I believe I have found the unofficial steambox. It is not marketed as such, and the GPU is not that great, but the intel NUC series is pretty much the best we are going to get.
The main NUC (DC3217BY) runs $250 bare and contains an i3 at 1.8ghz and intel HD 4000. It can be outfitted with any MSATA drive (most are SSD), and up to 16 gigs of DDR3. All in you can have one for under $400 with a 80gig SSD. It is about the size of two decks of cards (4”×4”×2”). And while those specs are not show stopping, they do allow for some gaming:
It also has hdmi out, a thunderport port, and three usb.
Now the replacement for the DC3217BY is coming soon and is called D54250WYK. It upgrades to a i5 1.3ghz, a HD 5000 series, and some more usb ports. There is no price yet but if it comes in at the sub $400 all in price, well that is the best steambox we are going to get any time soon.
Steambox is real
Re: Steambox is real
Why would you say it's the unofficial Steambox?
Nothing against the NUC model line itself, but it's entirely unequipped as a gaming machine. Intel integrated has improved over time, but it's still about the bottom end out there.
I mean, by the same token, a baseline Mac Mini could be a "Steambox", as it's got a 2.5Ghz i5 with an HD4000 - but I wouldn't tout its gaming prowess (or lack thereof).
Just in general, a Steambox wouldn't need to be that small. You go a little bigger and fit in a discrete card, or at least something like an A-series on mini-ITX.
Nothing against the NUC model line itself, but it's entirely unequipped as a gaming machine. Intel integrated has improved over time, but it's still about the bottom end out there.
I mean, by the same token, a baseline Mac Mini could be a "Steambox", as it's got a 2.5Ghz i5 with an HD4000 - but I wouldn't tout its gaming prowess (or lack thereof).
Just in general, a Steambox wouldn't need to be that small. You go a little bigger and fit in a discrete card, or at least something like an A-series on mini-ITX.
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fastbilly1
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Re: Steambox is real
Power and pricepoint. It falls into an area that is more console territory and while it cannot play all the fanciest of graphics games, it can play alot - as seen in the video it is playing Fallout 3 New Vegas. A Mac Mini weighs in at $500+ so it is out of the price range, though more powerful.
I am aware that the steambox would not need to be that small, and should be more powerful, thats why I said unofficial.
I am aware that the steambox would not need to be that small, and should be more powerful, thats why I said unofficial.
Re: Steambox is real
It's playing an already-easy-to-run game on low settings. It's not saying much.
A NUC is unnecessarily expensive for what you get in it. You ballparked one at $400 with no OS/etc (granted, Steambox is Linux).
You can buy a Dell laptop with roughly the same i3 (a notch up, actually), HD4000...and a 15" LCD, keyboard/touchscreen, Windows license, and optical drive for...$379. The HDD is definitely slower, but it'd have space to actually install more than a couple games. If you wouldn't hold that up as a gaming machine, then it makes little sense to call the same hardware in tiny box one.
If you plan to put a legal copy of Windows on a NUC, it gets fairly close (or exceeds, with a higher end one) the cost of a (base) Mini. That's why I compare them - personally, I started out looking at the NUCs earlier this year, and wound up buying a Mini. Were I trying to build gaming rig for my living room, I'd have dismissed both.
Could be an interesting challenge to put something together that would work for it, but I'd look more at ITX/mATX than the NUC.
On the flip side, you could probably make one into a "GoG-box", though you'd probably want to factor in a Windows license for it.
A NUC is unnecessarily expensive for what you get in it. You ballparked one at $400 with no OS/etc (granted, Steambox is Linux).
You can buy a Dell laptop with roughly the same i3 (a notch up, actually), HD4000...and a 15" LCD, keyboard/touchscreen, Windows license, and optical drive for...$379. The HDD is definitely slower, but it'd have space to actually install more than a couple games. If you wouldn't hold that up as a gaming machine, then it makes little sense to call the same hardware in tiny box one.
If you plan to put a legal copy of Windows on a NUC, it gets fairly close (or exceeds, with a higher end one) the cost of a (base) Mini. That's why I compare them - personally, I started out looking at the NUCs earlier this year, and wound up buying a Mini. Were I trying to build gaming rig for my living room, I'd have dismissed both.
Could be an interesting challenge to put something together that would work for it, but I'd look more at ITX/mATX than the NUC.
On the flip side, you could probably make one into a "GoG-box", though you'd probably want to factor in a Windows license for it.
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fastbilly1
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Re: Steambox is real
Fair enough, I always forget to add in Windows License in new builds (since I typically own multiple that I am not actively using - Case in point I have five spare XP Pro keys right now that are legal).
Re: Steambox is real
Steambox would be using Linux anyway. Not sure what version but probably optimized by Valve for simple use with a TV? So a Windows license should not be a factor in making your own Steambox.
Re: Steambox is real
Aye, and I did mention that - I specified it more for doing a GoG box, since while some of that is DOSBox, there's a fair bit that's simply been patched/tweaked to run in modern Windows.ZenErik wrote:Steambox would be using Linux anyway. Not sure what version but probably optimized by Valve for simple use with a TV? So a Windows license should not be a factor in making your own Steambox.
I'd also consider it from the standpoint of what's available today. Most Steam games are still native to Windows, despite there being Steam for Linux and Mac.
My suspicion is that things will start to be a lot more multiplatform - the XBox One will certainly share a lot with Windows, but the PS4 is running a BSD derivative, which could (in theory) make for quicker/easier ports to Mac (also BSD based) and Linux/Steambox.
But, that's not here yet.
Should be fun to see though.-
fastbilly1
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Re: Steambox is real
I wonder if their hardware implementation will be more surround sound friendly than Windows 7/8 is. I've found it really hard to get a HTPC or gaming rig to properly send 5.1 encoded audio over HDMI.
Let strength be granted, so the world might be mended...so the world might be mended.
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fastbilly1
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Re: Steambox is real
300 Steamboxes will be given out for free for the Beta. Enter now to be in that group.
To enter you must have:
1. Public Profile
2. 10+ friends
3. Play a game with a controller in big picture mode.
Then you will get a badge and a chance for a machine. Next year they will go on sale from several companies in several versions. Pretty much they are HTPC that run SteamOS.
To enter you must have:
1. Public Profile
2. 10+ friends
3. Play a game with a controller in big picture mode.
Then you will get a badge and a chance for a machine. Next year they will go on sale from several companies in several versions. Pretty much they are HTPC that run SteamOS.