VIDEO Steam Machines: Valve enters the console wars

Streaming from your PC would use the PC's hardware to run the game, right? I'm not all that technically minded, so I'm not sure.

And I will expect a redesigned controller or "classic" version after the beta or the inevitable complaints.

Can it even take a modern gaming-level graphics card?

 

I'd be shocked if they don't wind up on it. Valve hasn't gotten into specifics but they said they are working on bringing TV, Music, and Movies to Steam OS.

 

Strange looking controller indeed.

I think I'll stick to using Steam on my PC with an Xbox controller for some and the keyboard/mouse combo for others.

 

I'm telling you, man, the whole "second screen" gaming thing is the Wii U's influence. And people still won't buy it!

 

Valve released the specs for their 300 prototypes and holy ****, to say this thing stomps on the "next-gen" consoles is an understatement. Would probably be pretty expensive at retail, though.

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

 

I was hoping for something a bit beefier to be honest. That's pretty close to what my PC has now: i5-3570K @ 3.4 GHz (4 CPUs), 16 GB RAM, AMD Radeon 7800 w/ 4GB, 1 TB HD
I built it about a year ago with the specific intent of being more powerful than the next gen consoles. I was very pleased to be proven right.

 

The old Wii here is showing its age. Had been looking at next gen consoles that are family friendly. Wii U has a terrible game range, and the wife isn't keen on a PS3 or Xbox One, she likes motion control for the kids (yes I know, I know... but Kinect is awful and PS play is stupid).

Thinking a Steam Machine might actually fit the bill...

 

Well,

1. It's only Valve's prototype. They may come out with even more powerful machines (a full SSD seems like the most obvious upgrade), or one of the other manufacturers may come out with one. I wouldn't expect much better than an i7, a Titan, and 16 gb of RAM (which would retail at close to $2,000), though.

2. You won't need the "beefy" Steam box since you can just stream from you computer.

 

I would imagine there could be lag issues if you're streaming to the TV from your PC over a network.

 

Could be. We'll see. If there are, I'm certainly not wasting my money on the equivalent of a second gaming PC.

 

Quite right, I'm not going to spend money on something with the same specs as a PC I can make for less to play games on when I can play them on my PC anyway, and use Pig Picture if I want to hook it up to my TV.

 

I'm kind of excited by this, but at the same time utterly unsure. Especially regarding that controller. It would be neat to have a machine specifically for Steam gaming. My current computer could be used for everything else....like GOG games.

 

Yikes. Looks like it would take some getting used to.

 

Did he press any of the face buttons in that video?

 

It sure didn't look like it? Intriguing.

 

Demo of the new steam controller:


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Timely,

 

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/01/07/ces-a-roundup-of-valves-first-steam-machines

Well, we had 13 Steam Machines announced yesterday at CES, with a pretty large variation of specs and prices. Personally, I think Valve is going about this completely wrong. Who is the target audience? PC users will either already have a good gaming rig or it'll be cheaper to simply upgrade their existing PC and it can play more games and do countless other things.

So this is aimed at console users? IMO, the best thing about the PS4, the One and the Wii U is the simplicity and the optimization. You know with these consoles that you can buy a game and put it in and it'll most likely work just fine. No need to mess around with graphics sliders. You don't even need to know what anti-aliasing means. Having 13 different options completely undermines what makes a console a console.

Is this the next Ouya?

 

I wouldn't go that far. I think console users are definitely the target market, but as to the 13 different price points, yeah, it's hard to see why someone wouldn't just upgrade what they have. I could partition my hard drive, add some extra RAM, and play most PC games just fine. The cheapest Steam Machine is a sixth of what I paid for my desktop and isn't wildly different from it.

I think it'll appeal to the folks who don't want to build their own PC or would rather have something that runs out of the box with minimal set-up and optimization. Of course, aren't their stores and websites that will build you a PC to spec/help you choose what you want in your PC?

 

I had mine custom-built from a site and it has worked well (once it got set up properly, I had to send it back twice because it didn't work). But making a top-end one now could be quite expensive so if Steam will produce something that has top-end PC specs that doesn't cost me as much and still play all my games I might consider getting it and just using the PC for other stuff.

 

lol, and whose fault is that?

 

Mine? I'm pretty happy with the machine I have

 

I'm sorry for your loss!