Hardware Steam Machines specs and prices: Which one is for you?

We bring you the low down on all 13 Steam Machines
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/pcs/2014/01/07/steam-machines-specs-and-prices/1

 

Seems to me that scan have gone down the smartest route by shoving a gaming laptop into a box. A gaming laptop should give good performance in a small physical size.

 

Waste of money.
Why invest in a PC that can do less than your current PC, in functionality and gaming. Sure you can argue that Linux games are coming... but do you think games on Origin or UPlay will be playable on SteamOS? That will never happen. So why invest in a system, even if you get the lowest end, at 400-500$ US/Canadian system, that will be less capable than the similarly priced PS4 and XBox One, which has more games, optimized controls, and deep optimized games for the console specs?

Steam Machine is an awful investment.

Its cheaper and easier to simply get an XBox 360 and an HDMI cable, and fire up Big Picture Mode on Steam.

And if you have an Nvidia GPU, you might even want to consider Nvidia Shield to stream your games from the PC to the TV, and have a controller as well, not to mention a powerful portable Android gaming device.

 

Well of course it's not a good investment right now. I'm pretty sure that's obvious to most. But steam os has to start somewhere. Valve don't have Microsofts billions to get a new platform off the ground. The game selection is always going to be poor initially. Surely you don't expect it to have the same range of games that's available in Windowsfrom day one. Give it a year or two to get established.

 

If their trying to compete with consoles then the only one worth considering is the CyberpowerPC Steam Machine, anything else you might as well just upgrade or buy a new pc.
For what they are they seem to be very expensive.

 

These things are basically a way of letting people who've gone mobile to a greater or lesser extent still play PC-style games - games that typically require a mouse (and hence the fancy controller) - without needing to own or administer a PC.

 

^^This^^

But i will be honest, i was expecting greater focus (if that's the right word) from the OEM's
Others will probably think of more reasons why people choose to play games on a Console versus a PC, some of the reason that immediately spring to mind for me are trying to work out if game X will run on their system and the hassle of maintaining a PC.

The hassle of maintenance should be a taken care of to some extent by having a very simple OS automatically updating its self and possibly running on a limited range of hardware.

The part im disappointed with is the fact that there was mention of Good, Better, Best as a way of distinguishing how well your Steam machine would run a particular game, yet these systems seem very fragmented with no dividing lines between them for your average Jo other than the price.

 

I completely agree. In any case, it will just be hooked up to your TV, so probably 1080p unless you are an early adopter of UHD. You don't need a $1500 machine for gaming at a resolution that low. The $500 Cyberpower will do just fine. I think the price is supposed to include a steam controller in all/most of those unless I'm mistaken.

The argument for new console or steam machine isn't simple. New consoles only a have a few launch titles currently, and only a handful of those are even worth your time. That's no different than only having few linux games on steam, with more on the way. The biggest benefit of the steam box is ease of use (don't have to admin another PC) and that you get access to all the games you already own on steam (as long as they're linux compatible).

I agree with others as well, though. I have a decent HTPC with XBMC and Steam which I run in Big Picture mode. It's already everything I want it to be. The big thing is, though, it's taken me 100s of hours of tinkering to get it the way I want. My time is worth enough that I'd much rather have a plug and play solution, even at $2000+. Steam machines could very well do that.

I think most of us here (on a computer modding and enthusiast forum) are going to agree that we're better off just building one ourselves, but I don't think we're the target audience for this.

 

I still can't figure out who exactly IS the target audience for this product....

PC gamers spend enough on their rigs as it is

Casual gamers are using mobile devices

Console gamers will still buy consoles from MS/Sony

Tinkerers will build their own

Leaving who, exactly?

 

It leaves out people seeking a unique gaming experience.. but those one gets a WiiU with another console or PC.

 

as I said before, my enthusiasm is still not there,lol

 

I'm not entirely sure why Titans are still being used in gaming builds???

 

Half Life 3?

 

@XXAOSICXX, not wanting to argue but why do you say "Console gamers will still buy consoles from MS/Sony. Is it because it's what they know, exclusive games, price, or some other reasons that isn't obvious to me.

 

They'd better hurry up or most of the people waiting for HL3 will have arthritic fingers and it'll hardly be a selling point for the kids... "Half a what, grandad?" ... "No son, Half Life 3. It's the long-awaited sequel to what many of my generation consider to have been the best game ever made" ... "Whatevs, grandad"

 

In my opinion the only one worth considering would be the cyberpowerpc machine, for one it's hardware is more than reasonable for it's suggested price and comparable to the new generation of consoles. It also looks pretty sleek (again my opinion).

I have been tinkering with PC's for around 6 years now, in the past I've built PCs in order to get a better performance to price ratio than say a console, having a budget typically of £500. However I could only ever really see myself building another PC now if I had the budget to build a proper gaming one. which I've not really been in the position to do so as of yet so I would definitely consider a steam machine to avoid the hassle.

essentially they way I see it, on a tight budget steam machine not on one custom build a proper PC.

also something worth noting is resolution 1080p is an acceptable resolution for me, until 2k and 4k become a cheaper more reasonable option, unless again I have the budget to build a proper gaming PC

 

There is a 4770k in there too.....in case you want to OC your console....

Who are they trying to kid,these are PC's in every way,these are not consoles. The only one I even remotely consider is the flyweight Scan box.

That Digital Storm one is a joke.

Why is the original Piston box not coming? That was a real class attempt,they should of gone with that.

 

The whole thing is a joke. This was an exciting option capable of creating a massive consumer shift towards PC gaming, essentially a way to do for console gamers what the Wii did for people who didnt play video games. The benefits to the current PC gaming community and to Valve could have been enormous in terms of games sales, games Exclusives and reduction of piracy but they just destroyed the whole thing by allowing build partners to release provisional specs and prices which are overpriced and in no way competitive within the market they are looking for a place in. The target market for these machines is the general consumer and to make the shift from long established brands happens they have to think like that group. The only way a Steam console will succeed is if it is more powerful, more versatile and cheaper than the rest of the competition. Also the design has to be standardized to one box or it will alienate people as the average non-informed advertising trusting consumer will be easily confused by multiple aesthetic options. It's all wrong and it could have been so right. I hope someone is telling them this.

 

Sadly Hilarious.

Sadly Hilarious.

 

steamos is free. you dont need a steammachine. dualboot. you already have a pc with probably above the minimum spec. get it yet?

aside from that, how come ibuypower (who the **** are they) are the only ones that managed to source a decent looking box?