>the Steam Machine barely stacks up against a base PS5
People keep saying this as if the PS5 competes with a gaming PC. It doesn't.
Please tell me when you can run Firefox on your PS5 (specifically Firefox, for good ad blocking. Or Brave if you want, it's just a PC). Please tell me when you can run a minecraft server on a PS5. Please tell me when you can run Factorio on a PS5.
For your actual problem though, look at refurbished business laptops. AMD really boosted what $500 gets you there.
People keep saying this as if the PS5 competes with a gaming PC. It doesn't.
Please tell me when you can run Firefox on your PS5 (specifically Firefox, for good ad blocking. Or Brave if you want, it's just a PC). Please tell me when you can run a minecraft server on a PS5. Please tell me when you can run Factorio on a PS5.
For your actual problem though, look at refurbished business laptops. AMD really boosted what $500 gets you there.