Valve will sell you a Steam Machine starting today, at least if you signed up earlier this week and you have a little bit of luck. Early supplies are expected to be extremely limited, as Valve is dealing with the same hardware issues as the entire industry. It comes with just 16GB of RAM, which is a little light for a gaming desktop. But there’s something you should know about it that isn’t on the spec list.
The Steam Machine is using semi-standard parts, at least for RAM and storage, including familiar SODIMM sticks that go into laptops. (Laptops that don’t have memory soldered right to the motherboard, anyway.) This is pretty standard for mini PC designs, and the Steam Machine is basically a mini PC with a discrete graphics card. The Steam Machine has two memory slots, but only one will be filled — one 16GB SODIMM of DDR5-5600 memory. The other slot will arrive empty.
There was some confusion about this as the initial pre-release hardware went out. Some of them had two 8GB sticks, some just one 16GB stick. And a 2x8GB configuration is preferable, just because of the way dual-channel memory works — even with the same amount of total memory, a single-stick configuration will lose about 10 percent of the memory performance. So PC gamers were preparing to roll the dice on which component they’d get.
Valve told Gamers Nexus in a follow-up email that there was a communication issue. Though some early review units did indeed have 2x8GB memory, but the initial batch of Steam Machines going to consumers will all have one 16GB RAM SODIMM. Future batches might be different…but I wouldn’t expect a huge amount of Steam Machines to go out after the initial sale anyway, at least in 2026.
That’s a blow to an already-expensive machine, or at least one that’s far more expensive than we were hoping for last year. And yes, that’s going to affect performance in games. Though exactly how much will depend on the specific game in question and its reliance on system memory, as opposed to video memory. But it also offers some options to gamers who are willing to consider an upgrade.
With one empty SODIMM slot in the machine, you could track down another 16GB SODIMM and boost your machine’s capacity to 32 gigabytes. It looks like that part is running about $200 USD right now, maybe a bit less if you can find it used. (Hell, that single stick alone would be a big chunk of the value in a used laptop or mini PC at the moment.) That wouldn’t just boost your total memory, it would let your Steam Machine claw back that ten percent of performance on the memory itself.
But this is a bit of a Sophie’s choice. A $200 upgrade on a very mid-range gaming machine is a lot. More RAM for a PC is always good, but it’s mostly used for multitasking, something the Steam Machine pointedly is not designed for. Sure, you could use it as a Linux-powered desktop, it’s got a KDE Plasma desktop environment underneath the proprietary SteamOS interface. But if you want a Linux desktop, you can get one with 16GB of RAM (or maybe even 32GB) for a lot less than the Steam Machine’s $1050 base price.
Gamers Nexus
The actual upgrade process for the memory is also pretty intensive, as seen in Gamers Nexus’ teardown. It’s all standard hand tool stuff, but you will need to remove the exterior case, several fan and wireless cables, the power supply, all for some really compact electronics. It might be more than you’re comfortable with if all you’ve used for PC building is a standard ATX case setup. In fact with Valve opening up SteamOS to a lot more hardware, you might be more comfortable building a conventional desktop (though a far less cute one).
As others have said, the Steam Machine is an exciting development for PC gaming, but it’s coming at just about the worst possible time. That goes double for anyone who cares about price, performance, or the intersection between them. Keep the RAM situation in mind if you’re waffling on a purchase.
If you have a spare 16GB DDR5 SODIMM sitting around, and you know your way around an iFixit guide, you might have an exciting project in your future. If not, you might have a big disappointment.
