The new Steam Machine has my attention for a few simple reasons, as it is built around the version of PC gaming I want more of. I do not want more pop-ups, background junk, surprise restarts, or other kinds of clutter getting between me and a game. All I want is a machine that genuinely treats gaming as the priority from the start.

This is what SteamOS represents now, and it is why the upcoming Steam Machine sounds more appealing than a lot of traditional gaming PCs.

Windows still gets in the way

Windows remains powerful, but it is also noisy. Great for a general-purpose computer, sure. Less convincing for a device that is supposed to work like a gaming system. Don’t get me wrong, the sheer versatility of having a PC is definitely a hook over consoles, but a rig dedicated to gaming should not have to carry all the baggage of a desktop operating system that was built for things you’re never really going to touch.…