated towards PCVR SIM gaming, which is my primary VR use case. Definitely do not need the larger internal SSD for that. REALLY wish they would have offered a "SIM Heavy" only variant with dedicated PC wired support /internal 128gb SSD for $899.
 
Supercharged_Z06 said:
I'm considering picking one up, but am heavily disappointed by the complete lack of PC wired support dedicated towards PCVR SIM gaming, which is my primary VR use case. Definitely do not need the larger internal SSD for that. REALLY wish they would have offered a "SIM Heavy" only variant with dedicated PC wired support /internal 128gb SSD for $899.
Click to expand...
Doesn't sound like the right headset for you at all to be honest.

Look at the Pimax stuff or Bigscreen Beyond maybe? They support proper wired VR, have OLED and better resolution, and the BSB is particularly impressive on the comfort front.

(I'm assuming you want to avoid Meta, which I can respect - otherwise I would say get the Q3 for half the price and don't waste your money).
 
TwistedMetalGear said:
I wish I was more excited about this but those displays man...
Click to expand...
Because you cant afford a gpu to run it, or pay for the extra cost of the 2000 $ head set.
Twisted.. do you really think you are smarter then Valve?
Sorry ya be butt hurt but go cry on another forum
 
kalston said:
Doesn't sound like the right headset for you at all to be honest.

Look at the Pimax stuff or Bigscreen Beyond maybe? They support proper wired VR, have OLED and better resolution, and the BSB is particularly impressive on the comfort front.

(I'm assuming you want to avoid Meta, which I can respect - otherwise I would say get the Q3 for half the price and don't waste your money).
Click to expand...
Ya, already have a Varjo Aero and to be honest, the Frame would be a side grade at best - perhaps offering just a little better FoV and being a good bit lighter/more comfortable to wear... While l did put my name in the hat for a chance to purchase, I'll probably talk myself out of throwing a solid $1k away for just the slight comfort upgrade.
 
Okatis said:
With the Frame one hour battery life for on-headset rendering seems pretty restrictive, from the extensive Tested review about this. Two hours tops only if streaming from PC.

Like, if the whole goal of the device was no wires but it heavily sacrifices battery life, only for wires to augment it (USB chargers continuously plugged in with cables dangling) then may as well go wired. I suppose the benefit at that point is just low latency wireless streaming, if you can supplement the battery with some on-hip extra battery or something.
Click to expand...
I wonder how much battery life will improve with post-launch tweaking. I seem to recall some of the early Steam Deck (maybe also OLED, not sure) discussions about the battery life being questionable, but post-launch and after a few updates there was a meaningful update to optimize power usage that got more out of the battery life. It won't magically add hours upon hours, but it could make a reasonable change.

sharknice said:
Connecting a power bank and putting it in your pocket is way better than being tethered to a PC.

I'm sure there will be third party headstraps like what the Quest has with better battery solutions. A popular one for the Bobo that has a hot swappable batttery pack on the back. It comes with 2 battteries and you just charge one while you use the other.
Click to expand...
Definitely. It seems they already have an onboard battery strap design rather than having to need to buy it like the Quest 3's official offering.. I wonder what Valve is planning for partnership items - the fact they already certified the Arcturus means its likely that others will become "verified" soon. P

---

Got my reservation queue email today for the 1TB. It would be nice to know roughly where on the list you are though. I saw someone on another site mention they were actually "wait listed" instead of "reservation queue" , but not sure if there's an actual difference or not. I can hope they did some sort of weighting during/after the randomization for things like Steam account age and games, ownership of other Steam Hardware especially an Index, VR games in the library and/or played time etc. It won't fix everything, but it may help give those interested parties a better shot as opposed to the scalping and bot/sale accounts prepped after Valve started the queue system's current incarnation with the Steam Controller.


Its worth mentioning that the Arcturus add-on module thoughtfully had a free refund cancellation option if it appears you're not likely to get a Frame for a long time, but I think the cut off date so far is...the 20th? Without knowing how far down the line you are, its hard to know if its worth keeping your reservation or waiting to pick one up later. Then again, the potential for the module selling out and/or future runs being more expensive are possible so perhaps holding onto it is wise, if affordable.

Edit: I forgot that apparently "reservation queue" is the far preferable option in that there is a Frame reserved for you out of the current batch! The question is how big the batch is and how long it takes for them to move through the queue, but still - good news! Really curious how long it takes anyone with a Reservation Queue list to be given the opportunity to order. Either they'll be moving through the list pretty quickly in the next few days or its a very large group of reservations that may take longer.

Edit2: Got my Arcturus Vision message claiming my camera is "ready to ship" (order number in the 2700s) . It gives me the option to cancel with no penalty and full refund or verify it for shipment. If I do nothing by the 20th, they'll default to shipping it since I already have a reservation.
 
Last edited:
MikeTrike said:
Playing on the dark caught my eye

https://x.com/HardwareSteam/status/2100061421971071116

My Quest 3 can't do that
Click to expand...

Quest 2 can work semi decently, but I think the reflection of the monitor keeps it on. I did notice when playing night missions in the dark I would get disconnects in Ace Combat 7. But wiping the sensor things clear can allow me to get through the mission in question. I assume when the screen is dim the Quest 2 does not have enough ambient light. Probably works the same with the Q3. I assume you are sitting further away from the screen or in a room without one.
 
I would think any phone charging battery could be used to hook up to the frame to extend battery life. Back pocket, pouch,
Strap.
 
Has anyone else experienced valve's queues? How quickly do they move to the wait-list? Or is a wait lister is going to be waiting for months
 
sc5mu93 said:
Has anyone else experienced valve's queues? How quickly do they move to the wait-list? Or is a wait lister is going to be waiting for months
Click to expand...
I was in the steam machine reservation queue for a number of months before i got the email. If that is any indication for the frame, it'll probably be 6+ months for a meaningful amount of waitlist people to start moving up.
 
Small batch first, make sure no major issues to prevent a large recall, correct any issues they can if they appear, start moving bigger batches.
 
sc5mu93 said:
Has anyone else experienced valve's queues? How quickly do they move to the wait-list? Or is a wait lister is going to be waiting for months
Click to expand...
Either last night or today (didn't check until this afternoon around 1pm, power outage last night) I got the email to order my Steam Frame 1TB. I was on the Reservation List. Seems a few others got their order opportunity too. I noted it in the Frame thread on the VR forum section, but keep in mind that A) they may automatically add a Frame to your cart so if you add one too, it may come up with a "you have in ineligible quantity" message , so just make sure there's only one actual Frame to check out and B) when you can pay for your Frame, the ability to get any Accessories will be unlocked - make sure you go and add them to cart! You have to go the Frame page and the Ergonomic Accessory Pack or AC Adapter for instance can be added. Do this and check out in the same order alongside your Frame, or you may have to contact support to try and get them added to your order if you forget!

I can't say how long things will be before the Waitlist, depending on how many there are etc. For instance, I am STILL apparently on the waitlist for the Steam Machine 2TB (I signed up for 2TB and 2TB w/ Controller and apparently got randomed highest in the plain 2TB line so they put me there) which has obviously been awhile since its launch. For the Steam Machine I signed up mostly out of curiosity and may have offered it to another, as I really didn't need it so this isn't a big deal, but I am guessing there may be far more Steam Machine signups and lower fulfillment given the kind of hardware involved at least at the time. Or maybe I just got hit really badly during the randomization - it was the same account I've used for other Steam hardware. The Steam Controller I lucked out and got it in Wave 1 before the randomized lists came into effect; I was lucky enough to win a refresh race and it did mostly come down to luck and being the right place at right time. I'm not sure how far things are moving along for the Steam Controller . I'm NOT on their waitlist, but Steam Controller waitlist if I wanted a second, is listed as 2027 but that's likely because I'd be signing up at the end of the list as it stands now. . Then again, its likely one of the items with the highest volumes and largest waitlists given its price.

As for the Frame, I must have lucked out to get on the Reservation list but since I don't know how many they made of each item - Controller, Machine, Frame - for the Reservation List vs how many applied for each waitlist, and the level of conversion (ie people who signed up and chose to buy when their time arrived, as opposed to passing on it for fiscal or other reasons). So its quite hard to tell. For past examples with the Steam Controller (1.0 version, 2015. I am still unsure why Valve didn't give the modern controller a different name somehow to differentiate better) Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED however, the behavior was a bit different but I'm not sure how much that applies today.

Edit: As I've been posting in the Frame thread in the VR section, I just recently had the frame+accessories delivered and now have my Steam Frame, Ergonomic Accessories upgrade kit, and Arcturus Vision module! Still haven't actually used it as I'm absolutely paranoid about scratching the lenses wearing it with my glasses, but the included spacer likely helps considerably. Looking to purchase some storage and protective accessories, as well as prescription inserts.
 
Last edited:
Steam’s Unofficially Official ARM Client For Linux
https://interfacinglinux.com/2026/09/20/steams-unofficially-official-arm-client-for-linux/

Steam for ARM has been publicly available for a little over five months, and a recent update clicked all the bits into place needed to run the FEX emulator with Proton (ARM64) out of the box. So now seems like a good time to find out how well the unofficially official client works with a couple of Frame-verified games and a couple that, well, have no business running on ARM.

Hardware
Since I don’t have an exact match for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC in the Frame, I’ll be using an Orin NX Super, which should be in the same ballpark-ish, assuming this Geekbench result is accurate.

1791129750361.png


The rest of the information is in the article. :) He writes wonderful articles showing how to get hardware like FireWire audio interfaces to work with modern Linux. This allows users to make a home theater surround system for fun.

I was impressed with the 11 second load times! Too bad DX12 games aren't working yet. Need a single board computer that supports Vulkan 1.4 which he says is rare.


View: https://youtu.be/C0CGcrJ92Hk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top