• artyom@piefed.social
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    3 days ago

    The benefit of Steam Machine:

    1. HDMI-CEC
    2. Wake on Bluetooth
    3. Sleep/Resume
    4. Background updates
    5. Efficiency/Noise/Heat
    • Evil_Shrubbery@thelemmy.club
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      1 day ago

      Haha, benefits of a computer is that it is a computer.

      Wait, is CEC rare thing? Does Linux lack specific support for modern GPUs?
      It’s been a long time since I’ve tried CEC on non-Pi computer.

      Wake on IR or USB is def a thing, but it isn’t via BT?

      • artyom@piefed.social
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        1 day ago

        It’s nothing to do with Linux, it’s to do with GPU hardware.

        Steam Deck has wake on BT so presumably the Machine will as well.

    • sakphul@discuss.tchncs.de
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      3 days ago

      Actually supporting HDMI-CEC is such a big thing because it makes it the perfect HTPC machine for Libreelec. No more need for separate remote to control your 4k HDR media player!

    • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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      1 day ago

      Most of that will be available with SteamOS in general I assume, and also probably, with packages, on any Linux distro. It’s really only HDMI-CEC and wake on Bluetooth that are somewhat exclusive. I don’t know how hard it is to build/add HDMI-CEC into a computer, but maybe that isn’t even exclusive. Wake on Bluetooth, I assume, requires some special hardware to support it, which I don’t think will be available or easily added to other computers.

      • artyom@piefed.social
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        13 hours ago

        Most of that will be available with SteamOS in general I assume

        No need to assume. I run SteamOS on my personal machine and don’t have any of these features. These are all hardware features.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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          1 day ago

          Sleep/resume, background updates, and efficiency/noise/heat are not hardware features.

          Every computer has sleep/resume.

          Background updates is a software-based idle mode. It reduces what’s running to the bare minimum and only runs a check for updates/the updater occasionally.

          Efficiency/noise/heat are all the same thing and has little to do with the hardware. The hardware they’re using isn’t any more efficient than what you can buy yourself. The software is possibly more efficient (for the Deck it is at least) to reduce power draw/heat/thermal throttling/noise. However, you can get the same yourself with Arch, only installing what you need. It’s not exclusive to Valve.

          • artyom@piefed.social
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            1 day ago

            Every computer has sleep/resume.

            Try it on your desktop in the middle of a game and let me know how that goes.

            Background updates is a software-based idle mode.

            It’s not, it requires a special processor.

            Efficiency/noise/heat are all the same thing and has little to do with the hardware.

            Uhhh it has EVERYTHING to do with the hardware?

            The hardware they’re using isn’t any more efficient than what you can buy yourself.

            Not in this compact size.

            • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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              1 day ago

              Try it on your desktop in the middle of a game and let me know how that goes.

              Oh, you mean application sleep/resume. Yeah, that’s not standard. It’s not hardware-based though. It just needs to offload the data in cache and RAM into storage, then put it back when it’s needed. That’s handled by software, and I would wager on it being available on SteamOS at large, and probably all of Linux, once it’s published.

              It’s not, it requires a special processor.

              I have not heard about it having a “special processor”. It’s a AMD Zen 4 CPU. It doesn’t seem to have anything special there. Do you mean an additional processor? I haven’t heard any discussion of that. They’ve said they want to add it to the Deck too, so I’m pretty sure you’re incorrect.

              Uhhh it has EVERYTHING to do with the hardware?

              Their hardware isn’t special. It’s stuff you can buy off the shelf. Sure, choosing efficient hardware is important, but it isn’t exclusive to the Steam Machine/Valve. That’s what I was discussing. Anything extra they’re getting out of it is software and/or firmware.

              Not in this compact size.

              First, yes, you can, if you make it yourself. Sure, it’s hard, but not impossible.

              Second, the size has nothing to do with the efficiency! Sure, it’s nice, but it doesn’t reduce power draw. It’s got the same amount of heat generation as any other computer with the same hardware. Yes, it has a fairly large radiator/heat-sink, but you can get the same size (or larger) yourself if you want.

              • artyom@piefed.social
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                1 day ago

                I have not heard about it having a “special processor”. It’s a AMD Zen 4 CPU.

                Look closelier. It’s “semi-custom”.

                It’s stuff you can buy off the shelf.

                Which shelf is that?

                First, yes, you can, if you make it yourself.

                No.

                the size has nothing to do with the efficiency!

                It has everything to do with heat and noise.

                • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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                  1 day ago

                  Look closelier. It’s “semi-custom”.

                  They clarified, the silicon is off-the-shelf and the firmware is modified. It doesn’t have some “special processor” or anything.

                  It has everything to do with heat and noise.

                  What? It being small only means the heat has less room to be removed, so it needs a higher power fan (or thermal throttling). It does have something to do with heat and noise, in that smaller is worse for them. If it’s quite or cool, that’s despite the size, not because of it.

                  I don’t care to argue about this, but you’re making unfounded claims that this device is somehow special, because it’s made by Valve I guess, and they need to be worshiped? It seems like a nice kit, but it isn’t particularly groundbreaking. It’s just a well designed and put together computer. Most of what it does is the same as any other computer, running Linux/Arch is capable of.

                  • artyom@piefed.social
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                    10 hours ago

                    the firmware is modified. It doesn’t have some “special processor” or anything.

                    The firmware is not part of the processor. Every processor has custom firmware.

                    It being small only means the heat has less room to be removed

                    Being custom allows it to be both small and quiet. Find me another PC in this size, with this much power, that’s as quiet. You can’t.

                    because it’s made by Valve I guess, and they need to be worshiped?

                    I’ve already stated why several times. Now you’re just being disingenuous.