well regardless of how they test, i guess it’ll only start to matter if a bunch of people don’t take this lying down and start RMA returns. it’s not a problem until it hurts them financially.

for those interested, steam is aware of the issue but don’t consider it sever enough to warrant a replacement. i disagree but it seems like the best alternative is for me to return my unit. i find this rather disappointing.

official response from steam support pasted below:

Hi there,

Thank you for contacting Steam Support and reporting this to us.

We understand what you’re describing, but we expect the behavior to be within our tolerances for the product.

All units go through a factory test specifically designed to verify that they do not have an elevated “noise floor” and we’re not aware of anything that would make this issue worse during transport or shipment. We’re actively monitoring these issues to be sure there is nothing outside our expectations.

If you find the “noise floor” on your unit unacceptable, we can process a replacement for you while we bring your unit in for examination. However, we do not believe that a new unit will operate in a significantly different way in this regard.

Steam Support JoJo

yeah, still waiting to get a response from support. will update here once the whole process is done.

after deliberating over this the past few days i am convinced it is a hardware issue that an update won’t be able to fully fix. i’ve just submitted a request return the unit for another one. it’s within the return period anyway.