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Very weird USB-C port placement choices... - 2 USB3-A on the front - 2 USB2-A on the back - 1 USB-C on the back If you want to plug an external USB hard dri
by TheCoreh 10mo ago
Very weird USB-C port placement choices...
- 2 USB3-A on the front
- 2 USB2-A on the back
- 1 USB-C on the back
If you want to plug an external USB hard drive or SSD at full speed, you'll need to plug it at the front? Or use up the only USB-C port...
I suspect most joysticks sold today come with a USB-C to USB-C cable, so if you want to charge your controller you either need to plug on the back, use an adapter, or get a USB-A to USB-C cable?
Also the single USB-C port isn't Thunderbolt/USB4, and they're only including gigabit ethernet, which is disappointing but perhaps understandable if they're trying to keep it at a low price.
- stetrain 10mo agoMost gaming peripherals still seem to use USB-A on the computer end for cables and dongles. Current Xbox and PS5 controllers charge with a USB-C port on the controller end but a USB-A port where the plug into the console.
- SchemaLoad 10mo agoFor controllers you can use any cable you want. The Xbox controller will charge just fine on a C-C cable. I don't think they should have gone all in on USB-C like laptops have, but there should have been more than one USB-C and one should have been on the front. Pretty much the only thing you need USB-A for these days is mice/keyboard with non removable cables. Which are becoming increasingly rare.
- stetrain 10mo agoOf course you can swap cables or adapt. I was taking about the cables these devices come with. I’m all about the USB-C lifestyle but PC gaming peripherals are still pretty dominated by USB-A.
- coopierez 10mo agoThe slim PS5 uses USB-C on both ends.
- mxfh 10mo agoBecause think they need to be backward compatible with decade old peripheral controllers. People tend to get grumpy about this. Yet nobody flinched when XBox ditched KinectV2 with Series S/X. For PC's people are used to adapters. And USB-C is superior in every way. A self declared general compute device should have a least two USB-C outs that can drive displays. For 2026 (12 years into USB-C spec) I would expect a minimum of 2 3.2 capable fully wired USB-C ports. Even better something newer that could do near 40GBpS or better. Like USB Gen 3×2 (Written on usb keyboard connected to 4k monitor that also charges the MBP it's plugged in)
- ortusdux 10mo agoCould it be a synergy with the Steam Frame's dual band wireless dongle? I'm guessing they would really want users to plug that into the front of the device.
- MomsAVoxell 10mo agoI suspect it'll be like the Mac mini situation, and the after-market USB hubs that fit the form factor will expand rapidly ..
- 0x457 10mo agoIt would be a case if it had I/O like Mac mini. Like if it had TB3/TB4/USB4 somewhere, it doesn't.
- dmix 10mo agomost of the usecase is going to be keyboard, mouse, and bluetooth headset dongles. All three of mine attached to my Steam Deck dock are USB-A. although I own a bunch of those usb-a->c attachments you plug on the end, so it wouldnt make much difference
- vel0city 10mo ago> bluetooth headset dongles I imagine this has decent Bluetooth support out of the box even if not mentioned? Its hard to find a WiFi chipset these days that doesn't have some kind of Bluetooth support. Maybe proprietary headset dongles, but if its just bluetooth its probably not needed.
- dmix 10mo agoCorrect, proprietary*. Fancier gaming headsets often come with dongles.
- rtkwe 10mo agoYou'd be wrong C to A is still pretty standard for controllers in my experience. As for gigabit fewer and fewer people have ethernet routed to their office/TV area much less >1gig networking to take advantage of anything better than a 1 gig.
- tagyro 10mo agommm ...let's agree to disagree I wired my whole place with 10Gb - couldn't do it in the wall (as in, hidden) so I have flat cables around the door frame and wall corners. I was willing to accept the cables, just to get 10Gb. And, IMHO, it's worth it.
- rtkwe 10mo agoNot sure what we're disagreeing about, I'm not saying it's not a useful thing to have just that most people don't have it and don't intend to have it so it's not a useful spec bump for Valve to spend money on. I'm personally planning on going through the pain to get ethernet run (luckily I have both a basement and an attic so it should be fairly easy) in my house and if I ever build new there will be whatever is the best standard at the time in the walls (and maybe some dark fiber but I'm less sure on that) but I also know I'm a vast minority of users at the same time. I'm also in a pretty big minority having a >1 gig symmetrical pipe into my house to make a 10 gig connection to my devices actually worth while.
- SchemaLoad 10mo agoYou could probably connect a 10gbit usb adapter to the USB-C port on this thing for this use case.
- tagyro 10mo agoI must have misunderstood - I prefer ethernet over wifi and I took your comment as more favourable towards wifi - in that case, my bad ^^
- rtkwe 10mo ago
- preston4tw 10mo agoValve / Steam presumably has good data on what controllers and peripherals people are using, so I'd imagine their port choices are based around that. Here's a June 2024 post talking about Steam Input and controller market share: https://steamcommunity.com/games/593110/announcements/detail/4142827237888316812 https://steamcommunity.com/games/593110/announcements/detail... . At the time of the post they say "59% of sessions are using Xbox controllers, 26% are using PlayStation controllers, 10% are on Steam Decks"
- ivanjermakov 10mo agoSteam input controller says nothing about the interface being used (USB A vs USB C). A single USB C (with DP support, I hope) port in 2026 sounds like a bad design.
- senbrow 10mo agoAlmost everyone is using these controllers wirelessly if I had to hazard a guess. The USB interface is used for initial pairing and charging, in which case the port location doesn't matter nearly as much.
- jhasse 10mo agoYes wirelessly via an USB dongle.
- senbrow 10mo agoI'm pretty sure most PS controllers use Bluetooth natively if they're not connected via USB.
- yencabulator 10mo agoSteam Machine has a built-in antenna for Valve controllers.
- pseudosavant 10mo agoPeople know that USB hubs exist and are inexpensive right?
- TiredOfLife 10mo agoIt's an old semi-custom semi-discontinued laptop soc.
- viraptor 10mo agoWhat do you expect to do with the steam machine that will take more than a gigabit? I mean, it's cool when things are faster, but if you can saturate the link, downloads are still bottlenecked by the drives. And even 4k streaming is under 100Mbit normally.
- embedding-shape 10mo ago> And even 4k streaming is under 100Mbit normally Are you talking "4k streaming" as the current streaming providers do it, with trash bitrate, or "4k streaming" as you would do it if you had ripped your own blu-ray disks and you want to stream it from a NAS somewhere else in your house to your living room?
- viraptor 10mo agoThe extreme high quality blurays are going up to 144Mbps or so. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_HD_Blu-ray https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_HD_Blu-ray Still nowhere near a gigabit.
- deleted 10mo ago[deleted]
- shdjhdfh 10mo agoThe highest bitrate UHD Blu-ray supports is 144mbit/s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_HD_Blu-ray https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_HD_Blu-ray. A one gigabit NIC is not even close to the biggest compromise on this system.
- pvillano 10mo ago"the average bitrate for a 4K Blu-ray DVD can range between 48Mbps to 75Mbps. Some discs can also carry around 100Mbps or even 128Mbps, but these are more rare." https://www.tomsguide.com/tvs/forget-streaming-services-heres-why-im-still-buying-4k-blu-rays-in-2025 https://www.tomsguide.com/tvs/forget-streaming-services-here...
- 10mo ago
- monocasa 10mo agoA lot of devices that you commonly plug and unplug like flash drives and passkeys still make sense as USB-A for a lot of people because of the specifics of the USB spec. C to A converters for devices are technically verboten since they would allow an enduser to make a A to A cable, which can fry hosts if you plug them into eachother if they don't support USB OTG. You can lose certification if you try to ship a device with a C to A converter. Because of that, USB-A devices with an optional A to C converter (or neater devices that have both plugs on them natively) are what makes a lot of sense for a lot of people for the kinds of devices that live on a key chain. So it makes sense for that to be the default on the front of a desktop, IMO.
- 0x457 10mo agoMost controller/headphone dongles come with USB-A, so 2.0 in the back makes sense. Radio for new steam controller is integrated. I have a Y-splitter for my PS5 controllers and if I didn't, I would have had some sort of controller dock. I assume I would do the same for this. Either way, TV is too far from my couch for a cable, so I wanted to keep playing and charging I'd use a powerbank from my coffee table. Gigabit Ethernet...that's sad, I'd take 2.5G, so I can better stream my legally ripped Blu-rays. I assume most people don't care because they would use Wi-Fi or their switch only goes to 1G. Better than JBL making android TV sound bar with 100mpbs. I think it purposely designed, so you don't try to build a NAS on it.
- rtpg 10mo ago> I suspect most joysticks sold today come with a USB-C to USB-C cable while things can be charged with USB-C cables, the only thing I've ever received A C-to-C cable is... a USB-C wall charger. Granted I haven't gotten a USB-C iPhhone yet and I gotta imagine that one is C-to-C. Generally lots of pack-in cables I've seen in the wild for charging devices continue to be USB-A-to-C. Switch 2 ports are USB-A, PS5 front port is USB-A... we're still getting there.
- JMiao 10mo agoI think the decision of usb2-a at the rear is for wireless keyboard and mouse adapters. Those ones can behave abnormally on usb3-a, plus it’s nice to have those ugly adapters out of sight.
- Ekaros 10mo agoAlso just old wired mice and keyboards. The desktop use scenarios. If you use both ports for those at back. Any temporary faster devices make more sense at front.
- extraduder_ire 10mo agoAdapting A ports to C is much more convenient than going the other way. I have a whole sack of passive A to C dongles that stick out less than 1cm from the port.
- lynnharry 10mo agoThe console is on the TV side and I usually just charge my controllers on the sofa side. That way I can charge and play at the same time if I want to.
- terribleperson 10mo agoYou can replace the internal ssd with an off-the-shelf ssd and it also has SD card support, so there should be less need for external SSDs. Gigabit Ethernet is definitely a bummer when I'm close to having fiber all the way to my PC.
- pseudosavant 10mo agoReal question, what would >1 gigabit Ethernet or Thunderbolt do for you in a low/mid-range gaming PC?
- KeplerBoy 10mo agoWith thunderbolt you could connect an egpu. This machine won't age terribly well with it's limited GPU capabilities.
- HexPhantom 10mo agoThe lack of USB-C on the front is especially odd in 2025
- jerojero 10mo agoThe steam machine has a bespoke wireless connector for the (new steam) controller so it doesn't pollute the Bluetooth network and cause lag. Yes, the controller is charged through usb-c, but you can just use any charger around to charge that. I mean, the battery should last for 30+ hours so you only need to charge it on a weekly or biweekly basis with heavy usage.