Valve’s Steam Machine has spent months in the hands of reviewers as a compact gaming PC, but after using it as his primary computer, Linus Tech Tips says its biggest strength has nothing to do with gaming.
In a new video, the man behind Linus Tech Tips said the Steam Machine has become his favorite desktop PC thanks to its hardware design and SteamOS, arguing that Valve has built the closest experience he’s ever had to using a Mac Mini on the PC side.
While he acknowledged the system isn’t the fastest desktop available and criticized its high price, Linus Sebastian said the overall experience made him question whether he could return to Windows.
SteamOS changed Linus’ opinion on Linux
Linus revealed that his opinion of Linux shifted dramatically after spending weeks daily driving Valve’s Steam Machine.
“It’s perfectly okay for couch gaming. It’s just that in my opinion, as a desktop PC or as a workstation, it’s a way better product.
“Maybe the best desktop PC that I’ve ever used,” he said. “The thoughtful hardware design and the seamless integration with Valve’s Steam OS makes this the closest thing that I have ever experienced to a PC Mac Mini.”
He added: “It’s made me go from, ‘Well, I’d like to like Linux,’ to ‘I don’t know how I can go back to Windows.’”
According to Sebastian, SteamOS delivers a polished desktop experience that avoids many of the frustrations he associates with Windows. He praised the operating system’s interface, simple settings menus, window management, application installation, and overall responsiveness.
He also argued that many of the improvements come from Valve’s work integrating technologies like Arch Linux, KDE Plasma, and Flatpak into a unified experience.
“The year of the Linux desktop is 2026, and the Steam Machine is leading the charge,” he said.
It’s not perfect
Despite his praise, Sebastian pointed out several shortcomings that prevented the Steam Machine from being a perfect workstation.
He criticized the lack of USB4 and DisplayPort over USB-C, saying it limited compatibility with modern docking stations and Thunderbolt accessories. He also questioned why the system shipped with a standard gigabit Ethernet port instead of 2.5Gb networking.
On the software side, he encountered issues transferring large files from an iPhone, missing file previews over network shares, and problems dragging files into Google Drive through Chrome.
Sebastian also highlighted Linux limitations that still remain unresolved, including the lack of proper middle mouse auto scrolling, which he described as a feature he relies on daily.
Even so, he said Linux desktop support has improved significantly over the last decade, pointing to better printer support, easier scanner setup, improved audio compatibility and AI tools that simplify troubleshooting.
While he noted SteamOS’ immutable operating system can create issues for advanced users installing unsupported software, he said the approach also helps protect less experienced users from accidentally breaking their systems.
Ultimately, Sebastian argued that SteamOS feels more user-focused than Windows, saying it provides a cleaner experience without the constant prompts, advertisements and interruptions he has come to expect from Microsoft’s operating system.
He ended by asking Valve to add an official option to boot directly into desktop mode without requiring a terminal command, calling it one of the few remaining improvements he’d like to see.
Earlier this year, Sebastian reached the opposite conclusion when reviewing the Steam Machine as a gaming device, arguing that its price and gaming performance made Sony’s PS5 the better buy for most players.
After spending weeks using the hardware as his everyday desktop, however, he now says the Steam Machine’s biggest strength isn’t gaming at all, but the polished SteamOS experience that has made it his favorite desktop PC to use.
