Valve already lets your PC be a Steam Machine via Steam Link

I’m itching to get a Steam Machine but the $1,049 price tag puts that idea on hold, so I revisited an 11-year-old Steam feature that can already turn a desktop into a living-room rig. The original Steam Machines ultimately failed amid Linux limitations, a lack of a single first-party system, and steep price points, but they arrived alongside Steam Link, which streams games locally to lower-spec devices.

In its early days Steam Link came in a tiny TV box with a Marvell DE35-A1 single-core processor, 256MB RAM and 4GB storage, yet it could ping games to a screen at 1080p 60fps over Ethernet or Wi‑Fi. Today the feature exists as a standalone app on affordable handhelds, mini PCs and other Android and Apple devices with Play Store access.

Steam Link simply puts your PC into Big Picture Mode and lets you control the rig with a controller via a streamed image, so many gadgets you already own can mimic a Steam Machine.

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