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At first glance, comparing the Steam Machine to the Nvidia Shield Pro might seem like an apples-to-oranges comparison, but they offer many of the same things. You can stream media on either, and both of them are marketed as being able to run games. However, the Steam Machine costs $1,049, while you can get an Nvidia Shield TV Pro for a much more modest $200 on Amazon.
If you’re wondering why the Steam Machine is priced so much higher than the Shield Pro, the answer is simple: they’re devices made for different purposes. The Steam Machine is a mini-PC and console hybrid released in 2026 that’s focused on providing a solid gaming experience, whereas the Nvidia Shield Pro is a media streaming device that also supports Nvidia GeForce Now to play games via the cloud.
While the Shield Pro is still an amazing media streaming device, Valve’s Steam Machine is a much more flexible device. From running AAA titles locally to running Windows and supporting a much larger pool of applications, here’s everything that the Steam Machine can do but the Shield Pro can’t.
1. Run heavy games locally
Whether you’re using the Steam Machine or the Nvidia Shield Pro, you generally won’t be facing issues playing your favorite games. However, the specifics of how these games run on each device differ greatly. The Steam Machine is a proper gaming rig, featuring a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 CPU, a semi-custom AMD RDNA 3 GPU, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM. This setup is about as good as most gaming consoles and mid-range PCs, which means it can process and run most games locally.
The Nvidia Shield Pro has a 2019 Tegra X1+ chipset and a Maxwell GPU, both of which offer significantly worse gaming performance than most modern smartphones. Additionally, it only comes with 3GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. If you want to play games on an Nvidia Shield, you’ll have to use GeForce Now and run them on the cloud. This means spending extra on the service, as the free tier has long queue times and only lets you play for an hour at a time. Additionally, even with a paid tier, you only get 100 hours of playtime a month, and you have to spend extra to buy more. You also need a fast internet connection with an unlimited data plan, since streaming gameplay takes a toll on your bandwidth. There will also be some form of latency no matter how fast your connection is, and an unstable or slow connection could render the games completely unplayable.
If you have Gigabit internet that can support GeForce Now or just want to play less graphically intensive games from the Google Play Store, you’ll likely get by with the Shield Pro. However, if you’re an avid gamer, the Steam Machine is a much more convenient purchase.
2. Use Bluetooth headset mics
If you’re going to game on any device, you’ll need support for peripherals. Both the Steam Machine and the Nvidia Shield Pro have multiple USB ports (though the Steam Machine also supports the faster USB 3.2) and support Bluetooth for this, which means you’ll generally be able to connect your controllers and headphones just fine. However, if you often play multiplayer games and want to call your friends as you do so, you’ll run into some issues with an Nvidia Shield.
The Nvidia Shield Pro supports in-game voice chat if you’re running a game using Nvidia GeForce Now. However, the peripheral support for this is restricted. You need an Nvidia Shield controller if you want to use a wired headset, as there’s no audio input port on the Shield itself. If you don’t have a controller, you can use Bluetooth headphones, but there’s no mic support for Bluetooth headphones on Android TV, which means no audio goes through.
The issue can be solved by getting an Nvidia Shield Controller paired with a wired headset, but this adds extra expenses. Additionally, the controller’s availability might be a problem, as it is out of stock at the time of writing. Instead, you can get a non-Bluetooth headset that uses a 2.4GHz radio frequency channel with a dedicated dongle plugged into the Shield, such as a SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro.
3. Upgradability, customizability, and repairability
A big reason why PCs last much longer than laptops and gaming consoles is the design philosophy regarding upgrades, modification, and repairability. Closed systems like a PlayStation or a Nintendo Switch offer barely any modifications: You’re stuck with what you have, and if you want to run newer games that require more powerful hardware, you’ll have to purchase an entirely new console. PCs differ here, as if you want a better GPU, you can swap out only your computer’s graphics card without getting a completely new device.
The Nvidia Shield Pro, like most other streaming devices, is a closed system. The Steam Machine is not. You can’t swap out the soldered-in 3GB of RAM or 16GB of storage in your Shield Pro, and if you run into any issues with the device, you can’t repair it yourself. You also get no cosmetic options from Nvidia, which means most Shields look the same to one another.
Valve takes a completely different approach here, letting Steam Machine owners upgrade or swap out some internal components, including the RAM and the SSD. You can also personalize your Steam Machine’s faceplate to reflect your tastes. It’s also generally considered much more repair-friendly than other devices, including the Shield Pro.
4. Install Windows and act as a dedicated PC
The Steam Machine’s native OS is the Linux-based SteamOS, whereas the Nvidia Shield Pro comes with Android TV. The former is made primarily for gaming, while the latter is a platform tailored for media streaming. If you want a more familiar desktop experience or a convenient replacement for your PC, you only get this option with the Steam Machine.
The Steam Machine’s hardware can support the same workloads as a PC would. We’ve already discussed its much more powerful CPU and GPU compared to the half-decade-old Android processors inside the Shield, but it goes beyond just a difference in internal components. First, even if you got Android TV working in a desktop environment, the 3GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage simply aren’t enough for a modern PC. Unlike the Steam Machine, there’s no way to swap out the Shield’s RAM for a bigger stick.
Additionally, even if the Shield’s hardware and storage were enough to power a Windows PC, you get no option of downloading Windows on the device due to a difference in architecture. On the other hand, it is exceptionally easy and straightforward to download and run Windows on the Steam Machine.
5. Access a much wider variety of apps and games
Gaming consoles typically don’t have access to a wide variety of apps. This makes sense, as they’re machines built for gaming. You might be able to stream your favorite shows depending on what console you own, but you’re out of options if you want to download apps not natively supported on your console or third-party utility programs.
The Nvidia Shield Pro falls under the same category for the most part. You have access to most streaming services and a wide variety of apps on the Google Play Store, but you’re still heavily restricted compared to what you can do on a PC. First, even the apps you can download from the Play Store are limited compared to what you can do on a phone. You can still sideload apps and use GeForce Now to play PC games, but you still have limitations: you can only sideload software that the weak processor can run, whereas GeForce Now requires you to own most of the games and have a fast internet connection.
The Steam Machine natively lets you download any game that’s available on Steam. Since SteamOS is based on Linux, you’ll have little trouble installing any program that has Linux support. Additionally, you can even play Epic and GOG games on the Steam Machine. Valve’s Proton compatibility layer also means that games made to run on Windows still work fine on the device. If all of that wasn’t enough and you still find something that doesn’t run on SteamOS natively, you can just install Windows, enabling you to download any .exe file the same way you would on a Windows computer.
