Steam Boxes. Opinion please.

[StormtrooperStu]

Title says it all guys.

 

My opinion is that having small form factor pc's is great but limiting them to only running an operating system that runs steam games is a bit daft.

 

Also, if you build your own Steam Box why would you use Steam OS that runs less games than windows.

 

Is this just Steams way of ensuring life after games for windows by moving gaming to Linux? Are they trying to take over 

 

Would love to know your thoughts.

 

Please don't be nasty to people for their opinions but having a laugh is cool. (Especially sarcasm, I love sarcasm.)

[DLM_012]

My opinion is they're awesome but build if you have technical aptitude and patience.

/thread

EDIT: didn't read OP. will edit later

[Stefan Becker]

Love 'em. Would definitely buy parts for one - if my wallet would allow me

[StormtrooperStu]

But would you use the Steam OS ?

[Hans Christian | Teri]

Any reason not to dual boot it?

[felixbearpig]

I would love to have a pc on such a small form factor

[YeroJero]

I'm really on the fence with this one. I'm not saying it bad but for the majority of us on LTT forums I think it wouldn't appeal to us from an enthusiast's standpoint.

 

I think we need a "not bothered" option.

[Cryptonite]

But would you use the Steam OS ?

it doesn't only run steam games. it's Linux

 

they are trying to bring gaming to a new level, and linux was the way to go since it's free opensource, now compatibility will come to linux in due time.

 

by the way, don't think steambox as is is a finished product, this is still the beta.

[kizoku_95]

Whrn you have a CRT in the living room.....you could care less about a stem box!!!

(Talks about himself)

[Ertman]

Good.

Probably won't buy one, as I would rather build my own. I would consider it if form factor was important or was a dedicated streaming steambox.

[IdeaStormer]

Waiting for it to be real, not beta or lame games. Getting one now is a waste as when they do get it going the today hardware will be out of date, best to wait till its fully working.

[colonel_mortis]

It has a place. Using windows on your TV would be hard, and you would need a mouse and keyboard, so if you do want to join the PC master race and still play in your living room it is useful. Then again, I won't be buying one and I don't expect it to be the next big thing, and it makes me wonder what's going on at valve.

[MisterZero]

Waiting for it to be real, not beta or lame games. Getting one now is a waste as when they do get it going the today hardware will be out of date, best to wait till its fully working.

 

You have a very good reasoning, and I agree with you, but IMO, if you already have a gaming PC, then you're fine with (and should rather) building a low end steambox for streaming games to your TV.

 

Like Linus said, have a gamer PC, doesn't matter if it's very loud, because you can put it in a server/NAS/whatever-room, which makes sense, because you could build a very good PC, and have smaller nodes for receiving the game stream.

[amintha1992]

i think its just a PC running linux. so nothing more nothing less. 

[Stonep11]

OT

 

I love the form factor of the cases with PCIe riser cards and sleek looks, but many of them are still to big IMO.  If I am going to get one to replace a console, it can't be that much bigger.

Steam OS is free and some of the prebuilts even dual-boot Windows and Steam OS. 

Steam OS compatibility will also increase over time, but is limited right now (same as something like Nvidia's GameStream for the SHIELD).

Steam OS is not meant to replace Windows in any way.  It is more about a focus on the console replacement use case that the Steam Box is attempting to fill.

 

I would consider building a SteamBox, but at this small of a form factor and with most of the small cases being only available with a prebuilt system, I honestly think it would be easier to just buy one and not worry about it,

[Stigs]

The fact that Valve is releasing (at least previewing as of right now) several steam boxes annoys me because the point of the steam box (as I thought it was supposed to be) was to bring the PC platform to living room with ease.  There should be one model that you can buy so you don't confuse non-tech people who want to buy it, but still have the ability to upgrade the system.

[IdeaStormer]

You have a very good reasoning, and I agree with you, but IMO, if you already have a gaming PC, then you're fine with (and should rather) building a low end steambox for streaming games to your TV.

 

Like Linus said, have a gamer PC, doesn't matter if it's very loud, because you can put it in a server/NAS/whatever-room, which makes sense, because you could build a very good PC, and have smaller nodes for receiving the game stream.

 

Well I took the OP to refer specifically to Steam Boxes (packaged as such) not other computers, and then with the LOL's of what people were going through trying that early release of Steam OS and knowledge of how well <insert sarcasm> the video drivers work on Linux first hand, its best to wait. Agree, just use your current puter with the regular Windows Steam to get your game on, but I doubt the masses have more than one computer to play their games like Linus (streaming it). As for noise, are people playing on mute? I couldn't/can't hear people knocking/calling on the phone due to having the sound way up as it is, I'd be surprised if I could hear the computer even at load.

[TheRuke]

There are too many configurations. It will confuse the average console player or their parents. Some are totally overkill like the Origin PC one or the one that has 2 Titans. REALLY?

 

The best one so far is the ibuypower one that is reasonably priced with reasonable specs.

[StormtrooperStu]

Well I took the OP to refer specifically to Steam Boxes (packaged as such) not other computers, and then with the LOL's of what people were going through trying that early release of Steam OS and knowledge of how well <insert sarcasm> the video drivers work on Linux first hand, its best to wait. Agree, just use your current puter with the regular Windows Steam to get your game on, but I doubt the masses have more than one computer to play their games like Linus (streaming it). As for noise, are people playing on mute? I couldn't/can't hear people knocking/calling on the phone due to having the sound way up as it is, I'd be surprised if I could hear the computer even at load.

 

That is exactly what I was asking.

 

A customer buying a $1500 box to play games from Steam using the Steam OS. Crazy.

SFF PC's great.

Using Linux great.

Trying to dress it up as something it is not. Not so great.

[mc141]

Not buying a steam box i have a 3770k and a 4770k build that cost a ton of money and i dont buy prebuilts enless its a laptop

[rashdanml]

The idea behind Steam Boxes is to be a completely configurable Living Room machine.

 

- Want to replace components? Go ahead.

- Want to install Windows and access all of your Steam library? Go ahead.

- Want a small, inexpensive machine in your living room, with a stable OS (since it's Debian-based) capable of streaming games from a more powerful Windows machine? Go ahead. 

- Lazy to build a powerful SteamOS machine? Go ahead and buy one. 

- Want to build your own Living Room machine with Windows AND Steam OS? Go ahead. Want only SteamOS? Go ahead.

 

The bottom line: you have the option to do whatever the hell you want with it. Valve isn't stopping you. The 4th point above is far from applicable to any of us, as we're capable of building our own Steam Box and throwing Steam OS on it, but even that last step is optional, because:

 

- Steam runs on almost every Linux distribution. It started on Ubuntu, and any Debian-based OS will be able to run it, and take advantage of all of Valve's optimizations made for SteamOS; other distributions not based on Debian also have Steam in their repositories. The open-source nature of Linux will ensure that any modifications made on SteamOS to boost gaming performance WILL make it back to every other Linux distribution, including Steam client features like in-house streaming. Sure, the Steam client itself isn't open-source, but I think most of us trust that Valve won't screw up that badly. Want to turn Gentoo into your own SteamOS? Go ahead. Want to build your own SteamOS from scratch (or modify SteamOS to add functionality, aka Ye Olde SteamOS)? Go ahead. 

 

Either way, gaming on Linux will benefit from SteamOS and Steam Machines. 

[Blue fellow]

My opinion is that having small form factor pc's is great but limiting them to only running an operating system that runs steam games is a bit daft.

 

A lot of people have been saying that it's limited to only SteamOS, and SteamOS can only run Steam. But Valve never said this. And there is a desktop mode in SteamOS that has full functionality. 

 

 

 

Can I hack this box? Run another OS? Change the hardware? Install my own software? Use it to build a robot?

 

Sure.

 

http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamMachines/

 

Valve's intention is to make an operating system that is designed specifically for gaming in mind and for openness. They want it to be able to flourish easily in the living room environment in order to attract a much larger audience base. By default they want it to be simple click here and you're gaming. That is why it boots into it's "big picture" like mode by default.  But you can just as well go into desktop mode and function like any other Linux distro. 

[Charger]

I love that they are making small form factor pc more popular but at the moment the os is nothing more then a bad os that is linux based and kind of runs steam i hope that will change but as it is now windows on it would be better then steamos

[jbr]

Overpriced proprietary crap like Dell and Alienware.

 

Controller is complete garbage, just like trying to game with a laptop touchpad...sliiiiide....lift....sliiiide...lift.....sliiiiiide...lift.

 

SteamOS = Ubuntu Linux with Valve/Steam Wallpaper and theme....  Calling it SteamOS just makes for good copy.

[Blue fellow]

Overpriced proprietary crap like Dell and Alienware.

 

Controller is complete garbage, just like trying to game with a laptop touchpad...sliiiiide....lift....sliiiide...lift.....sliiiiiide...lift.

 

SteamOS = Ubuntu Linux with Valve/Steam Wallpaper and theme....  Calling it SteamOS just makes for good copy.

 

 

1.) Some of the offerings are confirmed to be able to be upgraded, and some of them are also reasonably priced. They have 13 manufactures confirmed, a $499-$4999 price range. I never even heard the word proprietary used in reference to a Steam machine before, as it's supposed to be an open platform.

 

2.) Have you used the Steam controller? Your following statement makes me think you have not, and you have not seen videos of people using it and their feedback. Feedback for the controller has been pretty positive. Most people seem to say it has a learning curve, but it is more precise than a standard controller. But if you don't like it, use whatever input device you want.

 

3.) It's been confirmed to be based on Debian. Ubuntu was an unconfirmed assumption people were making.

 

I think you need to look more into it, what you said is just flat wrong.