With GDC being in full swing we’ve had a chance to take a look at 14 different models of Steam Machine thanks to Ars Technica, and the findings are interesting.
When I say interesting, I mean a little frustrating. Please stick with me for a moment, as I don’t mean to be so gloomy after the masses of great news about ports.
The cheapest model is $459 (iBUYPOWER) with a lower end AMD CPU (Athlon X4 840) and an AMD GPU (r7 250x), and the most expensive is around $5K (Origin, wow!), and that’s really not positioning well against the consoles at either end of it.
With that iBUYPOWER console you will probably struggle to stay over 30FPS in a a few of the higher end games going by my research on the GPU and CPU, and that doesn't fill me with confidence. As it's those games people seem most interested in.
We will, however, try to get our hands on at least that lower end iBUYPOWER unit to test with, and really see how it performs. We will contact them closer to the time to see if we can get a review unit, otherwise it's going to destroy my bank account.
I fully understand there needs to be a good range of hardware, but when the lowest is still quite pricey with some rather low specifications, then something’s up. I could easily be wrong however, as I'm sure the manufacturers are actually testing the performance of their units, and until we see how they perform I will hold off on being too negative about it all.
Ars sum up my thoughts pretty well:
Of course, it remains to be seen how any of them sell, and I'm just being overly cautious here. I really do wish all of them the best, and I sincerely hope at least a few of them sell like hot cakes in a café. We need them to sell well to continue getting big ports!
Some of the units do have a mix of specifications from Intel to AMD processors, and a mix of Intel, AMD and Nvidia graphics. Not to harp on about it, but I really hope AMD start pushing for more performance in their Catalyst driver to make their SteamOS/Linux performance a force to be reckoned with. I am optimistic that they will push out a few good drivers before the full release of the units using their chips. See, I can be optimistic!
You can see the full article here on Ars, with pictures of everything. Sorry we can’t cover them all ourselves, but GDC + Flights = mega expensive!
What are your thoughts? Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
When I say interesting, I mean a little frustrating. Please stick with me for a moment, as I don’t mean to be so gloomy after the masses of great news about ports.
The cheapest model is $459 (iBUYPOWER) with a lower end AMD CPU (Athlon X4 840) and an AMD GPU (r7 250x), and the most expensive is around $5K (Origin, wow!), and that’s really not positioning well against the consoles at either end of it.
With that iBUYPOWER console you will probably struggle to stay over 30FPS in a a few of the higher end games going by my research on the GPU and CPU, and that doesn't fill me with confidence. As it's those games people seem most interested in.
We will, however, try to get our hands on at least that lower end iBUYPOWER unit to test with, and really see how it performs. We will contact them closer to the time to see if we can get a review unit, otherwise it's going to destroy my bank account.
I fully understand there needs to be a good range of hardware, but when the lowest is still quite pricey with some rather low specifications, then something’s up. I could easily be wrong however, as I'm sure the manufacturers are actually testing the performance of their units, and until we see how they perform I will hold off on being too negative about it all.
Ars sum up my thoughts pretty well:
QuoteIn the case of Steam Machines, well, they're coming, and they're certainly more expensive than current-gen consoles. The 14 models that debuted at GDC start at no less than $460—the cheapest being an Athlon X4-powered rig by iBuyPower with a 1GB Radeon R7 video card inside—so Valve certainly isn't positioning any of its suppliers' machines to be affordable, mass-market living room devices.
Of course, it remains to be seen how any of them sell, and I'm just being overly cautious here. I really do wish all of them the best, and I sincerely hope at least a few of them sell like hot cakes in a café. We need them to sell well to continue getting big ports!
Some of the units do have a mix of specifications from Intel to AMD processors, and a mix of Intel, AMD and Nvidia graphics. Not to harp on about it, but I really hope AMD start pushing for more performance in their Catalyst driver to make their SteamOS/Linux performance a force to be reckoned with. I am optimistic that they will push out a few good drivers before the full release of the units using their chips. See, I can be optimistic!
You can see the full article here on Ars, with pictures of everything. Sorry we can’t cover them all ourselves, but GDC + Flights = mega expensive!
What are your thoughts? Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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abelthorne Mar 5, 2015
Quoting: adolsonThe prices are certainly worrying. It seems like they think they're targeting PC gamers, which I'm not sure is the correct market for these devices. Well, we'll see what happens.On the other hand, for a relase at the end of 2015, they'd better aim at decent hardware rather than stick with the quivalent of a PS4/XB1 that devs already complain about the limitations.
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I agree, the prices aren't attractive enough. Everyone who wants a "living room PC" will just buy a Sony or MS console. I don't think the average gamer has enough foresight to include the game prices in their decision. Most will just compare the prices to those of the mainstream prisons. I hope one of the vendors will manage to release a more competitively priced model. Maybe they're just cautious because they can't predict how many units they will be able to sell.
Regarding the AMD drivers: They really need to get their shit together asap. But they get bonus points from me for being instrumental in the Vulkan design process.
Regarding the AMD drivers: They really need to get their shit together asap. But they get bonus points from me for being instrumental in the Vulkan design process.
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ElectricPrism Mar 6, 2015
10/10 - will buy some form of steam machine :)
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