Valve are not hanging around, they’re getting their systems ready for release into the wild to 300 lucky people. While we still don’t know who will get the hardware (I know I have my name down!) we now know a little more about the systems, a nice addition to the wave of information we had last week about the new controllers.
Steam Machines will be available next year from a variety of companies, with varying specifications and in Valves own words they may differ substantially from the Valve prototypes.
Much like Nvidia are working on at the moment with their BattleBox, I think it’s already shaping up that “Steam Box” will be a badge of honour, much like a “this machine meets our standards” much in the same way as THX do with giving their thumbs up to movie production quality, albeit with Valve offering a set of templates for people to build towards, and upon.
“So for our own first prototype Steam Machine ( the one we’re shipping to 300 Steam users ), we’ve chosen to build something special. The prototype machine is a high-end, high-performance box, built out of off-the-shelf PC parts. It is also fully upgradable, allowing any user to swap out the GPU, hard drive, CPU, even the motherboard if you really want to. Apart from the custom enclosure, anyone can go and build exactly the same machine by shopping for components and assembling it themselves. And we expect that at least a few people will do just that. (We’ll also share the source CAD files for our enclosure, in case people want to replicate it as well.) “
This isn’t the final hardware, it’s not even representative of the whole range of what Valve wants to do, but it should give you some idea of the higher end of their scale in terms of performance.
The 300 prototype units will ship with the following components:
- GPU: some units with NVidia Titan, some GTX780, some GTX760, and some GTX660
- CPU: some boxes with Intel i7-4770, some i5-4570, and some i3
- RAM: 16GB DDR3-1600 (CPU), 3GB GDDR5 (GPU)
- Storage: 1TB/8GB Hybrid SSHD
- Power Supply: Internal 450w 80Plus Gold
- Dimensions: approx. 12 x 12.4 x 2.9 in high
Upgrades will be at each user’s discretion on the final models, and Steam intend to help customers understand the differences between machines, hardware strengths and weaknesses, and upgrade decisions. Seeming trying to educate the PC gaming community to make it feel a little more accessible.
What are your thoughts on the new hardware, excited on this new bridge between the desktop PC and the HTPC?
Thank you Valve for providing us with this information.
will the lucky 300 get to keep their steam boxes?
Sadly no, when i signed up for the Beta it said that the end of it the testers will return the machines back at the at the expense of Valve
All comes down to cost, remembering that the audience for these boxes are people that already have a gaming computer.
How will a 450W keep up with a Titan and an i7 CPU?!!!!
It isn’t just wattage, you have to take in account how many amps on the 12v rail.
Because they will have calculated the needs of the hardware. You do not need 1000w PSU’s for every gaming rig. I have twin 660 Ti’s and an overclocked i5 on a 600W.
Well yeah they would have calculated it before putting it in, overlooked the amps thing on the 12v rail
Anyway I’m/was just wondering if the PSU can withstand things like OC-ing, which users could want with a card like titan :p (or gaming rigs in general) and the issue of future upgrades (not that you will need one since a titan will last very long)
P.S. I didn’t say you need a 1000W PSU, I do know that a fine rig with a card like 7970 won’t need anywhere near 1000W to power properly
I know you didn’t I’m just generalising common opinion lol. Valve did say the systems would be upgradable so it wouldn’t supprise me if it was just a corsair PSU in there that could be swapped out. I’m not expecting these to be anything more than regular PC’s with a “Valve” sticker on the front TBH.
Will this get a 75% off midweek madness? 😀
Am I not getting it or are the Steambox and Battlebox consoles just gaming PCs? What’s the difference? Is it mini-itx? Is it the controllers that make the difference? I mean, a Titan costs more than any console alone so it’s not like a steambox is competing in that market. I have to assume that they are just selling gaming PCs and calling them boxes? Ugh..
And no, it’s not about how many volts are on the 12V+ rail. That’s more of a max output question. The question that was asked was asking can an i7 and Titan be handled by a 450w PSU? And the answer is yes. There’s no reason to get a 1000w PSU because you have a Titan. The Titan has a max TDP of around 250w, and an i7-4770 is around 85w. Ram, HD, etc, is around 50w, so yes, a 450w PSU can handle a Titan. If you don’t overclock then the 450w will handle it fine. I find it sad that a lot of “enthusiasts” (mostly spoiled kids) buy 650w or higher PSUs with their GTX 660 Ti (great card), or Radeon 7850..
Anyways, I would never buy a steambox. I’d just make my own. No overclock, you’re just buying a custom built gaming PC that uses cards that are 660Ti or higher. ANYONE can do that on their own, and I have NO IDEA why you would put a 4770 (locked) CPU in a gaming PC. Steam is just venturing out into the gaming pc desktop market. imo FAIL. The only way I feel that something like this can succeed, is making mobos with GPU integrated, and I’m not talking integrated graphic, I mean put the Titan on the mobo, and find some quiet cooling solutions. 3570k + Titan will outlast the PS4 and XBOXONE. Steambox is about as stupid as kids buying Alienware.. I’d get maybe excited if eVGA came up with something innovative in this space, but I’m pretty sure nothing is there. Getting a Steambox will be about as lame as getting a Macbook.