The first Steam Machines, created from a partnership between several hardware manufacturers and Valve, as well as the Steam Controller and Steam Link were officially released Tuesday.
The first of the Steam Machines come from three different manufacturers – Alienware, Syber, and Zotac – each with different SKUs that range in price and include better harder the more money you’re willing to dole out.
Alienware’s machines have four tiers that include an Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 processor, 4GB-8GB of RAM, a 500GB or 1TB 7200RPM hard drive for storing games, an unspecified Nvidia GeForce GTX GPU with 2GB of GDDR5 VRAM. These machines have technically been available since October if you pre-ordered them, but Tuesday is when they become available to everyone else. Pricing on Alienware’s Steam Machines range from $449.99 to $749.99.
Syber offers three tiers of hardware that range in price from $499 to $1419. On the low end, a Syber Steam Machine will come packed with an Intel Core i3 processor, 500GB SATA III hard drive, 4GB RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 with 1GB of VRAM. The $1419 model will get you an Intel Core i7 processor, 1TB SATA III hard drive, 16GB RAM, and an Nvidia GeFroce GTX 980.
Last, but certainly not least, is the Zotac SN970 – the only Steam Machine available from Zotac today. For $999 you will get an Intel Core i5 processor, 1TB hard drive, 8GB RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 960.
The current and future slate of Steam Machines will all run Valve’s Linux-based SteamOS for which there are at least 1,400 games available to play. Unfortunately, Fallout 4 is not one of them.
Also available today is Valve’s own Steam Controller and Steam Link, priced at $49.99 each. The Steam Controller is, obviously, a controller to be used with the aforementioned Steam Machines, a PC running Steam, or Steam Link, Valve’s solution to those who wish to play their Steam library on a different screen on the same wireless network. Just plug the Steam Link into another screen with an HDMI port, connect it to the same wireless network your PC is connected to and you’ll be ready to play your Steam library on your living room couch. Valve says Steam Link can stream up to 1080p at 60fps, but individual results will vary given varying wireless networks.
Source: Valve
