Steam Machine
SteamBox
Concept
"According to sources, the company has been working on a hardware spec and associated software which would make up the backbone of a "Steam Box" -slashdot 23/3/2012. Valve has been rumorewd for the better part of a year that a new so called "Steambox" is in production by valve, the idea of which is to replace the current antiquated consoles with an affordable up to date mini comptuer powered by their own digital distribution platform. Images of a new Alienware Mini-tower[1] were posted online, this led many to believe that this might be the prototype or early build of a steam based platform with the rumored specs of an i7 processor, 8gb of memory, and an Nvidia GPU. The aim was to have the platform be able to run any standard PC game from Steam or any other rival source (Origin, GOG, etc.). The pourpse of which was to have a relevant console to be updated every 3-4 years with the muscle to keep up with mid spec PC's as to not slow down game development with old hardware. Valve Debunked early rumors of any so called steam box, but a job posting on the valve website confirms they are looking to jump into the hardware market and create a new innovative experience that other hardware companies lack.
- edit* Recently at CES 2013, valve talked about the future specs of their hardware
Building Your Own
With no more current announcements on the rumored Steambox, most gamers have opted to create one of their own instead. The idea of creating a Steambox is pretty simple, build a small, lightweight cheap computer for the sole purpose of playing games, on medium to low settings, and replacing a console without the hefty price of a true gaming computer. With a quick search on Reddit under r/buildapc, one can find a few discussions on the best builds for around $300-$500, Though to run at the level that most would expect, the price would be more in the $500-$600 range.
Optimal Build(s)
These two are going to be as close as possible to the rumored specs. (First. Intel/Nvidia, Second. AMD build) *note these builds are for reference and are obviously subject to price and part modifications*
- PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mF6y
- Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mF6y/by_merchant/
- Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mF6y/benchmarks/
| CPU | Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($289.99 @ Amazon) |
| Motherboard | ASRock B75 PRO3-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($77.55 @ Newegg) |
| Memory | Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg) |
| Storage | Seagate Momentus XT 750GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($118.95 @ B&H) |
| Video Card | Asus GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Amazon) |
| Case | Inwin BK623.BN300BL MicroATX Desktop Case w/300W Power Supply ($69.98 @ Newegg) |
| Power Supply | Athena Power 400W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Flex ATX Power Supply ($84.25 @ Newegg) |
| Optical drive | Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($46.99 @ Newegg) |
Total: $885.69
- PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mFi0
- Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mFi0/by_merchant/
- Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mFi0/benchmarks/
| CPU | AMD FX-8120 3.1GHz 8-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Microcenter) |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($49.99 @ Amazon) |
| Memory | AMD Entertainment Edition 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg) |
| Storage | Seagate Momentus XT 750GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($118.95 @ B&H) |
| Video Card | Asus Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($222.21 @ NCIX US) |
| Case | Inwin BK623.BN300BL MicroATX Desktop Case w/300W Power Supply ($69.98 @ Newegg) |
| Power Supply | Athena Power 400W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Flex ATX Power Supply ($84.25 @ Newegg) |
| Optical drive | Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-ray/DVD/CD Writer ($55.99 @ NCIX US) |
Total: $776.35
Hmm, not really the lower price-point that would make building a steambox prudent. It seems that building a steambox yourself with the rumored specs is very difficult if not impossible.
Mid Teir, more sensibly priced builds
- PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Badg
- Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Badg/by_merchant/
- Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Badg/benchmarks/
| CPU | Intel Core i5-2310 2.9GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.98 @ SuperBiiz) |
| Motherboard | Asus P8H77-I Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg) |
| Memory | Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg) |
| Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC) |
| Video Card | PowerColor Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card ($83.98 @ Newegg) |
| Case | BitFenix Prodigy (Red) Mini ITX Tower Case ($85.98 @ Outlet PC) |
| Power Supply | CoolMax 700W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg) |
| Optical drive | Lite-On iHOS104-06 Blu-ray/DVD/CD Drive ($24.99 @ Newegg) |
Total: $638.88 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-02 23:34 EST-0500)
- PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Bagx
- Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Bagx/by_merchant/
- Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Bagx/benchmarks/
| CPU | AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($123.79 @ Amazon) |
| Motherboard | ASRock FM2A75M-ITX Mini ITX FM2 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon) |
| Memory | Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg) |
| Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC) |
| Video Card | Asus Radeon HD 7770 2GB Video Card ($124.99 @ Newegg) |
| Case | BitFenix Prodigy (Red) Mini ITX Tower Case ($85.98 @ Outlet PC) |
| Power Supply | Thermaltake Black Widow 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg) |
| Optical drive | Lite-On iHOS104-06 Blu-ray/DVD/CD Drive ($24.99 @ Newegg) |
Total: $636.70 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-02 23:40 EST-0500)
These are bit more reasonably priced builds, the issue here becomes performance, though these would defiantly be able to play most games on medium yo high settings very well (60fps plus)