The Alienware Steam Machine: A Month-Long Experience

As I sat down to write this article, I couldn't help but reflect on my experience with the Alienware Steam Machine. It's been a month since I first unboxed and started playing with this device, and I'm excited to share my thoughts on what it's been like so far.

The Defining Feature of the Steam Machine

For me, the defining feature of the Steam Machine is undoubtedly its controller. There was a lot of hype surrounding its development, but initial reviews were somewhat mixed. However, after using it for a month, I've come to realize that it's actually a really good controller. The haptic feedback on the controller is my favorite aspect of it. It's like having a mechanism that feels really cool and gives a unique character to the Steam Machine.

The four button inputs, such as the AB and XY buttons, took some time to get used to at first. I was frequently hitting the wrong buttons, but after the second week, I got accustomed to them, and it's no longer an issue. If you try using the Steam Machine for the first time and find the buttons poorly placed, don't worry – they're just a little different, and with time, you'll get used to them.

Controlling Games

As for how well the Steam Machine controls games, it really depends on the game itself. I've played shooters, Team Fortress 2, Dota 2, and even Portal, and my experience has been mixed. While some games, like Mark of the Ninja and Platformers, play really well with the controller, others, like Mobas, feel crippled.

I found that certain classes in Dota 2 were difficult to play with the Steam Machine, but overall, it's still a fun experience. The single-screen multiplayer aspect is something I've never done before, and when playing with friends in front of a TV, it's a really fun experience. There aren't many games that offer this kind of multiplayer experience, so I'm glad I can say that the Steam Machine delivers.

The Alienware Alpha: A Comparison

One question that keeps coming up is whether or not it's worth getting the Alienware Steam Machine versus its sister product, the Alienware Alpha. The Alpha has more potential, as you can use it as a secondary PC and play more games on it due to Windows support. However, for me, the big deciding factor was simplicity.

Traditionally, consoles are very simple – just turn on your TV, and within seconds, you're playing your game. With the Alpha, there's an additional layer of software that you have to deal with before playing your games, which can be a bit much for some people. On the other hand, if you want a straightforward Steam experience without having to worry about Windows or any other software, then the Steam Machine is the way to go.

Conclusion

In conclusion, my experience with the Alienware Steam Machine has been overwhelmingly positive. While it's not perfect, and there are areas where it falls short, I think it's a really cool device that offers something unique from just using your computer or console. If you're looking for simplicity and want to boot up and go, then the Steam Machine is definitely worth considering.

However, if you want a more customizable gaming experience with better frame rates and all that jazz, then the Alienware Alpha might be the way to go. But if you're looking for something simple and straightforward, without having to worry about additional software or complexities, then the Steam Machine is your best bet.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey how's it going guys this is Dave TD and about a month ago I made a video on the Alienware steam machine but it was kind of like an overview of the product it wasn't a review or anything it was kind of like a first look at what the Alienware steam machine was but I've had it for a month now I've been playing it pretty frequently like basically every evening or weekend that I have a chance to and I wanted to share with you guys my experience of with this device after having it for a month so I thought I'd make a video here it is now the defining feature of the steam machine is the controller there was a lot of hype when the controller was being developed but initial reviews of the controller were pretty mixed now after using it for a month I actually think it's a really good controller it takes time to get used to it so if you're coming from a PS4 or an Xbox controller everything about the steam controller feels wrong and it just feels unresponsive but it's really just a matter of getting used to it my favorite thing about it is the haptic feedback on it there's a mechanism in here that feels really cool and it gives a unique character to the steam controller it's kind of hard to describe in words but basically if you move your thumb around really quickly it vibrates quickly and if you move it around slowly it vibrates slowly so the feedback feels really deliberate and it just makes the controller feel really responsive when you're used to it the four button inputs like the ab XY buttons those took a little bit longer to get used to at first I was really frequently hitting the wrong buttons but after the second week I got used to it and it's no long longer an issue but if you try it at first and your immediate thought is like wow these buttons are poorly placed they're a little different but you will get used to them over time as for how well it controls games it depends entirely on the game itself so even after a month of playing Shooters on this thing I never got comfortable with it I would do way better on a mouse and keyboard than the steam controller so a game like Team Fortress 2 it's an awesome game with a mouse and keyboard and if you play the sniper with the controller it's still playable especially when you suck like I do and you just camp but certain classes like the engineer I just found it really hard to play because instead of having the wrench and the weapons on hot Keys you have to cycle through them and it was just really difficult for me to get used to the controller and the same thing goes with mobas like Dota 2 it's playable like way more playable than you might imagine with a controller but gameplay still feels really crippled and just as a courtesy I played a lot of Bot matches for the first week just to get used to the controller and then I started playing some unranked matches with random players and it was just a show like everyone I played with was just like raging on me and I'm pretty bad at Dota 2 to begin with but using the controller just took it to the next level it doesn't matter how comfortable you get with a controller I think mobas were designed for a mouse and keyboard other games like adventure games or Platformers or puzzle games those play really well so this is Mark of the ninja and it's a game that I've always liked but I just found it really difficult to play with the keyboard so I never got far in it but playing on the steam controller was really cool and the whole game felt nice I think Platformers in general are are going to play really nicely on the steam controller cuz the directional controls are good and the inputs are just going to feel really Snappy and then there's portal or Portal 2 rather and if you don't know what it is Portal is a game that's kind of like a puzzle game that you play in first person and despite having like the first person controls like a shooter it plays really well I think it actually plays almost as nicely as a keyboard and mouse so basically as long as your game doesn't need really Snappy movements or directional controls the controller is great but if you do need really quick d-pad movements eh you might have a bad time the selection of Steam OS games is pretty good and if you want to you can stream non Steam OS games from your PC or Mac so this game is called Bastion and I could have played this on Steam OS but it's actually one of the few games I have that run on Mac and it streamed really nicely from a MacBook Pro without any problems now obviously it runs at the performance of the host computer so you need a decent computer to do this but yeah the tech works pretty well the single player experience is pretty solid like the controller isn't ideal for certain games but the performance of the machine itself was always surprisingly good like it's just a very fluid game experience at 1080p even with the core I3 now I also did some multiplayer gaming with some friends they didn't want to be on camera so I don't have footage but playing split screen awesome knots is something I've never done before and when you play with your friends in front of a TV it's a really fun experience there aren't a ton of games that have this kind of single screen multiplayer thing but there's some really good ones out there okay some closing thoughts I think the big question is whether or not it's worth it to get the Alienware steam machine and to answer that question I have to bring up the sister product so Alienware makes something called the Alienware Alpha which is very similar in specs and price to the steam machine except there's two differences one it's got an Xbox controller instead of the steam controller and secondly it's running Windows instead of Steam OS so the first reaction that I had was why would anyone get this over this over the alpha like the steam machine is just a more constricted version the alpha has more potential you can use it as like a secondary PC you can play more games on it because it's not just restricted to Steam OS games so why would people get the steam machine over the alpha and after using both of them pretty extensively I can say one thing it all boils down to Simplicity traditionally consoles are like very simple you go up to your TV turn on your console and within seconds you're playing your game at least with like Sega Genesis nowadays it's a little bit slower but in general very simple with the alpha you're running a second layer of software that you kind to deal with before you can play your games which is Windows and for most people I mean most people that would be watching my YouTube channel that's not a big deal because you understand your computer pretty well you just boot up your thing deal with windows before you deal with steam and that's fine but there's a lot of people that just want a very simple steam experience they want to be able to play Steam games just like that and that's what this thing offers if you already have like a PC that has like steam machine you have a big steam Library I would definitely not get the alpha because it's basically like a gimped version of your computer this thing however gives you a very unique experience it's not like a completely different gaming experience but it's like a very different feel from just your computer in front of the TV it's a real it's like a console it's like a steam console and I think they did a really good job with that but if you're looking for like a customizable gaming experience with like you know better frame rates and all that jazz go with the alpha or go with your PC but if you're looking for something simple and just straight up boot up and go go with the steam machine it's pretty cool device that's the end of this review hope you guys liked it thumbs if you did Subs if you loved it it's been nice I'll see you guys next time\n"