It's been a tough time for the Steam Machine following the recent RAMpocalypse, and honestly, I'm pretty annoyed about it. Valve's initial vision of a user-friendly, budget-friendly gaming PC has taken a hit with the base model starting at a whopping $1,049, reaching over $1,400 when you include a controller. The memory crisis has clearly inflated prices, and it's frustrating to see what should've been an accessible option morph into a premium product that struggles against cheaper, lower-spec PCs. I wanted to love this little machine, especially after the fantastic experience with the Steam Deck, but it's hard to justify that price tag for the specs it offers. It feels like we're losing a potential champion for gamers who can't keep up with this ongoing hardware inflation.