Hands-on Valve Steam Machine testing questions if GPU can deliver 4K/60 fps performance

Despite persistent rumors of the Fremont, the arrival of the Valve Steam Machine still surprised many gamers. Besides offering an easy way to play Steam games on TVs, it also boasts 4K performance at 60 fps. However, early hands-on testing suggests that many titles may not meet that target.

Digital Foundry posted a video, sharing their initial experiences with the system. Cyberpunk 2077 ran at a steady 60 fps with high settings, but at 1440p. Once ray tracing was active, frame rates fell closer to 30 fps. According to the site, Valve plans to further optimize these lighting effects for the Steam Machine’s GPU.

Other testers, including IGN, saw AAA games like Silent Hill F become choppy at 1440p. Digital Foundry believes that the AMD Zen 4 CPU with a 4.8GHz clock is not the limiting factor. Instead, the worry is with the GPU, which is comparable to the RX 7600 or RTX 4060. Like the desktop versions, the Steam Machine’s chip only ships with 8 GB of DDR6 VRAM.

Even the full-size iterations of these graphics cards struggle at 4K. The Steam Machine specs include an RDNA 3 chip, similar to the RX 7600, but with 28 compute units (CUs) rather than 32. It also has a lower power draw to accommodate a compact form factor. As a result, it may be challenging to run many games smoothly at maximum resolutions.

FSR 4 could dramatically boost Steam Machine performance

AMD told Digital Foundry that 8GB of VRAM was acceptable for most Steam games. The decision not to go higher was based on concerns about affordability. Nevertheless, buyers are constantly bombarded by advertisements for the latest demanding titles like Battlefield 6. How well these titles perform on Valve’s new system largely depends on FSR 3 upscaling.

Currently, future support for FSR 4 is unclear. The technology is a significant upgrade and would benefit lower-powered systems. Upscaling from 1080p should produce less blurring and artifacts.

The unannounced price will also determine whether the Steam Machine is successful when it launches in early 2026. However, from their impressions so far, Digital Foundry’s Richard Leadbetter questions whether Valve should promote it as a 4K-capable machine.