Unofficial Steam Box from Xi3 Releasing This Holiday for $1,000

[Shawn Zipay]

This is not the official Steam Box release, so be sure to keep that in mind when reading this. However, Xi3's Piston is slated to release this Holiday season with a price tag starting at $1,000 (USD).

If you pre-order one prior to March 18, they will knock off $100 from that price tag. For those who forgot, the Piston is essentially a PC in a tiny form factor. While Valve is helping to finance the device but it is not Valve's first-party Steam Box offering. That device from Valve is still slated to be released later this year.

Xi3's CEO, Jason Sullivan...

"Clearly, the computer/video gaming market is huge, both in the personal computer and traditional console markets. That being said, we believe there is a crying need for a machine that captures the best of both worlds, with the upgradeability of computer gaming rigs and the design and form factor of consoles. We believe our Piston Consoles do exactly that-deliver the beauty and small size of consoles with the upgradeability of computers."

Basic specs:
Primary Storage: 128GB SSD
Hard Drive Standard- Internal 128GB SSD
8GB RAM
3.2Ghz Quad Core (R464)

Head on over to the Piston "console" order page to plunk down your money for a non-Valve Steam Box.

[cikame]

That's a pretty big ask considering i can't find any information about it's gpu on the website.

[nemes1s3000]

In all honesty, $1000 is a reasonable price for this machine, because with time I'm sure the price will decrease, not significantly ofcourse. But for now, GPU is one of my biggest concerns. I would love to be able to play something like Battlefield 3 with a maximum FPS of 60.

[Buveed]

People who will understand the benefits of this will already have enough PC knowledge to know this is overpriced. I can't seem to figure out who this is for. Who will they market it to? PC gamers know they can get more for less with a desktop, console gamers will have enough on their plate with PS4/XBox going head to head. It's nothing more than an expensive novelty item. I get somebody has to start somewhere, but it's asking too much from consumers for too little. If it was 400-500 for a basic base system with upgradeable parts on the day of release, then they'd have a chance. $1000 is an expensive gamble without a firm footing in the marketplace.

[jimykx]

YEah, this is like a pc for people who don't know how to build pc's.

[K-16]

PC parts are probably at a bit of a premium when looking for small sized hardware that give off low power consumption and heat (thus less of a need for noisy cooling systems) to fit in the cramped space of the living room TV stand. SSD is likely required not only for performance reasons, but also to avoid the noise issues of reading data (without moving parts you won't hear annoying clicking). Unfortunately, this also means upgrades for parts will also be at a premium. So who is this for? Those who are willing to shell out extra cash to enjoy the flexibility and longetivity of a PC, without the hassles of configuring a PC like a console. If console gamers are complaining about constant patches and disconnection issues, imagine what PC gamers go through with their drivers, third-party software conflicts, video setting configuations, etc. While not as fatal as a RROD or YLOD, a BSOD is really a PITA when all you want to do is plop down on the couch and start gaming immediately... Pushing the power button on shouldn't be such a bloody punishment. It should just work without any need for cautious optimism.

Shell out +$300 for a customisable and longer living machine all setup and ready to go that is quiet, fast, and fits in my television stand?... There IS a market for that. Just uh... Expect the upgrades to be expensive since your choices will be limited to ones designed for cool and quiet operation that can fit in a tiny case.

(With all that said, I'm waiting to see what the Steam Box would be. This hardware configuration and potential upgrade restriction doesn't appeal to me.)