Now it’s getting even more interesting! Zotac has announced a proper Steam Machine with SteamOS.
It doesn't have the most inspiring name with “ZOTAC Steam Machine SN970”, you would think they could come up with something vastly more interesting than that.
QuoteWe are equipping the ZOTAC Steam Machine with Intel's 6th generation CPU and a discrete GTX level graphics card with NVIDIA's latest Maxwell GPU to provide gamers the means for an incredible visual experience.
I am pleased they are going with Nvidia, as I can only imagine the backlash of having an AMD GPU with Catalyst powering it.
QuoteEach unit comes with a Steam controller to give users better control in action and storage also comes included in the form of a 64GB M.2 SSD and a 2.5” 1TB HDD. Equipped with 802.11ac wireless, you can enjoy a blazing fast connection to the network for a smooth gaming experience.
Looks like it will be an SSD for SteamOS, and the 1TB HDD for the games. That's a pretty good idea to make sure SteamOS itself is as smooth as possible.
QuoteValve's much anticipated SteamOS now brings you the full Steam platform experience along with many innovations. Pre-loaded with the ZOTAC Steam Machine, the unit will boot up the OS when it is powered on for the first time, saving precious gaming time. Some of the innovations brought by the SteamOS are in-home streaming, multimedia playback, and library sharing capabilities; making the unit living room-friendly for the entire family.
Looks like a sweet little box, and some pretty powerful components should make it a winner! This could be the one we will take a look at, as it's certainly ticking all the right boxes for me.
See the official page on Zotac’s website.
Update, Official specifications:
- Price: $999 (holy cow!)
- 6th Gen Intel Processor, i3 5010U
- NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 970M 3GB GDDR5
- 8GB DDR3 SODIMM
- 64GB M.2 SSD
- 1 x HDMI in
- 2D/3D NVIDIA Surround
- Dual Gigabit Ethernet
- 4 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0
- 1 x 2.5” 1TB HDD
- 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0
- Mic-In, Stereo Out
- SD/SDHC/SDXC Card Reader
With a rather high price, I seriously don't expect many people to be buying one. I get that there's supposed to be a range of devices, but if they honestly want to gain any traction, they should be going for as low as possible while being powerful. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I plan on buying a steam machine once they are released. This has shot to the top of my list.
1 Likes, Who?
I wonder about the price?
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Reminds me a bit too much of that Gigabyte small factor gaming PC they released last year (Brick?). It throttled like there is no tomorrow because when you put a powerful GPU and CPU in such small confined space they start to overheat. I'd be curious if Zotac manage to avoid that problem somehow.
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I'm surprised a box of this size is actually kind of sexy. A bit simple, but not ugly. This is ignoring the Alpha, of course.
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If it's a GTX970 (or a 1000-series if that even is the name), I'm expecting a pretty hefty price tag =P
I just want to see the internal view of how they organise all the components in the small form factor! =)
I use a normal ATX case for my SteamBox ...
EDIT: wow, I was right about both GTX970 and the pricing =P But I guess these manufacturers don't have licence fees from Steam to be able to subsidize their hardware ...
I just want to see the internal view of how they organise all the components in the small form factor! =)
I use a normal ATX case for my SteamBox ...
EDIT: wow, I was right about both GTX970 and the pricing =P But I guess these manufacturers don't have licence fees from Steam to be able to subsidize their hardware ...
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I see myself owning a factory-built Steam Machine like this after next xmas. Oh yes I do.
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Since my birthday is past already, I'll look into getting myself a Steam Machine as Christmas present this year :D.
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Judging by the name, this is likely going to be packing a GTX 970. That's a good choice. Lawsuit aside, the 970 is a damn good GPU. I'll be curious what the price tag will look like.
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HipsterRich Mar 4, 2015
I literally have no clue what the SteamOS is, is it like linux or what ;/
Whens the release for this btw since my bday is coming real close
Whens the release for this btw since my bday is coming real close
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I literally have no clue what the SteamOS is, is it like linux or what ;/SteamOS is a Linux distro, like Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Slackware, etc. It is based off Debian and aimed, unsurprisingly, at gaming as it boots, by default, directly into Steam Big Picture Mode (from there you can switch to the desktop if you'd like, I forget which Desktop Environment/Window Manager it comes with).
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Segata Sanshiro Mar 4, 2015
I wish they would stop including SSDs in these Steam Machines. Although SSDs are nice, if they want to compete head-to-head with consoles then needlessly adding an extra £50-100 on a hard drive seems completely ridiculous and will probably push the price past that of the PS4 and Xbone.
The GTX level discreet graphics card suggests a 750, which is probably the best choice for these at the moment and what I expected them to use. More reason why the SSD is ridiculous though if it's going to cost around the same as the graphics card (or more).
The GTX level discreet graphics card suggests a 750, which is probably the best choice for these at the moment and what I expected them to use. More reason why the SSD is ridiculous though if it's going to cost around the same as the graphics card (or more).
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I wonder about the price?
this one is $999. some other start at $450 http://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/2xwdt6/steam_machines_models_specs_and_price/
still, this one looks so sexy i doubt i will be able to pass on it
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I wish they would stop including SSDs in these Steam Machines. Although SSDs are nice, if they want to compete head-to-head with consoles then needlessly adding an extra £50-100 on a hard drive seems completely ridiculous and will probably push the price past that of the PS4 and Xbone.
The GTX level discreet graphics card suggests a 750, which is probably the best choice for these at the moment and what I expected them to use. More reason why the SSD is ridiculous though if it's going to cost around the same as the graphics card (or more).
this one is a bit more high end, not just minimal specs. otherwise it wouldn't have 970M GTX inside ;) even previous model, model number was the same as NVidia gpu inside
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I wish they would stop including SSDs in these Steam Machines. Although SSDs are nice, if they want to compete head-to-head with consoles then needlessly adding an extra £50-100 on a hard drive seems completely ridiculous and will probably push the price past that of the PS4 and Xbone.
An SSD of this size is going to be pretty cheap and when you consider the performance improvement you get from using one over an ordinary HDD then I'd say it's worth it. It runs a lot cooler too, which in a small form box, that's pretty important.
3 Likes, Who?
I literally have no clue what the SteamOS is, is it like linux or what ;/SteamOS is a Linux distro, like Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Slackware, etc. It is based off Debian and aimed, unsurprisingly, at gaming as it boots, by default, directly into Steam Big Picture Mode (from there you can switch to the desktop if you'd like, I forget which Desktop Environment/Window Manager it comes with).
gnome. but, if you want desktop you DON'T want SteamOS. SteamOS is aimed at console couch potatos who need looooots of gaming, little or nothing of desktop. also, desktop will never feel as good as on any distro due to many reasons. mainly realtime kernel which makes otherwise smooth operations look choppy
if you are casual desktop+gaming, use distro of your choice and Steam. it will be much better experience. personally, i would fall in the first group
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I use a normal ATX case for my SteamBox ...Ha ha ha! I would call that a Steamchest, not a Steambox :D
Now seriously, that Zotac Steambox is really sexy!
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Propriety form factor pc, no thanks....
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...if you want desktop you DON'T want SteamOS. SteamOS is aimed at console couch potatos who need looooots of gaming, little or nothing of desktop. also, desktop will never feel as good as on any distro due to many reasons. mainly realtime kernel which makes otherwise smooth operations look choppy...Agreed with the first part, but really there is nothing choppy in its usage. It feels like any other desktop.
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