Shortly after it was leaked that the Steam Machine might already be in reviewers’ hands, new benchmarks surfaced on the popular benchmarking platform Geekbench. This lends credence to rumors that Valve has already begun seeding review samples to the media, and it looks like the two new benchmark entries might be the direct result of those efforts.
On Geekbench, Valve’s new PC-console hybrid appears under the “Fremont” codename, which has been used before. Interestingly, the entry provides more details on the CPU, labeling it as an AMD Custom CPU 1772 without revealing its architecture or lineup. It is most certainly a custom AMD design, with 6 cores and 12 threads, which puts it in the Ryzen 5 tier. The Geekbench entry says it has 16 MB of L3 cache and has a base clock of 4.86 GHz.
In terms of performance, the two new Geekbench entries provide very similar scores. One entry shows a single-core score of 2334 with a multi-core score of 7316, while the other shows a single-core score of 2282 with a multi-core score of 7392. These numbers mean little without appropriate context, and you should always take these synthetic benchmark entries with a grain of salt.
Regardless, the Steam Machine’s performance numbers are unimpressive, and the response from gamers has been largely critical. On the r/hardware subreddit, the scores were compared to a Ryzen 5 7540U, which is not all that impressive. Redditor grahaman27 said that the scores were “pretty bad in 2026,” and that sentiment was echoed throughout the comment section. Gamers believe that Valve’s CPU is quite outdated for a console launching in June 2026.
Over on X, @Osvald_B407 said that the performance figures were between a Qualcomm 8 Gen 3 and an 8 Elite, which is also not an ideal place for Valve’s console to be. Another user said that it was “disgustingly low performance,” while others pointed to the underwhelming 0.48 IPC number on Geekbench. Clearly, the community is not happy with the Steam Machine’s early performance benchmarks, and they expected more from Valve.
The concern is compounded by the fact that we still don’t know anything about the price. Valve has been dancing around the pricing question for a while, even though all indicators point to a launch sometime in late June or early July. It is bizarre that a product that is mere weeks away does not have an official price tag. Valve has previously blamed the memory shortage for Steam Machine delays, and now industry experts say the final price is likely to cross the dreaded $1000 mark.
As this Redditor put it, it will be incredibly disappointing for the people if they pay $1000+ for this machine and get 20 FPS at default settings. The concern is valid, since the Steam Machine has to compete with well-optimized PS5 and Xbox Series consoles that deliver better theoretical gaming performance while costing less. Valve must pull some insane optimization tricks with SteamOS to alleviate the performance hurdles; otherwise, the Steam Machine might as well be a paperweight.
A slight ray of hope is that these numbers are just for the custom CPU, and gaming does not entirely depend on compute performance. The PS5’s CPU has a single-core Geekbench score of 1383, which is almost half that of the Steam Machine. However, Sony and Microsoft have always delivered better performance than the hardware suggests, thanks to their optimization pipelines. Valve does not have that privilege, at least not as it seems right now.
It will be interesting to see how Valve optimizes its hardware for SteamOS to improve performance. Valve already has a “Steam Machine Verified” program, but that doesn’t directly translate into good performance, especially when you’re paying $1000+ for it.
Thank you! Please share your positive feedback. 🔋
How could we improve this post? Please Help us. 😔
[PC Hardware Specialist]
Usman Saleem brings 8+ years of comprehensive PC hardware expertise to the table. His journey in the tech world has involved in-depth tech analysis and insightful PC hardware reviews, perfecting over 6+ years of dedicated work. Usman’s commitment to staying authentic and relevant in the field is underscored by many professional certifications, including a recent one in Google IT Support Specialization.
8+ years of specialized PC hardware coverage
6+ years of in-depth PC hardware analysis and reviews
Lead PC hardware expert across multiple tech journalism platforms
Certified in Google IT Support Specialization
Get In Touch: usman@tech4gamers.com
Join Our Community
