steam box | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Thu, 30 Mar 2023 15:25:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png steam box | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Syber Consoles offer easy to build option for Steam or Windows https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/base-unit/andrzej/syber-consoles-offer-easy-to-build-option-for-steam-or-windows/ https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/base-unit/andrzej/syber-consoles-offer-easy-to-build-option-for-steam-or-windows/#respond Thu, 29 Oct 2015 15:22:19 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=273367 With Steam consoles nearing their launch date and VR almost ready to explode on to the scene, system maker Cyberpower is convinced that living room gaming will be a hot topic for 2016. David Scott explains his company's choice to opt for a self-assembly system using desktop parts – and then shows us how to …

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With Steam consoles nearing their launch date and VR almost ready to explode on to the scene, system maker Cyberpower is convinced that living room gaming will be a hot topic for 2016. David Scott explains his company's choice to opt for a self-assembly system using desktop parts – and then shows us how to build one.

The whole console vs PC gaming debate has been responsible for, shall we say, some tense discussions online, and lately, a lot of that focus has been on which is better for living room gaming. If you choose a PC-style unit, should you go with Windows or wait for Steam? Of course you could always build it yourself with desktop parts…

Cyberpower Guru David Scott believes it's the latter and was kind enough to drive five hours to the KitGuru studio in order to take us through his company's thinking.

Originally founded in the USA, Cyberpower today continues to own a sizeable chunk of the local market. Here in the UK, the company has manufacturing and warehousing in Gateshead and sells both direct to the public and through a series of retail partners.

One of the units that David brought with him was a barebones living room gaming console, that will be marketed under the brand Syber.  This unit will start around £249 and includes the chassis, PSU, mainboard and primary cooling. In the first part of the video, David takes us through a build that uses a Titan X graphics card and a ‘speed build' of the system itself, to show you how it's put together.

As well as from Cyberpower direct, you can buy and pre-order the Syber systems from the likes of Amazon, Maplin and eBuyer.

KitGuru says: The next couple of years could be very interesting for PCs and gaming as a whole. As the line begins to blur between consoles and PCs, could we see traditional consoles fall by the wayside? If you build a full gaming rig using Steam, then you don't have to pay for a Windows license and that money can then be invested in a better graphics card – potentially making your game play much faster/smoother.

But is that worth it? What do you think of these new Steam-PC-alikes?

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VP Eric Kuo reveals some interesting MSI plans for the future https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/interviews/andrzej/vp-eric-kuo-reveals-some-interesting-msi-plans-for-the-future/ Sat, 01 Nov 2014 16:32:58 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=219713 Over at MSI Beat IT 2014, the main focus is on the global gaming competition which brings together teams from across the planet for a chance to win over $113,000 in prize money. At the same time, there is some interesting hardware on show – and a lot of senior MSI personnel on hand to answer …

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Over at MSI Beat IT 2014, the main focus is on the global gaming competition which brings together teams from across the planet for a chance to win over $113,000 in prize money. At the same time, there is some interesting hardware on show – and a lot of senior MSI personnel on hand to answer questions. We caught up with Eric Kuo, VP for the Notebook Division.

We will deliver a full and in-depth interview with Eric shortly, but for now we wanted to share some of the insights he gave us in a small room off the main competition hall in Taipei's ATT For Fun complex.

Eric started with his company's strategy on making desktop systems.

“It's not something we will do”, he explained. “We have an All-in-One solution and a barebone system with Nightblade, but that's it. We don't want to compete with our own customers. We don't think that is a good strategy”.

When KitGuru reviewed the Nightblade, it was clear that this would be something you can get from MESH, Overclockers or Scan – rather than from MSI.

This is a clear statement on direction from MSI.

We wondered about smaller form factor systems – maybe ones with a specialist operating system like Steam.

Smiling, Eric told us, “No, no, we will not produce an MSI Steam Box”.

“We have big manufacturing capability and this is the kind of product that a customer might want us to produce for them, but we have no plans for an MSI Steam Box”.

He then paused. Another smile, and said, “That doesn't mean we won't have something clever in a small form factor”.

Intriguing stuff.

So MSI won't produce a desktop to compete with customers, won't make a Steam Box with an MSI logo, but will help partners make Steam Boxes – and will have something cool in the small form factor market shortly.

So the focus is 100% on hardware?

“Not at all”, he replied. “Right now, community is one of the most important things for MSI. We are very happy with the success of Beat IT 2014 and we want to reach out further next year – to get even more teams and countries involved. We believe that the spirit of community, within gaming, is very important”.

Eric-Kuo-Beat-IT-2014-Exclusive-Interview-KitGuru

KitGuru says: Big sigh of relief from the channel when they hear that MSI will go out of its way not to compete with them head-2-head on the desktop. And a big smile on the faces of competitive gamers in far flung places, as MSI dedicates itself to supporting communities and competitions in a bigger way in 2014.

Is it right that component manufacturers steer clear of making complete systems – or should they make whatever they want? Let us know over on Facebook.

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Watch a guy open up a Steam Box here https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/jon-martindale/watch-a-guy-open-up-a-steam-box-here/ Mon, 16 Dec 2013 08:35:38 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=167584 We've been getting teased by single images and snippets of information about Valve's Steam Box hardware for a while now, so it's nice to finally see that someone's managed to get one opened up and take a look inside to see what we're really working with and how the hardware will all be put together. …

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We've been getting teased by single images and snippets of information about Valve's Steam Box hardware for a while now, so it's nice to finally see that someone's managed to get one opened up and take a look inside to see what we're really working with and how the hardware will all be put together.

steambox

In the video below, Mr Nelson pops open a surprisingly compact Steam Box, with very little room for anything but the hardware itself, which certainly makes you wonder about how effective it will be at keeping air moving across all components – that is until you see the clever design used for the oversized looking GPU.

It's housed in its own walled off area, with a riser meaning it can be mounted side on and therefore draw air straight up into it using its coaxial fan and blow it right out the back of the case. Power cables are similarly stealthed in a plastic housing which creates very little impediment to air flowing in from the front grill. This keeps the GPU cool, whilst making it sure it doesn't contribute to any other components' overheating.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVkas2E3NAg']

Similarly the CPU and RAM are housed in their shrouded area, which should funnel air across both RAMsinks and the cooler's copper fins, drawing air from above it and blowing it right out the nearby side grill. The guy in the video also confirms that it uses an ASRock motherboard.

It looks like there's space for a second hard drive, so there may be potential for RAID set ups, or the addition of a secondary drive for storage, or more likely an SSD replacement for the boot drive.

It's not easy to tell, but it looks like every screw is a simple phillips design, so it shouldn't be too difficult to take the case and components apart if needed, which is a nice change over almost every other commercial bit of electronics you'll try and dismantle. There's even thumb screws in some places, even if they are on tight enough to require a screw driver to loosen them first.

KitGuru Says: The whole thing looks pretty well thought out, especially in the realm of thermals and airflow. Are any of you guys thinking of getting a Steam Box next year? 

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Another Steam Box is teased for CES https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/jon-martindale/another-steam-box-is-teased-for-ces/ Thu, 12 Dec 2013 09:46:01 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=167186 CES is going to see a lot of PC unveiling this year, but not new desktop or notebook systems but Steam boxes, high powered PCs masquerading as consoles so you'll put it in your living room instead of your sweet game room. This one however will be just for the deep pocketed among you, as …

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CES is going to see a lot of PC unveiling this year, but not new desktop or notebook systems but Steam boxes, high powered PCs masquerading as consoles so you'll put it in your living room instead of your sweet game room. This one however will be just for the deep pocketed among you, as it's going to run you almost $1,500 in the US and no doubt much more here.

This is a third party one, so it's nothing official from Valve, but comes straight from custom gaming PC builder, Digital Storm and it packs some impressive specs. While we don't know the important stuff like GPU, CPU and memory, we do know it requires a 700w PSU and a liquid cooling loop, so chances are it'll be very quiet. It will also come with Windows or SteamOS options too.

dstorm
Source: Kotaku

Digital Storm has somewhat of a history of making compact, but powerful and quiet gaming systems, so it's a perfect fit company for the Steam Boxes that are set to land next year. That's the case with this one too, which will be officially unveiled along with all of its internals at CES 2014.

That will no doubt be the time when we see a lot more from Valve too, with regards to its Steam Box system and its possible VR developments.

Kitguru Says: I like the idea of the Steam Box since it could bring some console gamers over to the light side, but not sure I'd move from my nice monitor set up to the lounge just for a bigger display at a distance.

[Cheers Kotaku]

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What do you think of iBuyPower’s SteamBox prototype? https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/jon-martindale/what-do-you-think-of-ibuypowers-steam-box-prototype/ https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/jon-martindale/what-do-you-think-of-ibuypowers-steam-box-prototype/#comments Tue, 26 Nov 2013 08:56:52 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=164415 The world and his dog may be clamouring about the newly released Xbox One and soon-to-be released (at least here anyway) PS4, but the real console that we're waiting for with baited breath, is the SteamBox, otherwise known, as the potential game-breaker. And now we're got another look at it, or at least a prototype …

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The world and his dog may be clamouring about the newly released Xbox One and soon-to-be released (at least here anyway) PS4, but the real console that we're waiting for with baited breath, is the SteamBox, otherwise known, as the potential game-breaker. And now we're got another look at it, or at least a prototype from iBuyPower and we want to know what you think about it.

steambox1

It's white and features an all round, light-bar, like segment that looks able to change colour. Whether that will be in response to console function or perhaps personal preference for styling purposes, is unclear.

steambox2

According to iBuyPower, the Steam Box is working and running an early version of Valve's SteamOS software, but it's in the very early stages and this may not reflect the final version's looks. It is however, hitting the market in 2014, so expect something that looks a bit like this to be available for purchase before long.

This isn't the only one iBuyPower is working on though. There will be two options at launch, this one and another that features a tinted colour bar. It's not clear which is which at the moment, but according to Engadget, one is called Gordan, the other Freeman.

KitGuru Says: So guys, what do you think of the prototype? And which one do you think we're looking at? Gordon or Freeman?

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The Steam universe is expanding in 2014 https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/the-steam-universe-is-expanding-in-2014/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/the-steam-universe-is-expanding-in-2014/#comments Sun, 22 Sep 2013 09:06:12 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=153659 Last week Gabe Newell hinted at a steam box announcement sometime soon. Now there is a website with space for three clocks, the first countdown has already begun, and it ends in 32 hours at time of writing. The signs pointing towards a console announcement are strong, the url ends with ‘livingroom' and a short …

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Last week Gabe Newell hinted at a steam box announcement sometime soon. Now there is a website with space for three clocks, the first countdown has already begun, and it ends in 32 hours at time of writing.

The signs pointing towards a console announcement are strong, the url ends with ‘livingroom' and a short bit of text on the page reads “Last year, we shipped a software feature called Big Picture, a user-interface tailored for televisions and gamepads. This year we’ve been working on even more ways to connect the dots for customers who want Steam in the living-room.”

Another elusive message from Valve tells us “The Steam universe is expanding in 2014”. So we might not be seeing the final product just yet, but at least we are finally seeing something. The last words on the page tell us that we can help shape the future of Steam by being included in the design process although, it's not yet certain what this means exactly, or how we will give our input but that could be one of the three announcements we are faced with.
Steambox announcement
Whatever Valve has been working on behind closed doors, i'm sure the Steam community is going to love it. 

KitGuru Says: The one thing this web page confirms once and for all is that Valve can indeed count to three. Keep your eyes peeled, next week is going to bring us a lot of answers. Do you think the next generation consoles should be scared by this potential newcomer?

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Xi3 admits Piston isn’t official Steam Box https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/gaming-rig/jon-martindale/xi3-admits-piston-isnt-official-steam-box/ https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/gaming-rig/jon-martindale/xi3-admits-piston-isnt-official-steam-box/#respond Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:52:23 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=127958 Valve came out earlier this week and claimed there was no official relationship between it and mini-Piston PC creator, Xi3 and that ultimately the miniature machine wasn't a Steam box. While initially taken aback by this announcement, Xi3 seems to have collected itself now and it has agreed, the Piston isn't a Steam Box, but …

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Valve came out earlier this week and claimed there was no official relationship between it and mini-Piston PC creator, Xi3 and that ultimately the miniature machine wasn't a Steam box. While initially taken aback by this announcement, Xi3 seems to have collected itself now and it has agreed, the Piston isn't a Steam Box, but that the request for its development did come from Valve.

There was some Valve money behind the project too, but ultimately the resulting hardware isn't going to be an official Valve product. Xi3 has pointed out however, that this is a good thing, since it means the Piston can run other game platforms.

Piston
Priced at just under $1000 and packing 8GB of RAM and a 3.2GHZ quad core, the Piston has been available for pre-order since Monday.

According to the TechCrunch rundown, we'll be looking at a base Windows OS for the Piston, though it will be Linux compatible. This is apparently where Xi3 believes it can offer something better than a Steam Box, since it will have more customisation options for consumers.

Pre-order demand has apparently been pretty high since the Piston became available on Monday, so much so in-fact that Xi3 isn't sure if it'll be able to supply all of the little consoles that have been ordered before the end of the year.

Whatever the relationship between Valve and Xi3 was though, it looks like now we'll be given the option of multiple Steam boxes as other companies also get in on the action.

KitGuru Says: What do you think of Xi3 and other companies bringing Steam to the lounge experience? Is it the type of “console” that would interest you PC gamers more than the next-gen machines from Microsoft and Sony?

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Are Infinity Ward set to sell consoles now? https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/jon-martindale/are-infinity-ward-set-to-sell-consoles-now/ https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/jon-martindale/are-infinity-ward-set-to-sell-consoles-now/#comments Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:00:53 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=127063 The whole “getting into hardware,” gimmick seems to have become just that for many companies. I appreciate that the likes of Ouya and Nvidia are shaking up the traditional big three dynamic of consoles, but do we really need another? According to a cryptic image posted by Infinity Ward, it too may be entering the …

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The whole “getting into hardware,” gimmick seems to have become just that for many companies. I appreciate that the likes of Ouya and Nvidia are shaking up the traditional big three dynamic of consoles, but do we really need another? According to a cryptic image posted by Infinity Ward, it too may be entering the hardware game.

This is the image that appeared on the Infinity Ward twitter account over the weekend. It shows one of those small Xi3 piston machines that Valve showed off as a potential Steam Box, though this one has the IW logo on the side. It's also sitting on top of some kind of second enclosure that could be a storage unit, and next to both of these is a smartphone – apparently for scale reference.

The only text with the image is “what's this?” leaving many internet users puzzled over what they've seen.

Is Infinity Ward making its own console? Will it simply partner with Valve as part of the Steam Box release? Will there be a Call of Duty console that's cut rate but can only play games from the one company?

KitGuru Says: I'm kind of stumped here. What do you guys think this is?

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Gabe Newell clears up Steam Box confusion https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/console-desktop-pc/jon-martindale/gabe-newell-clears-up-steam-box-confusion/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/console-desktop-pc/jon-martindale/gabe-newell-clears-up-steam-box-confusion/#comments Wed, 09 Jan 2013 11:17:50 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=121417 Ok so yesterday I might have jumped the gun a bit saying we were looking at “Valve's console.” It isn't. Still, it will be part of a new lineup of Steam compatible hardware that are designed as small form factor PCs for gaming in your lounge. Yes I also said that Valve were unlikely to …

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Ok so yesterday I might have jumped the gun a bit saying we were looking at “Valve's console.” It isn't. Still, it will be part of a new lineup of Steam compatible hardware that are designed as small form factor PCs for gaming in your lounge.

Yes I also said that Valve were unlikely to compete with their own third party hardware and I was wrong on that count too. Valve head honcho, Game Newell said as much in his interview with The Verge, explaining that there would be several third party Steam box manufacturers, but that Valve would also produce its own, cool and quiet console with a small foot print.

“We'll come out with our own and we'll sell it to consumers by ourselves,” Newell said. “That'll be a Linux box, [and] if you want to install Windows you can. We're not going to make it hard. This is not some locked box by any stretch of the imagination.”

Gabe Newell
Gabe Newell has been a long time detractor of Windows 8

Some might wonder why Valve is allowing other manufacturers to get in on the market that Valve itself is looking to enter. Newell explained that it was opting for an open system, not the closed setup offered by the major console manufacturers.

Newell also mentioned the idea that Valve will enter the mobile sphere of gaming at some point. He said that the Steam Box project was internally called “Bigfoot,” and that the company was also working on “Littlefoot,” which is the mobile audience – not a talking dinosaur.

Of course Valve isn't the only one pushing for a little home console to compete with the next generation offerings from Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony. Nvidia is planning to release a Shield mobile console that hooks up to your TV. Then there's Game Stick and of course the soon to be released Ouya.

KitGuru Says: Considering many people have claimed the console market is dying, it seems like a lot of business leaders disagree and want to get in on it. Why do you guys think that is?

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Linux Steam Box coming this year https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/console-desktop-pc/jon-martindale/linux-steam-box-coming-this-year/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/console-desktop-pc/jon-martindale/linux-steam-box-coming-this-year/#respond Mon, 07 Jan 2013 11:40:36 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=121223 We might already have heard from Nvidia about its new Shield console and we certainly know that the Ouya is up and running, but Valve has been relatively quiet about its own console offerings. Now though, according to an engineer at the company, we know it'll run Linux and that it'll arrive before the year is …

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We might already have heard from Nvidia about its new Shield console and we certainly know that the Ouya is up and running, but Valve has been relatively quiet about its own console offerings. Now though, according to an engineer at the company, we know it'll run Linux and that it'll arrive before the year is out.

This news comes from German website Golem (thanks PCgamesN), which claims to have got the information from Valve engineer Ben Krasnow. Mr Krasnow confirmed that Windows would not be the back bone of the new Steam machine, Linux would be. This will not be a surprise to some, since Gabe Newell has been a vocal opponent of Windows 8 and has talked up the open nature of Linux in the past.

Steam box
While not every game would be lounge suitable, some certainly will be

Krasnow also revealed that the Steam Box would be unveiled for the first time at one of this year's gaming expos. There are quite a few it could potentially be, but the two most likely culprits are the Game Developers Conference in March, or at the E3 Expo in June.

Beyond this, we don't know a whole lot about the Steam box at the moment, but it seems likely that it will be a reasonably powerful, but not expensive setup that can run Steam's big picture mode, as well as the majority of the platform's older and less graphically strenuous titles.

KitGuru Says: I'm almost more excited by this than I am any of the other consoles planned for release this year. If only because it'll mean I won't have to cart my PC into the lounge when I want to play on the TV.

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Valve’s ‘Steam Box’ could be on the horizon after all https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/blair-mcclelland/valves-steam-box-could-be-on-the-horizon-after-all/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/blair-mcclelland/valves-steam-box-could-be-on-the-horizon-after-all/#respond Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:32:54 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=89010 Back in early March rumours arose that Valve were working on a ‘Steam Box' gaming console to outclass the proprietary formats used currently by the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. These rumours were sadly shutdown a week later by Valve's Doug Lombardi, but the embers kept glowing regardless. Recently in a podcast Gabe Newell …

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Back in early March rumours arose that Valve were working on a ‘Steam Box' gaming console to outclass the proprietary formats used currently by the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. These rumours were sadly shutdown a week later by Valve's Doug Lombardi, but the embers kept glowing regardless.

Recently in a podcast Gabe Newell admitted that Valve is looking to create an open hardware platform for the living room and mobile industries. This could potentially mean something like Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform where manufacturers license Microsoft's code and come up with their own hardware that adheres to rather strict regulations. Previous rumours suggested the hardware would include a Intel i7 CPU, 8 GB of RAM and a Nvidia GPU.

While this may not be the 'Steam Box' we have in mind; it is more open than what is currently offered to consumers

Valve has not decided for sure whether it will pursue the lure of the console market, they are not even sure if they will be competitive in the area. Newell also spoke out against closed platforms saying that “they [Apple, Sony, Microsoft] build a shiny sparkling thing that attracts users and then they control people's access to those things,” and that it is “ominous that the world seems to be moving away from open platforms.” He later said that if the closed format society got to the point of no return, then Valve would step in a offer a open source solution.

KitGuru says: These rather open ended statements could mean a whole bunch of things, could Valve be looking to create their own mobile operating system?

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Valve has no short-term plans to market the “Steam Box” https://www.kitguru.net/channel/blair-mcclelland/82390/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/blair-mcclelland/82390/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 08:15:43 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=82390 Rumours started floating around the internet last week that Valve had plans to launch a gaming console known as the Steam Box. The gaming console was rumoured to have at least an Intel i7 processor, 8 GB of RAM and a Nvidia GPU. Now those fantasising about a powerful next-generation console coming soon have had …

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Rumours started floating around the internet last week that Valve had plans to launch a gaming console known as the Steam Box. The gaming console was rumoured to have at least an Intel i7 processor, 8 GB of RAM and a Nvidia GPU. Now those fantasising about a powerful next-generation console coming soon have had their dreams shot down.

Doug Lombardi shuts the Valve on the possibility of a Steam Box coming to market in the short-term

Any rumours of consoles being built can likely be explaining by Valve preparing Steam's upcoming Big Picture Mode UI that will make it easier to use the gaming service when your PC is connected to a TV. Although Lombardi still kept the embers alight saying that the possibilty of a Steam Box is still there, it just won't happen in the next six months.

“We're prepping the Steam Big Picture Mode UI and getting ready to ship that, so we're building boxes to test that on. We're also doing a bunch of different experiments with biometric feedback and stuff like that, which we've talked about a fair amount. All of that is stuff that we're working on, but it's a long way from Valve shipping any sort of hardware,” Valve's marketing director, Doug Lombardi told Kotaku.

This open ended reply could infer that Valve will merely be building the software with others building the hardware, but Lombardi came back and said that there is no hardware coming from them or associated partners anytime soon.

Kitguru says: I guess it was too good to be true, but a console that is not entirely restricted by its architecture sounds mighty tempting.

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Valve said to be working on ‘Steam Box’ gaming console https://www.kitguru.net/channel/blair-mcclelland/valve-said-to-be-working-on-a-steam-box-gaming-console/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/blair-mcclelland/valve-said-to-be-working-on-a-steam-box-gaming-console/#comments Sun, 04 Mar 2012 09:30:11 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=81549 Valve, in case you didn't already know, is that wonderful company that has brought us hits such as the Half Life series and Steam. Recently there has been talks of Valve producing their own hardware and The Verge has unveiled some more information on the topic. They have gathered information that hints at the fact …

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Valve, in case you didn't already know, is that wonderful company that has brought us hits such as the Half Life series and Steam. Recently there has been talks of Valve producing their own hardware and The Verge has unveiled some more information on the topic.

They have gathered information that hints at the fact Valve has been working on a gaming console in secret. The rumoured deployment strategy involves Steam possibly being the centre of this gaming console. OEMs would then produce hardware to run Valve's software on, mimicing what Google has done with Android.

Probably not the sort of 'Steam Box' Valve has in mind

Valve co-founder, Gabe Newell said in a recent interview that “We'd rather hardware people that are good at manufacturing and distributing hardware do [hardware]. We think it's important enough that if that's what we end up having to do, then that's what we end up having to do.”

If Valve does decide to pursue this avenue they may deliver a software bundle to be distributed to hardware manufacturers such as Asus and Samsung.

Further information The Verge gathered suggests the company has been working on hardware specifications with OEMs (think of the 3 P's; performance, power, portability.) Specifications could include an Intel i7 CPU, 8 GB of RAM and a Nvidia GPU. This would mean any PC title available today would be able to run on this ‘Steam Box,' as well as offer support for other game libraries such as EA's Origin.

The ‘Steam Box' could be seen as soon as GDC in a few days time or later this year at E3.

Kitguru says: It looks as if things are about to become a lot more interesting in the gaming console world.

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