First Wave Of Steam Machines Arrives In October

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Looks like the wait for the Steam Machine invasion is nearly over, as Valve Software has announced that the first "early bird" wave of hardware is expected to arrive on October 16, 2015 followed by a general retail release on November 10, 2015. Customers in North America wanting to get their Steam Machine on the October date need to pre-purchase a unit now, as this early release is a limited time offer.

Currently available on GameStop and Steam, customers can pre-purchase the Alienware model with a starting price of $449 or the Syber Steam Machine for a starting price of $499. A number of other Steam Machines will be made available to pre-purchase in the coming weeks.

In addition to the consoles, Valve is offering the Steam Controller for $49.99 and the Steam Link device, which will stream games from a Steam Machine console, Steam PC or Mac to any HDTV at 1080p 60 fps, for $49.99. Want both? Valve is selling these devices in a bundle for $99.98.

Taking a look at what Alienware has to offer, there are four models in its Steam Machine arsenal. These consist of the "i3" model with 500 GB for $449.99 or with 1 TB for $549.99, the "i5" model with 1 TB for $649.99, and the "i7" model with 1 TB for $749.99.

Syber's Steam Machine is offered in only three flavors. These include the Steam Machine X for hardcore gamers at $1,419, the Steam Machine P for the core gamers at $729, and the Steam Machine I for all gamers priced at $499. Syber adds that customers purchasing the "X" machine will be able to play the newest games at 4K, whereas the "P" model will play most games at a high resolution. The "I" machine is the best value of the three options.

In addition to Alienware and Syber, Valve also lists a large number of Steam Machines that are coming soon. These include the Asus ROG GR85 that has a starting price of $699.99, the Digital Storm Eclipse costing $699.99, the Gigabyte BRIX Pro for $599.99, the IBUYPOWER SBX starting at $459.99 and the Maingear DRIFT starting at $849.99.

"It's been a blast playing on our Alienware Steam Machines with our friends and family over recent months; it's really exciting to finally share that experience with our community of gamers," said  Frank Azor, general manager of Alienware and XPS at Dell.

Valve Software introduced the SteamOS platform, the Steam Controller and its Steam Machine initiative back in September 2013. The launch window was originally set for 2014, but with no controller in sight, OEMs launched their solutions without the Steam Machine seal of approval. Now it's 2015 and the Steam Controller, which must be included with all Steam Machines, is apparently near perfection.

For now we have a definite launch date if all goes well at Valve Software. The question now is this: Will gamers buy into the whole Steam Machine hype and purchase one of these consoles? And will Steam Machines have enough hardware and games to directly compete with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4? We'll find out later this year.

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Kevin Parrish
26 Comments Comment from the forums
  • TechyInAZ
    PS4, Xbox, prepare to be defeated!! :P

    I like that PC is now going into the console realm. And these don't just have to be consoles, if you want you could use these as half PC/half console if need be. There are so many advantages to having a full PC.

    I personally would build my own steam machine instead. :)
    Reply
  • oilyraincloud
    And will Steam Machines have enough hardware and games to directly compete with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4? We'll find out later this year.

    It's Steam.
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    15991968 said:
    And will Steam Machines have enough hardware and games to directly compete with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4? We'll find out later this year.

    It's Steam.

    Considering that most games are releasing on PC as well as consoles and PC has its own massive event at E3 this year AND that there are currently more PC games being developed than console I think it will compete very well.

    It doesn't take much to equal the quality of a PS4 and with the next set of GPUs and CPUs coming soon, I think people will flock to be able to get PC quality at their TV screen.
    Reply
  • Larry Litmanen
    PS4, Xbox, prepare to be defeated!! :P

    I like that PC is now going into the console realm. And these don't just have to be consoles, if you want you could use these as half PC/half console if need be. There are so many advantages to having a full PC.

    I personally would build my own steam machine instead. :)

    I was in the Gaming forum and some guy wrote that he had issues running AC: Black Flag on a low to midrange PC.

    This is what this PC will be in 2 years.

    I am too old to play the fanboy game, but it's silly not to try and understand why people like consoles.
    Reply
  • photonboy
    1) My $1500 Steam Machine kicks your $400 PS4 to the curb, dude!!

    2) Yay, I dropped Windows and saved a few bucks. Now I can play a small fraction of the Steam games on SteamOS.

    3) Stream my Windows 10 PC to my HDTV (via ethernet) using a $50 Steam Link??

    Yes, please!
    Reply
  • uglyduckling81
    I just don't get the reason behind these.
    It's not a set hardware so they can be optimised for. They are just a PC so why bother buying a PC called a steam box or what ever.
    I understand the push for Steam OS but anyone could use it. Valve just need to encourage developers to release a linux version and people would naturally start using it because it's free.
    I don't know anyone that would ever buy one of these. They are either complete PC novice and would just buy a console for their gaming or they know how to use a PC and would just get a PC with Windows.
    Reply
  • gravewax
    PS4, Xbox, prepare to be defeated!! :P

    I like that PC is now going into the console realm. And these don't just have to be consoles, if you want you could use these as half PC/half console if need be. There are so many advantages to having a full PC.

    I personally would build my own steam machine instead. :)
    I can't see these even competing with xbox and playstation let alone defeating them. They are too expensive, lack the benefits of a fixed hardware spec and come default with an OS that means you can't even use all steam games.
    Reply
  • TechyInAZ
    PS4, Xbox, prepare to be defeated!! :P

    I like that PC is now going into the console realm. And these don't just have to be consoles, if you want you could use these as half PC/half console if need be. There are so many advantages to having a full PC.

    I personally would build my own steam machine instead. :)
    I can't see these even competing with xbox and playstation let alone defeating them. They are too expensive, lack the benefits of a fixed hardware spec and come default with an OS that means you can't even use all steam games.

    Ill have to agree with you on the games part.

    However, PC graphics look a million times better. and at 60fps.
    Reply
  • Larry Litmanen
    These PCs would be great just as living room PCs on their own.

    Reply
  • Spanky Deluxe
    To be honest, I really don't think these are going to take off. The console gamer crowd are already focussed on their consoles and don't even know these Steam boxes exist and the PC crowd prefers to game at a desk on their PCs so aren't going to be interested.
    Reply