ASRock Rack is promising up to 4 TB of DDR5 on a single socket with its DMRD16-2L+, one of the first motherboards built for Intel's upcoming Xeon 7 "Diamond Rapids" processors. The board was shown at the OCP Global Summit 2026 and has since been detailed by ServeTheHome. It has 16 DIMM slots in a one-DIMM-per-channel layout, matching the 16-channel memory setup Intel detailed at HOT CHIPS. Regular RDIMMs top out at 128 GB per module and 8000 MT/s, while MRDIMMs run at up to 12,800 MT/s, with taller 2U MRDIMMs reaching 256 GB each. Populate all 16 slots with those, and you hit 4 TB, along with a theoretical bandwidth of roughly 1.6 TB/s.

Expansion is unusual, with no standard PCIe slots and no OCP NIC 3.0 connector. All I/O goes through up to 16 MCIO x8 connectors, each rated for PCIe 6.0 or CXL 3.0, for 128 lanes in total. The rest is fairly basic: one PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot, two Intel I350 Gigabit Ethernet ports, an ASPEED AST2700 BMC with a dedicated management port, and VGA output. ASRock Rack fits it all on a 12 x 13-inch EEB PCB, about the size of a large E-ATX board, so it could squeeze into some bigger workstation cases. Pricing and availability have not been shared yet, but that is hardly surprising, since Intel has the Xeon 7 family slated for a 2027 debut on the new LGA9324 socket. The board is aimed at servers, though anyone planning a high-memory workstation for local AI will probably keep an eye on it.

Sony Electronics Inc. today announced new premium Walkman digital media players - NW-WM1ZM3, NW-WM1AM3, and NW-ZX900. Designed for music enthusiasts and audiophiles, the new Walkman models are engineered to deliver exceptional sound and incorporate a wealth of premium audio components throughout their design.

The NW-WM1ZM3 and NW-WM1AM3 bring together Sony's most advanced audio technologies, including key components made from oxygen-free copper, for uncompromising sound quality. The WM1 Series is designed to convey the artist's original intent, delivering detailed, high-resolution sound. Developed in pursuit of exceptional sound quality, it captures subtle nuances throughout a performance, while maintaining clarity, scale, and dynamics at higher volumes.

NVIDIA is marking the retail launch of its RTX Spark laptops with a public party in Berlin, and anyone aged 18 or older can attend. The RTX Spark Launch Celebration takes place on October 16, the same day the first laptops ship, at XPERION on Alexanderplatz. NVIDIA is presenting it as "a new beginning for Windows PCs" in the run-up to GTC Berlin, and the evening combines a stage program with hands-on demo stations and a laptop raffle. The company is even lighting up the Berlin TV Tower in NVIDIA green for the occasion.

Entry is free, although registration through Luma is required beforehand. The queue opens at 18:00 local time and doors open at 18:45. XPERION sits inside the Saturn store at Alexanderplatz 3, and capacity is limited, especially for the stage show. NVIDIA recommends arriving early for that reason, since that is how visitors secure entry, a spot in the raffle, and a goodie bag. The Berlin event is a chance to try RTX Spark hardware in person, across AI, creative, and gaming workloads.

Forza Horizon 6 will apparently reach the PlayStation 5 on January 26, 2027, according to billbil-kun, the generally reliable leaker at Dealabs. That would put the port a little over eight months behind the Xbox Series X|S and PC versions, which launched on May 19, and it would miss the 2026 window that Microsoft and Playground Games have been promising since January. The game is also said to be getting a physical disc release on the same day as the digital version. That is a change from Forza Horizon 5, which arrived on PS5 in April 2025 as a digital-only title. Pricing is reportedly set at €69.99 in Europe and £59.99 in the UK, the same as the Xbox version, and billbil-kun expects the US price to land at $69.99.

An official announcement is expected as early as this week, with pre-orders opening shortly after. Of course, neither Microsoft nor Playground Games has confirmed any of this. In early September, the studio's own blog still said the PS5 version would be out "later this year". The Verge's Tom Warren had been saying otherwise since late August, and he later reported that the port was being pushed to early 2027, apparently to coincide with the game's first expansion. It looks like he had it right. PS5 owners should keep an eye out for the official launch date and pre-order details.

GameStop is now reportedly asking $1,399.99 for a pre-owned PlayStation 5 Pro, which is $500 more than Sony's $899.99 list price for a new one. Consoles with the disc drive attached go for $1,499.99, and GameStop Pro members apparently get the base unit for $1,329.99. An internal memo shared on the r/GameStop subreddit, reportedly by a store employee, addresses the gap directly. It says "the preowned console will have a higher price than the new console," and calls this "intentional." The memo doesn't seem to spell out a reason, but it isn't hard to guess. New PS5 Pro units are largely sold out at list price, and the few listings left at big retailers are apparently going for around $1,500.

Contrary to how it may appear at first, then, GameStop's used price still sits under what a new console costs on the open market today. The same memo reportedly puts trade-in values at $800 for the Pro and $850 with a disc drive, which is more than the console's $699.99 launch price in 2024. Sony raised the PS5 Pro to $899.99 in April and blamed rising memory costs. With GTA 6 arriving on November 19 and the memory crisis in full swing, demand probably isn't going to ease soon. Although r/GameStop moderators have since confirmed the validity of the poster, readers should still treat it as an internal leak for now, not an official price change. GameStop hasn't commented on this incident yet.

Warhammer Survivors is an upcoming bullet heaven game set in the grim-dark Warhammer universe. As the name suggests, the game takes inspiration from the recent flurry of games similar to Vampire Survivors, and it features similar pixel graphics, to boot. As per a recent announcement, Warhammer Survivors now has a November 10 release date on Steam, GOG, Xbox Series, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, and mobile. The game will launch at £6.39, $7.99, and €7.49, although regional pricing is also in effect, so prices in other regions will vary.

Along with the release date announcement, Warhammer Survivors has also received an updated demo that gives players access to two new champions, new weapons, and improved gameplay, compared to the previous demo. The developer, Auroch Digital, was previously responsible for Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, Boltgun - Words of Vengeance, and Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War!, so it's safe to say the studio has a decent background in sci-fi properties. According to the game's Steam page, it will launch with 40 playable characters from the Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Age of Sigmar universes, over 75 iconic weapons, and boss battles with notable Warhammer monsters.

German utility SWK Energie, the municipal power company of Krefeld, is selling an electricity plan aimed squarely at gamers. It's called meinGAMING, and the pitch is simple enough: a higher fixed monthly fee in exchange for a lower price per kilowatt-hour. SWK says the plan starts to make sense at around 2,500 kWh per year, which is where the calculator's "Casual Gamer" preset sits. The "Pro Gamer" and "Gaming Haushalt" presets default to 3,500 kWh and 5,000 kWh. Of course, the wall socket doesn't know what's plugged into it. The same plan works just as well for a household with a heat pump or an electric car, so the gaming part appears to be branding more than anything else.

Pricing depends on the postcode. One example for postcode 51381 listed 25.01 cents per kWh and a €23.67 monthly base fee, along with a €100 new customer bonus and a price guarantee of up to 24 months. Apparently, that per-kWh rate was raised after a rush of sign-ups. A gaming PC alone probably won't get most people to 2,500 kWh, though. An RTX 5090 at its full 575 W for 30 hours a week works out to roughly 900 kWh a year. SWK also says the power is 100% renewable, backed by certificates of origin from European hydroelectric plants. Readers in Germany are advised to compare the plan against regular tariffs for their own postcode before switching.

AMD has published the full EPYC 9006 "Venice" lineup on its product page, listing specifications and 1,000-unit pricing for all 31 Zen 6 server processors across the SP7 and SP8 platforms. Prices start at $700 for the 8-core EPYC 9016 and top out at $14,904 for the 256-core EPYC 9996. AMD says the specifications are subject to change. The EPYC 9996 is the flagship, with 256 Zen 6c cores and 512 threads, a 2.55 GHz base clock, up to 4.1 GHz boost, 1 GB of L3 cache, and a default CPU power of 600 W (configurable from 400 W to 600 W). That works out to roughly $58 per core, and it costs about the same as the 192-core EPYC 9965 did at launch, which was around $14,800.

The SP7 platform covers nine chips, from the 64-core EPYC 9556 at $8,008 up to the 9996. The 22 chips on the SP8 platform run from 8 cores up to the 128-core EPYC 9746 at $11,679. AMD has also retired TDP as its power label for this generation, using "Default CPU Power" instead. SP7 systems are expected in Q4 2026, with SP8 following in the first half of 2027. These are 1Ku prices, so what OEMs charge for complete systems will probably look quite different. Nevertheless, it looks like the EPYC 9996 is the one to watch for this generation, especially after AMD's claims of beating NVIDIA's Vera CPUs by a significant margin.

Ayaneo has opened orders for the Konkr Pocket Block, the vertical Android handheld its budget Konkr sub-brand first showed off in May. The 2 GB RAM and 32 GB storage model costs $89, while the 3 GB and 64 GB version costs $109. Early bird pricing knocks $10 off both for a limited time, bringing them to $79 and $99. Ayaneo says shipping starts at the end of October. The handheld packs a 3.33-inch 4:3 LCD with a 960 x 720 resolution, a MediaTek Helio G85 chip, a microSD slot, and a 3,500 mAh battery. It runs Android 12 and has no fan, so Ayaneo is using a heat spreader instead.

It looks like the 2 GB model only comes in gray, while the 3 GB version also gets Cube Purple and a translucent Atoms White. The Helio G85 is a budget chip, so it might be best suited to emulating older systems up to around the PS1 and PSP era, while PS2 and GameCube games will probably be a struggle. Ayaneo billed the Pocket Block as the world's first AI handheld back in May, but it still hasn't said what the AI features are. In the meantime, the company also unveiled and launched the Game Boy Advance-inspired Konkr Pocket Advance. Pricing here looks to be reasonable enough that it may be worth a look, though readers are advised to wait for reviews first.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has laid out his most direct pitch yet for what Copilot is supposed to become, calling it a "new OS for work that spans every model, every form factor, and every task." The comment came alongside Microsoft's biggest Copilot overhaul to date, which merges four pieces into one app: Autopilot (a long-running enterprise agent), Code (an in-app builder that hosts apps inside a company's own tenant), Home (which combines Chat and Cowork), and Office, with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint now built directly into Copilot. Nadella also mentioned Copilot support inside Teams, plus a new feature called Today that pulls relevant information from across Microsoft 365 without the user having to ask.

It looks like Microsoft wants Copilot to work more like a proactive layer sitting across a person's entire workday instead of a chat window they open on demand (or by accident). Interestingly, Microsoft avoided calling Copilot part of the Windows 11 operating system this time, a year after its "agentic OS" framing for Windows drew a fairly rough reception from users. This is not even the first time Microsoft has thought about expanding Copilot in this way. Microsoft did explore a full Copilot-centered operating system internally, under the codename Project Aion, though that reportedly dates back to 2024 and there's no word on whether it's still active.

Valve has opened reservations for the Steam Frame, its standalone VR headset, with pricing starting at $1,059 for the 256 GB model and going up to $1,299 for the 1 TB version. We had already reported back in July that Qualcomm's own chip price hikes were pushing Steam Frame costs upward well before today's reveal. In an interview with Tom's Hardware, Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais walked through why the final price landed where it did. Here's what he said:

"I think as far as memory prices and those kinds of conditions, we're really in it like everyone else. It's an unfortunate situation all around. We wish that gaming hardware was cheaper, but we're definitely trying to be on the cheapest side that we can get despite all those conditions. Even just things like motherboards, copper, anything, even shipping anything worldwide right now is way more expensive than it was last year and two years ago. So every part of the sticker price is affected there."

Wooting has been teasing a number of updates to its 80HE TKL gaming keyboard for a number of months, including a split space layout and the giant knobs that were shown off as early as May 2025. Some of the upgrades to the 80HE+ are carry-overs from the 60HE V2, like the new FR4 plate and the option to have split space bars in the same 2.75/1.25/2.25 u configuration, but others are unique to the 80HE+. The new 80HE+ and the Lekker Large knob will be available for pre-order on September 17, but shipping is expected to start in mid-October.

[Editor's note: Our in-depth review of the Wooting 80HE is live]

Pricing will remain the same as the current 80HE line-up, with the exception of the module, which will be slightly cheaper than before and includes a daughterboard for custom builds. Wooting also says that the zinc case models have been made more durable, following the slew of issues Wooting previously faced with the coating, and the preassembled zinc model now ships as standard with the 4 u Lekker Large knob. The zinc module SKU, will not be sold with a knob included, but the knob will be available to module buyers at a discounted price.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is apparently getting a personalized price test, at least for some subscribers. A Reddit post from user synthlov3r on r/XboxGamePass shows an offer of $16.09 per month for Game Pass Ultimate, locked in for 12 months before reverting to the standard $22.99 rate. That works out to $193.08 for the year, roughly $82.80 less than paying the regular monthly price the whole way through. Other users replying to the same thread reported different numbers, with some seeing offers closer to $18 or $20 a month. One commenter mentioned that their secondary account received the discount while their main account didn't, which suggests account-level targeting.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate dropped from $29.99 to $22.99 back in April, after subscriber numbers reportedly took a hit following the earlier price hike. Under CEO Asha Sharma, Xbox has already signaled interest in making Game Pass pricing more flexible, so personalized discounts aimed at lapsed or price-sensitive subscribers would fit that direction. Microsoft hasn't confirmed any of this as an official pricing program yet, so treat these figures as anecdotal for now, even if the pattern checks out across multiple reports.

Sony Electronics Inc. today announced the WH-1000XM4C (M4 2nd Gen) wireless noise-cancelling headphones, a refreshed version of one of Sony's most popular over-ear models. Building on the fan favorite WH-1000XM4, the WH-1000XM4C combines Sony's renowned 1000X Series noise cancellation, trusted premium sound, and the timeless design loved by many, with updated sound tuning designed for today's listening preferences. The WH-1000XM4C now features a new 10-band equalizer for greater sound personalization and refreshed color options.

Sony is also updating its mid-range wireless headphone lineup with the WH-CH730N and WH-CH530. The WH-CH730N offers noise-cancelling technology and everyday versatility at a more approachable price point, while the WH-CH530 delivers reliable wireless audio in a light weight, easy-to-wear design.

XBAB Tech, a small mouse brand that started as an enthusiast project, has officially announced the pre-order availability date and pricing for the XA25, which it claims will be the lightest full-size gaming mouse on the market. The mouse shape closely mimics Logitech's G100s and the G305, both of which have a loyal following in the gaming community, and it will be a wired mouse, ditching the heavy battery in favor of an ultra-flex cable for lighter weight.

The basic specifications include an 8 kHz polling rate, a PixArt PAW 3950 sensor paired with a Nuvoton M483 MCU, Kailh Sword GM X switches, a TTC Dustproof Gold scroll wheel encoder, and Omron D2LS-21 side buttons. XBAB has reverse engineered and disabled features like DPI downshift and smoothing to reduce MCU processing and get the latency down as low as possible. The end result of the in-house testing is a claimed 3 µs firmware overhead.

According to TrendForce's latest memory industry research, major global cloud service providers (CSPs) are accelerating AI infrastructure investment, with total CapEx projected to surge 98% YoY in 2026 and rise another 50% in 2027. The rapid increase will be driven in part by soaring memory contract prices and robust procurement demand. TrendForce estimates that DRAM and NAND Flash combined will account for 47% of CSPs' total CapEx in 2026, with their share rising further to 68% in 2027.

TrendForce observes that the sharp rise in memory contract prices since the second half of 2025 has significantly increased memory's share of CSP spending. Server DRAM—a key procurement category for CSPs—saw contract prices rise by a cumulative 64% in 2H25, with a further jump of approximately 270% expected in 2026. Meanwhile, a similar trend is unfolding in NAND Flash, with enterprise SSD prices rising by around 35% in 2H25 and projected to surge by a cumulative 235% in 2026.

Rumors about the upcoming Sony PlayStation 6 have been flying around for months now, purporting to reveal everything from pricing and specs to an approximate release window. Now, the gaming giant's CEO, Hiroki Totoki, has addressed the PS6 launch date in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal.

In the interview, Totoki explains that the volatility of the current PC and console hardware market makes it difficult to pin down pricing or a release date. He notes that memory prices are still expected to be high in the 2027 financial year, thanks to an ongoing supply shortage, and, given those market conditions, Sony has to "think carefully" about its launch strategy for the new console.

If it wasn't enough that memory, storage, and CPU shortages are driving up the prices of PCs, Microsoft is now imposing a price increase on OEM PC makers for their Windows licenses. According to Taiwanese UDN, Microsoft has notified OEM PC makers that Windows licensing fees are going up by 7% to 10%. One of the PC vendors noted that Microsoft typically increases its Windows license fees every year, but only by a low, single-digit percentage. However, this time the increase goes up to 10%, making it one of the most significant increases OEMs have experienced. We don't know the exact dollar amount, as Microsoft works with PC OEMs individually to set prices.

PC OEMs likely receive better prices based on volume, with large makers such as Dell, HP, ASUS, Acer, and others getting much better deals than smaller OEMs with fewer shipments. Thus, the 7-10% increase depends on the PC OEM's volume and individual deals with Microsoft. However, no one is spared from these increases as the Redmond-based giant seeks to extract a few more percentage points from the world's most widely used PC operating system. The company is investing heavily in engineering efforts to remodel its Windows 11 operating system for a better user experience after years of updates that compromised it. Increasing the license fees for OEMs is one way to offset these efforts.

NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 50 series of "Blackwell" graphics cards has seen significant price increases over the past few months, with a particularly notable jump between July and August. On Newegg, one of the largest computer hardware retailers in the United States, there has been a noticeable change in the median listed price for each GeForce RTX 50 model. For instance, the entry-level GeForce RTX 5050 had a median price of $300 in June, which rose by 5% to $315 in August. Moving up the range, the GeForce RTX 5060 was listed at an average of $370 in July, but this increased by 27% to $470 in August, marking a $100 difference. However, this is just the beginning.

The 8 GB edition of the RTX 5060 Ti was priced at $470 and has now risen to $530, reflecting a 13% increase. The most significant change occurred with the 16 GB version of the RTX 5060 Ti, which jumped from $570 in July to $805 in August, a 39% increase. The RTX 5070 experienced a similar percentage rise of 36%, going from $660 to $900. The RTX 5070 Ti remained steady at $1100, while the RTX 5080 saw a modest 3% increase from $1462 to $1500. The flagship GeForce RTX 5090 recorded a 9% increase, moving from $4300 to $4700.

Microsoft is significantly increasing the prices of its Xbox gaming consoles starting August 1st across the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom. We were aware that the pricing strategy for the United States market involves an increase of up to $150, depending on the SKU. However, it turns out that the pricing in Europe and the UK is set to rise even more dramatically. A member of the Resetera forum has compiled a list of UK and European pricing updates, showing the Xbox Series S 512 GB version going from €349 to €499, while the Xbox Series X Digital Edition is now priced at €749, up from €549. For the base Xbox Series S model, this represents a 43% price hike compared to the old price. Raising the price by nearly half the MSRP is a decision made amid the memory crisis, where Microsoft's supply of GDDR6 memory for these consoles has been affected by significantly higher prices.

For the more powerful Xbox Series X, the price increase ranges from 33% to 36%, depending on whether the edition is digital or disc version. This means that for the 1 TB version of the Xbox Series X with disc capability, you can expect to pay €800. Of course, this is only the MSRP listing, and retailers might add additional charges if demand exceeds supply. As we approach the launch of the Grand Theft Auto VI game, expect console demand to continue rising. Console makers like Sony have been stockpiling memory to ensure there is ample supply. Below, you can check the pricing across Europe, the UK, and the US, compiled by VideoGamesChronicle.

Khadas recently unveiled its Mind Pro mini PC, powered by Intel's Panther Lake CPUs, alongside its modular eGPU solution, which is powered by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti, but the brand has recently announced that the ongoing hardware shortages caused by the AI boom have resulted in the brand needing to hike prices for the entire series and delay or potentially cancel some versions of the mini PC altogether. In a recent statement regarding the pricing of the Khadas Mind Pro Pricing, Khadas references the ongoing PC hardware availability issues and says that, while it will be increasing prices for the Mind Pro, it has "chosen to keep this price adjustment as minimal as possible" by absorbing part of the price increase.

It goes on to explain that the Khadas Mind Pro with the Intel Core Ultra X7 and 64 GB of memory will see a $300 price increase, from the pre-order price of $1,999 to a new MSRP of $2,299. Additionally, the brand has had to delay the launch of the Intel Core Ultra X9 version of the mini PC with 96 GB RAM and the Core Ultra X7 model with 32 GB of memory. It cites a disproportionate increase in memory costs for the 96 GB DDR5-9600 modules used in the high-end version as the reason for the delay in the high-end model. The brand didn't exactly explain why the Mind Pro X7 with 32 GB of memory was delayed, but it did explain that the Core Ultra X7 version that remains available is the best balance between price and performance. It might also be the version that is most likely to sell the most units and where Khadas can generate enough profit to cover some of the increased memory costs. Until the pre-order period is over, the Mind Pro mini PC with the Core Ultra X7 will carry the same $500 discount from the new MSRP, coming in at $1,799 ahead of the March 27 pre-order closure.

Update Jul 30th: The Core Ultra X7-based Khadas Mind mini PC has received yet another price increase, this time bringing the price up by $300 to $2,599. At the time of writing, the only model available is the Core Ultra X7 358H version with 64 GB of memory and 2 TB of SSD storage.

DDR5 pricing in Germany has been picking up pace again, according to the latest report by 3D Center. Unfortunately, this July has seen a 7% monthly price increase for DDR5 kits, on top of the already elevated prices, pushing DDR5 to new all-time highs. Despite stagnation between February and slight price decreases in March and June, July has continued the upward trend, now placing the average cost of DDR5 memory at a 448% increase over the prices recorded back in July 2025. In a single year, prices have more than quadrupled, mostly driven by massive price hikes between October 2025 and January 2026. PC enthusiasts have already faced significant affordability issues due to these price hikes, and there doesn't seem to be an end to this trend.

Even ADATA's Chairman, Chen Li-bai, suggested that it might take another 10 years for the DRAM supply chain to stabilize. This is a grim outlook for PC DIY enthusiasts who want to build their own PCs or make upgrades, as DRAM is driving up the prices of GPUs as well as DDR5 memory kits. Only after 2030 might there be some preliminary estimations on whether the demand for more DRAM, more NAND Flash, and more computing power will be sustained until 2040 or 2050. For now, we are bracing for the impact of sustained price hikes, which have become the new norm for months.

Valve's Steam Machine, originally meant to be a somewhat affordable SFF console-PC hybrid, officially went on sale in mid-June at a rather alarming starting price of $1,049, as a result of the ongoing DRAM and storage crisis. One question that has repeatedly come up is how the value proposition of the Steam Machine would change if the price were to drop. In a recent interview with Digital Foundry, Valve has explained its stance on the Steam Machine pricing and its expectations for the future of the PC gaming hardware market.

Valve engineers, Yazan Aldehayyat and Pierre-Loup Griffais explained that "there's no point for us to keep hardware at a higher price. It's meant to be an enabler of a stronger connection between people and their games," going on to comment that "the cheaper, the better," however, as Aldehayyat says, "it's hard for us to predict the future, but we're not optimistic it's going to happen soon," adding that "other people in the industry have said as much." Aldehayyat is referring to ongoing and future DRAM price hikes, which Microsoft recently predicted would continue to rise when it announced the upcoming August Xbox price increases.

As was the case with the Steam Deck, Valve is selling the Steam Machine via Komodo Station, an Asian reseller that serves much of South-East Asia, and as a result, it skips the reservation and lottery system that is currently in place on Valve's own Steam Store. While this doesn't combat issues like scalping and shortages as well as Steam's in-house system, it provides a much more realistic indication of current stock levels. According to Komodo Store, however, all versions of the Valve Steam Machine have officially sold out less than 48 hours after the new hardware launched.

In Japan, the Steam Machine starts at $1,175 for the 512 GB model and goes up from there to ~$1,638 for the 2 TB model with two Steam Controllers and two additional faceplates. It remains to be seen how well the console will sell in the west when it officially starts shipping on June 25, however, since the price is quite high, especially compared to consoles like the PS5 Pro and similar small-form-factor PCs. As far as sentiment goes, there appears to be a divide forming in online spaces, like r/steammachine on Reddit, where some are saying the convenience of not having to set up any hardware is worth the price trade-off. The Steam Machine was seemingly meant to cost around 30% less initially, but it's unclear if or when it will come down to that price, which will only be possible if the RAM crisis comes to an end and hardware prices ease.

It's no secret that Valve's Steam Machine is launching at possibly the worst moment for both PC and console gaming hardware, given the ongoing DRAM crisis, but Valve engineer, Pierre-Loup Griffais, has recently shed light on the pre-RAM crisis pricing of the Steam Machine, revealing that it was never going to be a cheap device. According Griffais in an interview with IGN, the price difference between the actual Steam Machine at launch and the price if it had launched without the influence of the DRAM crisis was "probably similar" to the price increase Valve was all but forced to apply to the Steam Deck in May. That means that the Steam Machine could have cost as little as $730-750, based on the 30% difference between the current entry-level Steam Deck pricing and its original MSRP.

This pricing would have put the Steam Machine within spitting distance of the Sony PlayStation 5 and below the $899.99 price of the PS5 Pro after the recent Sony price hikes. Given that the Steam Machine is a hybrid device and can easily serve as both a console and a desktop computer, it's easy to see how the original price would have been more palatable, even if more expensive than a base PS5. Part of the high pricing can no doubt be attributed to the Steam Machine's openness. Where consoles like the Xbox and PS5 are subsidized by game sales, there's nothing stopping anyone from installing Windows on it and leaving Valve's ecosystem, removing the incentive to subsidize hardware entirely—you wouldn't even need to remove SteamOS to play games outside of Steam on the Steam Machine.