This is Alienware’s Steam Machine
We all saw this coming, right? Alienware is getting in on Steam OS, and what you see above is the first Steam Machine from Dell’s gaming brand. It looks surprisingly measured considering its X51 brethren! Just ahead of CES 2014, Dell showed us the Alienware Steam Machine: It’s set to arrive in the “later half of 2014,” and Dell isn’t talking specs just yet (except to say that it will perform on par with a gaming notebook).
Even then, Dell reps declined to make any specific comparisons with Alienware’s current notebook offerings, so you really won’t know until later if this is an Alienware 14 or 18 equivalent. As for the price, it will be “highly competitive to the next generation of consoles,” according to Marc Diana with Alienware business development. So, between $400 and $500, then? Dell is hoping it can sell more Steam Machines than all the other guys, even if this is something of an experimental category. “We feel we are uniquely positioned in that we can serve a lot of customers from the start,” Diana told us.
As seen above, Dell’s aiming for its Steam Machine to be exceptionally compact. “It’s dramatically smaller than about everything else in the lineup,” said Valve designer Greg Coomer, noting that there will be at least one machine that’s smaller, but it will be far less powerful. Given that we don’t know the specs, we’d take any comments about performance with a grain of salt. That said, anyone with two eyes can see that this is indeed a compact little box, especially compared to the PS4 or Xbox One. As for the rest of the design, Dell is already talking up the cooling system, which sucks in cold air through channels on the back, and is said to run quietly. Unfortunately, we can’t vouch for that last piece, as we haven’t yet seen a working prototype in action.
Elsewhere on the device, you’ll find two USB ports up front, but that’s of course subject to change as the unit on display today is hardly final. Also, given that this is an Alienware machine we’re talking about, there will naturally be some colorful LED lights. The setup is (thankfully) quite modest as far as Dell goes: Right now, only the Alienware and Steam logos are expected to light up. Alienware’s rationale? The Steam Machine will likely reside in your living room — a spot where you’d probably rather it blend in than call too much attention to itself.
We’ll get our hands on Dell’s Steam Machine very soon. For now, enjoy the hands-on photos — just remember that’s a wooden mock-up you’re looking at. So, not the real deal, but close enough to give you an idea of what this thing will look like when it finally ships.
Origin PC’s Chronos Steam Machine dual boots Windows and Steam OS, comes in standard and SLI-Editions
Want to get the most out of your living room PC gaming experience? Origin PC wants to help. Today the company announced its official Steam Machine, dubbed Origin Chronos, in two distinct flavors: standard and SLI-edition. As the name implies, the two boxes are separated by GPU support, the latter being capable of running up to two NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titans under the hood. Each machine can be outfitted with up to six or 14 terabytes of storage space, respectively, and can be professionally overclocked by Origin PC’s in-house team of system builders.
As an official Steam Machine, the Chronos naturally runs Valve’s Steam OS and supports the company’s quirky controller, but gamers unwilling to go all-in on Steam’s Linux support can dual-boot their rigs to Windows 7 or Windows 8, too. Origin hasn’t specified how much each unit will cost, but considering both are customizable, we imagine the Chronos will range from relatively affordable to ludicrously expensive. The release date is just as nebulous so far, though the company has said it will be out later this year. One thing’s for sure: It’ll have plenty of competition.
Filed under: Gaming
Maingear’s Spark is a tiny Steam Machine with laptop internals
Traditionally, gaming PCs aren’t built with size in mind, but Valve’s Steam Machine initiative has changed the game — now these rigs are taking up residence in the living room. In fact, that’s exactly what Maingear’s Spark was built for. This diminutive PC is built from notebook components: a 3.1GHz AMD A8-5575M processor with Radeon R9 M275X graphics, up to 16GB of DDR3L RAM and support for a 256GB SSD with a spare 2.5-inch HDD tray. All together, the Spark measures in at just over two inches tall and 4.5 inches wide in either direction. Tiny? You bet. Weighing less than a pound, Maingear says it’s the smallest gaming PC they’ve ever offered. Despite its size, the company still had room to squeeze in four USB 3.0 ports, Ethernet and audio jacks and both HDMI and Mini DisplayPort output. Unfortunately, the Spark’s final price point is up in the air, but the company promises it will be “an affordable PC solution.” Spark is set to launch in the first quarter in Windows 7, Windows 8 and Steam OS configurations.
Sony CES 2014 press event liveblog
Sony likes to dip into all the CES waters, so expect mobile, audio and imaging news from the company. We’re betting there will be plenty of big-screen TVs looking to ruin that savings nest-egg too, and we’ll be covering it all when the company’s big presentation starts at 8PM ET — that’s 5PM right here in Vegas.
Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Gaming, Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD, Mobile, Sony
Valve still hasn’t ruled out making its own Steam Machine
It looks like Valve’s not totally ruling out making its own version of the retail Steam Machines that so many other PC manufacturers are making currently. During Valve’s press conference this evening at CES 2014, company head Valve Newell said, “We’re gonna make that decision as we go along.” when asked whether Valve would make its own retail Steam Machine. “We have plans to build more machines as customers ask,” he continued.
So far, only 300 lucky beta testers have the Valve-made Steam Machine. Newell said that part of Valve’s reason for being at CES was to solicit feedback from press and consumers, so it sounds like a Valve-made box might be more than just a dream for now.
Here are all of Valve’s Steam Machines from CES 2014, in pictures
Wondering what all of Valve’s premier third-party Steam Machines look like? Wonder no more! We’ve captured images of all 13 straight from Valve’s CES 2014 press event and dropped ‘em into a gallery for you. We’ll have far more details on specs and what have you as we learn more, but here’s a quick glance at this year’s biggest PC gaming initiative.
CyberPowerPC announces customizable Steam Machines starting at $499
There will be no lack of Steam Machines at this years’ CES, but CyberPowerPC beat most of the other guys to the punch by announcing a pair of models today that start at $499. Both gaming PCs (consoles?) feature Bluetooth, WiFi, USB 3.0, 8GB of RAM and, of course, come bundled with a Steam Controller — a requirement to be called a Steam Machine. The cheaper Steam Machine A is packing a 3.9GHz A6 CPU from AMD as well as a 2GB Radeon R9 270 graphics card. It’s hardly a barn burner, but it should be more than enough to get you through most modern games. The Steam Machine I, on the other hand, boasts a 3.5GHz Core i3 and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 graphics, as well as 802.11ac WiFi. Though, that configuration pushes the starting price up to $699. Of course, being a veteran of the gaming PC industry, CyberPower is allowing customers to customize pretty much every facet of the machine. So, who knows what the price will top out at? Both machines are expected to ship in the second half of the year.
Our 2014 CES stage schedule is here and it’s awesome!
Sure, there’s a certain amount of creeping dread in the lead up to CES each year. It’s a sleep-deprived week spent elbowing our way through the packed halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The food is bad, the facilities few and far between and the hygiene practices of the tech-blogging community questionable, at best. But there are also plenty of things that make it one of the most exciting weeks of the year, not the least of which is our stage. As with the last couple of years, we’ve got a prime spot in the convention center lobby, where we’ll be speaking to some of the biggest and most innovative companies in the world of consumer electronics.
The list includes Sony, Ford, Pebble, Nokia, Leap Motion, Oculus, MakerBot, Lenovo, Samsung, AT&T and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, to name a few. You can check out the full schedule here and stay glued to our CES event hub for updates. See you on stage!
Filed under: Announcements, Cellphones, Desktops, Cameras, Displays, Misc, Gaming, GPS, Home Entertainment, Household, Laptops, Meta, Peripherals, Robots, Tablets, Transportation, Wearables, Wireless, Internet, Software, HD, Mobile, Samsung, Sony, Nokia, AT&T, AMD, Lenovo, NVIDIA
Source: CES 2014
Xbox One sales in 2013 top 3 million units across 13 territories
There are approximately 3 million Xbox One owners worldwide as of the end of 2013, according to the latest numbers from Microsoft. That’s up another million since mid-December, and accounts for sales in 13 countries. Not too bad, eh?
Xbox marketing head Yusuf Mehdi announced the new sales number on Microsoft’s Xbox news site, where he wrote, “Since our launch, demand for Xbox One has been strong, selling out throughout the holidays at most retailers worldwide. We are continuing to work hard to deliver additional consoles to retailers as fast as possible.”
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
Digital Storm’s Bolt 2 is a Steam Machine, dual-boots Windows and SteamOS
Digital Storm’s latest Bolt is more than the standard tower we’ve seen from the PC boutique company in the past– it’s a Steam Machine! Well, sort of. It’s also a regular PC, with the ability to dual-boot into both Windows and SteamOS. The biggest difference is that it ships with Valve’s Steam Controller — something you’ll need if you’re interested in playing any cursor-based games in your living room.
Confusingly, the Bolt 2 was previously teased with a starting price of just under $1,500; the latest update from Digital Storm puts it at a starting price of $1,899. No specs are available, but we previously heard you could outfit the box with a GPU as serious as NVIDIA’s GTX Titan. We’ve reached out to Digital Storm for more, and expect we’ll have all the details by later today when Valve holds its CES 2014 press conference.
Source: Digital Storm
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