Well, the steam machine was supposed to be 850 dollars (mentioned on LTT) which is 50 dollars cheaper than the PS5 Pro, you get a smaller machine that you can do whatever you want with and are not required to pay any online subscription fee ($80) a year.

If the price was not upset by the RAM debacle it would have been a very attractive offer, no subscription and more upgradable. I still think in time when the market calms down and supply is less constrained it will reach that price point, even at its current price it's not a completely unreasonable offering for a family member especially with the ability to share your existing steam library.