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Steam Frame costs $1,059, and the power brick is extra
Valve's new headset starts at $1,059 for 256 GB, and a list of add-ons, compatibility gaps and streaming problems affects what you will pay and play.
The price and the lineup
The Steam Frame costs $1,059 for the 256 GB model, and the 1 TB model costs $1,299 [1]. If you own a Valve Index, that is $60 more than the Index cost when it launched in 2019, a gap Valve attributes to a RAM crisis [2].
Valve revealed the Steam Frame, along with the Steam Machine and Controller, in November 2025 [2]. Two rival headsets cost more: the Samsung Galaxy XR is $1,799 and the Play For Dream MR is $1,999 [2].
What is inside
The Steam Frame uses a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, which debuted in 2023, and has 16 GB of RAM [1]. It weighs 440 grams, which is 75 grams lighter than the Quest 3 [1].
Valve placed the 21.6-watt-hour lithium-ion battery at the rear of the head strap for better balance [1]. The display uses two LCD pancake lenses with a per-eye resolution of 2160 x 2160 [1].
The refresh rate varies from 72Hz to 120Hz by default and can go up to 144Hz via an experimental mode [2]. The Steam Frame defaults 2D games to 720p resolution, and the user can override this, which may drop performance [1].
The Index and the games
By February 2025, the Valve Index accounted for 13.2 percent of VR headsets used on Steam [1].
Half-Life: Alyx comes free with every Steam Frame purchase [1]. It runs without issue, yet it is absent from the Great on Frame list [1].
Of the reviewer's 1,300-plus-game Steam library, only 18 games were marked as Great on Frame [1]. When installed directly on the Steam Frame, the VR game Obduction opened and then crashed repeatedly [1].
Wireless PC streaming problems
The Steam Frame includes a 6GHz wireless dongle in the box to support wireless PC VR [2]. The package describes it as a dedicated 6-GHz wireless adapter for streaming from a PC [1].
The reviewer tried a Windows 11 PC, a Windows 10 PC and a Steam Machine, and on each the adapter appeared as connected but unpaired [1].
When connected only through the home network, streaming performance was laggy enough to irritate the reviewer [1]. Achieving acceptable PC VR visual results may require disabling advanced super sampling filtering [3].
Comfort and the extras
The Steam Frame has no top strap, so users often have to adjust the fit during longer sessions [3]. The larger light seal is sold in a $59 ergonomic accessories kit rather than included with the headset [2]. Valve will also sell replacement face gaskets for $59 [2].
The optional comfort kit is needed to make the controllers comfortable for users with larger hands [3]. Custom Zenni prescription lenses are available for wearers who cannot use contact lenses, at an added cost [1].
What it means for you
The power brick is not included in the box and must be bought separately, adding to the total cost [3].
If you have larger hands, the comfort kit is needed for comfortable controllers [3]. If you wear glasses and cannot use contact lenses, the Zenni prescription lenses cost extra [1]. The larger light seal comes in the $59 kit [2].
If you plan to stream from a PC, the adapter in the box appeared as connected but unpaired on all three machines tested [1]. Streaming over the home network alone was laggy in the same test [1]. The reviewer found only 18 of more than 1,300 library games marked as Great on Frame [1]. Half-Life: Alyx is included free with the headset [1].
Sources
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