SMACH Z, the portable AMD Steam Machine is on Kickstarter

Agree with Iperpido! Why so much negativity from the posters on page 1?

How is this not a good thing? Handhelds might just be the answer to help SteamOS gain mass adoption?

*THE* biggest challenge for driver developers is to get the best outcome across the widest range of supported hardware.

For example…
Take the Playstation 4 for example, AMD delivered amazing linux/FreeBSD drivers (integrate with Sonys own GPU API) that run flawlessly because the hardware is predictable and they are better able to deliver a better outcome in a much shorter development cycle.

If SMACH gets their backing for this device, it means the demand is there and companies like AMD respond to demand. In fact it might just get them taking us TUX gamers seriously which would be great for all of us!

So please people, buck up a bit, if you don't have anything positive to add…


Last edited by Xelancer on 13 December 2015 at 12:22 am UTC

Quoting: XaeroVincent...
An example of this for instance is Fallout 4 on SteamOS:

Quoting: Leerdeck...
It's probably only a stream from a Windows PC ;)

I could have one that with just a screenshot and my decent C++ knowledge :D (Probably I just need the right imageviewer)

Quoting: LeerdeckIt's probably only a stream from a Windows PC ;)

Of course that's what it is, except that it isn't a PC in my home nor that I own. It's streamed from a data center with Nvidia GRID vGPU servers about 400 miles from me (closest data center). There are several data centers around the world and I can play FPS type games from selectable data centers upto 2000 miles away before latency/input lag starts becoming fairly noticable. It's all closed beta ATM and not taking new testers until general rollout early next year and I don't want to advertise for a 3rd party so use google and find out about it yourself, if you want.

The point of all this is the SMACH Z could techincally have access to all games on SteamOS because unlike Playstation Now or GeForce Now, which only have a small selection of games, this service gives you a full cloud Windows desktop and therefore full access to almost any type of app and of course your Steam, Origin, Uplay, etc. accounts and all the games on them.

Quoting: IperpidoAnyway, it seems thay actually have a prototype, as thay said on their facebook page.

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I don't think that's a working prototype, just the prototype for the casing. According to their reply in the kickstarter comments:

Quoting: SMACH teamPrototype: Next week we're going to upload a new video showing and explaining better the current prototype and plan. But the current prototype is the "motherboard" that you see in the video, it's not encapsulated. To create an encapsulated prototype we need $200.000 and 4 months of work of IMASD. And that's why we need the funds from Kickstarter. Take a look at the timeline image to better understand the steps of the production.

So it's basically this

It's a tiny screen hooked up to a big mobo placed in front of an empty shell...

Quoting: ricki42It's a tiny screen hooked up to a big mobo placed in front of an empty shell...

Asking that they have a finished product like prototype at this stage is greatly exaggerated. I also do have my doubt but I hope they succeed.

I like the project, I like the idea, I like what I see about cloud gaming and I dream about Nintendo games being on Steam, specially if this handheld becomes true.

Don't know whether I'll back them but I wish them the best of the lucks.

I don't know why you guys are complaining about AMD — Nvidia don't have a x86_64 SoC available do they?

Quoting: Purple Library GuyTo me the questions revolve around the controls. OK, the AMD thing is a little worrisome, but let's imagine someone has gotten drivers much more better by the time it comes out. But the Steam Controller took Valve ages to get right, it almost seems like it was the major bottleneck for the whole project. These people are going to be doing their best to emulate the Steam Controller on this little device, but how well will they succeed?

Indeed. The broken the controller ergonomics was immediately apparent to me. And then there's also the Z-Pads…


Last edited by N30N on 13 December 2015 at 12:25 pm UTC

Quoting: NyamiouAsking that they have a finished product like prototype at this stage is greatly exaggerated. I also do have my doubt but I hope they succeed.

Of course I wouldn't expect a finished product at this stage. But calling that picture they posted on facebook a real prototype is misleading. The challenge with this project isn't hooking up a PC to a small screen, that's the easy part, it's fitting all of that PC into a handheld with nothing overheating (plus the 5hr battery life they claim). And then having enough power to run games. That they claim it runs 'any game' is also misleading I think, since it seems they are referring to streaming, but that isn't clear from the pitch video which gives the impression that the thing will run The Witcher 2 at playable framerates. I'd love to have a handheld Linux gaming PC, but this project has so many red flags that I have serious doubts it'll succeed. I hope I'm wrong and they do succeed, but anyone who considers backing this should at least be aware what the current state of the prototype is and what games you can realistically expect to play.

I wish them all the luck and will seriously consider buying one if the project is successful (and the price is reasonable), but I'm extremely skeptical at the moment.

And they also need to come up with a better name, because Smach Z is terrible.


Last edited by Mountain Man on 14 December 2015 at 12:42 pm UTC

The Kickstarter campaign is closed. The project is back to the draw table... they need to redefine and to explain it better.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smachteam/smach-z-the-first-handheld-steam-machine/posts/1445260

Its their second attempt... (the first one was the "SteamBoy") :)