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Valve's Steam Machine Models Announced

RedStarRocket91

By RedStarRocket91

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It's now been three months since Valve first announced their Steam Machines, and this week we finally got our first glimpse at the first generation of devices. While Valve had previously promised a wide variety of different machines appropriate for all gamer demographics, the sheer diversity of the final products in both price and power is astonishing, with models ranging from just $500 at the lower end of the scale to an eye-watering $6000 at the other.

 

In a press release on Steampowered.com, Valve co-founder Gabe Newell stated that: 'The first generation Steam Machines offers something for every gamer, which is a critical part of extending Steam into the living room... With over 3,000 games and more than 65 million gamers on Steam, it’s important to offer gamers a variety of Steam Machines that allow them to select what makes the most sense for them.'

 

With the release of components and specs for most of the machines, the accuracy of this statement quickly becomes apparent: aside from the controllers and operating system, not a single element is common to all devices. The least expensive models, produced by iBuyPower and CyberPowerPC, feature 500GB HDDs and 8gb of RAM, but feature customisable CPUs and GPUs.

 

Outside these models, variety only increases. RAM varies anywhere between 8GB and 16GB; GPUs are chosen from both Nvidia and AMD in both single and dual configuration and vary from the GCN series to the TITAN; storage is represented by traditional and solid-state hard drives, and sometimes both; even the CPUs show a mixture of both i5 and i7 components.

 

Even though the specs of some devices are dominated by TBD labels or consist of little but case images, it certainly seems as though Valve will fulfil its claim of a machine suitable for any gamer.

 

If you're a PC gamer, are the devices enough to tempt you away from custom building? If you're a console gamer, with the current generation still in its early stages has Valve tempted you enough to consider a move to PC? Let us know in the comments!

 

Source: Steampowered.com

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Elite

No, this is not something that a PC gamer would seek.

 

The source says nothing about the actual Steam operating system; if it is not fully compatible with Windows software, then it isn't going to have a particularly big market. If it supports games built on Windows, great. If not, boo, do not want.

 

'Alienware' is still a joke, what we can see here is, like the corporation, a joke.

 

Any PC gamer knows that if someone has a PC the size of an Xbox, or, well, something as tiny as that, then that someone isn't really a PC gamer. Any real PC gamer will tell you that you need a "mid tower case", to start with. Then you need wire mesh or something else that has a hole in it. The Alienware jokebox has no listed specifications and is probably worse than an Xbox One. If you're a PC gamer, you'll know anything worse than an Xbox One needs upgrading by the end of 2015 at latest.

 

As a PC gamer, I will consider purchasing a copy of the Steam operating system, but am definitely not willing to buy a pre-built box built be amateurs such as Alienware; I'd rather choose an alternative or a more preferable option, just build it myself. The 6-8 hours taken to build a machine pays off when you save a few hundred pounds extra from not paying added value from high-street retailers.

 

Consoles gamers come to PC because of Steam, in the majority of cases. I would not advise console gamers to buy a Steam Box, stick with paying £800-1000 and custom build yourself, that way your machine will not be outdated till approximately 2016-2017.

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VinWarrior

I actually wanted a steam machine,  I still want one, but this is such a stupid move, man. Steam machines were brought out to bring in people like me from the console market, to give us an easy introduction into Steam gaming without being confused, but these specs and info will confuse any console gamer trying to get into the market. There are 13 machines right? Aren't people going to be confused as to which one to buy? With an xbox one, you can play Battlefield 4, and it'll be the same for a guy in Europe playing Battlefield 4, but with 13 machines all with different hardware, people won't know where to go, and it will likely sell less. I'll still likely pick up a cheaper one, but, it is really sad to see this amazing concept fail.

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Cooliest

Places like IGN are trying to come out with guides as to which ones will work best for "YOU" So if you are having a hard time deciding then I'd suggest heading over to some popular gaming sites to help figure it out. :)

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