The Steam Box - Valve's First Console - Tech Specs & Information, Speculation and Opinions
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With Valve software getting closer to releasing all the details to the Steam Box, in this video I decided to go through everything that is currently known about the system, both in terms of its specs, the challenges it faces and what it will be bringing to the market.
Gabe Newell has commented on several occasions to not be a fan of Microsoft's direction with Windows 8, and Gabe has gone on and told people that there is a good chance they'll be developing the Linux support for the console, and also for their steam platform.
Valve has invested in computer manufacturer Xi3 to develop a custom PC in a bold new move to bring Steam to the living room. The Steam Box is based on the company's X7A system, so while the final Steam Box PC specs are unknown, it could carry:
Between 4 and 8 gigabytes of DDR3 RAM
A quad-core 64-bit, x86-based 32nm processor running at up to 3.2GHz (with 4MB of Level2 Cache)
An integrated graphics card containing up to 384 programmable cores
The X7A starts at $999, so Valve will likely want to reduce the RRP in line with its own specifications. The entry-level X5A, which uses Linux, starts at $499.
While we don't have a release date as yet, it likely won't be out until next year at the earliest. So will Valve software manage to force their way into the market? At the moment, it's too early to tell. I've a feeling the Steam Box will be an interesting console no matter what happens however.