Games
The first strike of Valve’s console revolution has hit.
The massive Consumer Electronics Show (CES) tech expo in Las Vegas went down last week, but it wasn’t all 4K TVs and tat you can plug into your iPhone: this year’s edition saw some huge gaming announcements, including Sony’s game streaming service, PlayStation Now.
But it was Half-Life creator Valve that stole the spotlight on the Strip by unleashing its initial wave of Steam Machines at the show with a whopping 14 different manufacturing partners. Each is begging for a place under your TV instead of a next-gen console, but that’s a lot to choose from. Jump in as we take a look at the very best of these new breed of consoles, all set to touch down later this year.
Alienware
PC gaming titan Alienware had its brand-spanking new Steam Machine on show in Vegas (pictured above), and if there’s just one SteamOS-running machine to keep an eye on, it’ll be this one. Alienware’s top-notch box is leading the charge against Windows PC gaming with this slick looking slab: the all black, shiny machine with classy blue highlights and a tiny eight inch wide footprint is the result of a four-year collaboration. Valve boss Gabe Newell says that it “encapsulates the full potential of what a Steam Machine should be.” While we’re still waiting to find out just what’s under the hood and what its price tag will be, you can be sure this will be of the shining stars of the Steam Machine uprising.
Digital Storm
Digital Storm’s take on the Steam Machine is one of luxury: the Bolt II simply looks the business. That’s no surprise from the high-end custom PC maker renowned for its top-notch hardware: it’s more supercar than hatchback, so it’s slightly bigger than most of its peers (but still on par with the monster Xbox One). Of course, that just means there’s more room for beefier hardware under the hood. Crammed inside is a blazing fast, liquid-cooled Intel Core i7 processor paired with a hefty 16GB of RAM, while Nvidia is bringing the first-class graphical goods thanks to its high-end GTX 780 Ti card. A 1TB hard drive gives you more than enough room for your all your games downloaded from Steam, and it’s coupled up with an ultra rapid 120GB SSD for swift operating system access. Digital Storm isn’t looking to compete with console pricing: instead, the company’s wanting to deliver the best possible gaming experience. Its Steam Machine can be yours for a mere $2,584 (£1,576).
Gigabyte
PC hardware maker Gigabyte is taking a different approach with its Steam Machine, slimming things down to something closer to the Wii in size than your regular gaming tower. It's Brix Pro Steam Machine has a lot in common with the company’s Brix line of tiny PCs, but have no fear, for this is a fully fledged gaming machine that comes complete with SteamOS. Tucked away inside, you’ll find a speedy Intel Core i7 processor and Intel Iris Pro 5200 graphics, plus a decent 8GB of RAM onboard and plenty of storage for your games thanks to its 1TB internal hard disk drive. Gigabyte’s keeping mum on the price for the moment, but the Brix Pro should line up nicely with its similarly specced brethren.
Origin PC
Origin PC is pulling out all the stops for its Steam Machine: expect to remortgage your house if you want it's insane creation, but in exchange for a huge chunk of change, you’ll be treated to sheer gaming bliss. The Chronos is a Steam Machine of epic proportions, and if the sky’s the limit for your budget, you can top it out with some seriously insane hardware. Kick things off with a blazing-fast and liquid chilled 4.6GHz Intel Core i7 processor, and drop in not one, but two top-end Nvidia Geforce GTX Titans to take care of your graphics before arming it with a ridiculous 32GB of RAM. Yes, this thing runs Crysis and then some. We’re not sure what you’d do with it, but you can throw in a staggering 14TB of storage too, and even get the whole rig overclocked by Origin’s top team of PC pros. We’ll just say that this is going to be one expensive piece of kit.
Zotac
If you want to keep your Steam Machine discreet, take a look at Zotac’s compact offering. It looks like a wireless router, and it can even mount on the back of your TV or monitor for the ultimate stealth set-up - your Xbox One and PlayStation 4 just gained a few pounds. Zotac is yet to announce its specs, but with a price tag of $599 (£365), it’ll slot in well with the rest of the Steam Machine pack and could be the dark horse to bet on.
CyberPowerPC
CyberPowerPC is another custom gaming rig maker, and just like Alienware, it has a soft spot for plenty of LED lighting. The company’s mean looking Steam Machine I comes packing a 3.5GHz Intel Core i3 and graphics power courtesy of an Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 card, and it can be all yours for just $699 (£423). If that’s not enough juice, you’ll able to customise almost every nook and cranny, meaning the sky’s the limit for the price tag - it’ll all depend on how much you want it to fly.
iBuyPower
Along with Alienware’s pretty machine, iBuyPower’s SBX also caught our eyes with its slick design and beefy specs. This one’s aiming to directly challenge the new consoles, as for $500 (£303), you’ll bag the Steam Machine, a Steam Controller, an HDMI cable and all the silicon packed inside to get your gaming action on. You’ll find it packing either a multi-core AMD processor or an Intel chip, with AMD providing the graphics, although there’s no exact specifics on what’s going on under the hood. It also comes with some design tricks, as the colour bar in the middle is controllable via an iOS and Android app to show off your favourite colour.
Webhallen
If you’re after something that’s just a straight-to-the-point gaming rig, Webhallen has all of your boxes ticked, as its Machine does away with the gaudy LED aesthetics, switching them out for a classy, aluminium-clad chassis. It’s one of the more expensive choices, starting at $1,499 (£908), but you get plenty of bang for your buck: the Webhallen starts with an Intel Core i7 CPU and an Nvidia GTX 780 graphics card, meaning this little machine will fly. It’s also paired up with a meaty 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, meaning this could be more than just your home console of choice - it could also be your LAN party box too.
