{"id":61460,"date":"2014-01-16T02:40:22","date_gmt":"2014-01-16T00:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/?p=61460"},"modified":"2014-01-16T02:41:38","modified_gmt":"2014-01-16T00:41:38","slug":"what-is-a-steam-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/hardware\/61460-what-is-a-steam-machine","title":{"rendered":"What is a Steam Machine?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Running Valve&#8217;s open source Linux-based Steam OS, a Steam Machine is a powerful PC specifically built for gaming.<\/p>\n<p>A Steam Machine is approved by Valve; this approval means that it meets the minimum requirements in terms of hardware specs to become a Steam Machine.<\/p>\n<p>Valve assures us that the Steam OS is built for gaming, but you can install Windows on this PC if you wanted to.<\/p>\n<p>Steam Machines come in different spec variations and price ranges. Thus far <a title=\"Valve unveils 14 Steam Machine prototypes\" href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/hardware\/61251-valve-unveils-14-steam-machine-prototypes.html\">14 hardware manufacturers have unveiled their own Steam Machine<\/a>, each with different internals and exterior design.<\/p>\n<p>Valve has stated that it is completely up to the manufacturer to decide their steam machine internals, whether it has an optical drive, etc. Some Steam Machines will have upgradable internals, depending on the manufacturer.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_31.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-61261\" alt=\"SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_3\" src=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_31.jpg\" width=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_31.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_31-431x600.jpg 431w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>To give insight on the specs of a Steam Machine, <a title=\"MyGaming\" href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/hardware\/59940-valve-reveals-steam-machine-prototype-hardware.html\">Valve sent the following boxes out to 300 beta testers<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>GPU: some units with Nvidia Titan, some GTX780, some GTX760, and some GTX660<\/li>\n<li>CPU: some boxes with Intel i7-4770, some i5-4570, and some i3<\/li>\n<li>RAM: 16GB DDR3-1600 (CPU), 3GB GDDR5 (GPU)<\/li>\n<li>Storage: 1TB\/8GB Hybrid SSHD<\/li>\n<li>Power supply: Internal 450w 80Plus Gold<\/li>\n<li>Dimensions: approx. 12 x 12.4 x 2.9 in high<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A Steam Machine controller has been designed to complement the PC. This controller features two click-able trackpads in the place of traditional thumb sticks, and 16 buttons. The controller is completely open to tweaks and even hacks.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_51.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-61263\" alt=\"SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_5\" src=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_51.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"832\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">What is Valve trying to achieve?<\/h3>\n<p>Other than world domination, Valve wants the console world and PC world to meet in perfect harmony &#8211; a Steam Machine plugged into every TV. Convenient PC gaming on the big screen.<\/p>\n<p>To this end, Valve previously launched their <a title=\"Steam Big Picture mode\" href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/news\/48106-steam-big-picture-mode-launched.html\">Big Picture mode<\/a>, which changes the look and feel of their Steam client to suit use on a TV.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_41.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-61262\" alt=\"SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_4\" src=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_41.jpg\" width=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_41.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_41-431x600.jpg 431w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\">What&#8217;s wrong with it?<\/h3>\n<p>The idea of a compact PC with upgradable hardware that will be integrated into a living room sounds amazing &#8211; if you can afford one.<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturers revealed their Steam Machines at CES 2014, starting at a high price of $500, which will get you a basic Steam Machine.<\/p>\n<p>Some of these beasts range up to $2,585, such as the Digital Storm Bolt II which packs in a Core i7 4770K processor, 16GB RAM, a GTX 780 TI graphics card, a 1TB hard drive, and a 120GB SSD.<\/p>\n<p>The Linux-based Steam OS also means that the support for games will be limited &#8211; sure you can install Windows, but what&#8217;s the point when these are shipped with Steam OS?<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m all for awesome hardware, and these PC&#8217;s have got that, but the prices are pretty steep, and it&#8217;s not like a car that you can sleep in once your house is repossessed.<\/p>\n<p>What do you think about the future of PC gaming will Valve take over the world? Let us know in the comments below.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_21.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-61260\" alt=\"SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_2\" src=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_21.jpg\" width=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_21.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SteamMachinesBroc_WEB_Page_21-431x600.jpg 431w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">More gaming news<\/h3>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/news\/61456-robert-pandatank-botha-pro-gaming-in-sa-isnt-sustainable.html\">PandaTank: pro gaming career in SA isn\u2019t sustainable<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/news\/61438-maxis-explains-simcity-offline-complexity.html\">Maxis explains Simcity offline complexity<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/news\/61429-magic-the-gathering-will-soon-be-a-movie.html\">Magic: The Gathering will soon be a movie<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/news\/61421-dayz-cracks-1-million-copies-sold-within-a-month.html\">DayZ cracks 1 million copies sold within a month<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new category of living room hardware is on the horizon with Valve&#8217;s all-in-one PC boxes dubbed Steam Machines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":213,"featured_media":60990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_enabled":true,"_sma_x_custom_text":"","_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[21,11340,697],"class_list":["post-61460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hardware","tag-headline","tag-steam-machines","tag-valve"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61460"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61461,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61460\/revisions\/61461"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}