Despite the amazing advancement it could bring them, the audience is still looking questionably at Valve's recent entrance into the console battle with its Steam Machine. Trying to take over the living room with a Linux OS based gadget? 'Nuff said. However, in an effort to lift the shroud of mystery, the company decided to share the specs for the Steam Machine prototype it'll be sending out to 300 testers later this year.
Here they are as per Valve:
GPU: some units with NVidia Titan, some GTX780, some GTX760, and some GTX660
CPU: some boxes with Intel : i7-4770, some i5-4570, and some i3
RAM: 16GB DDR3-1600 (CPU), 3GB DDR5 (GPU)
Storage: 1TB/8GB Hybrid SSHD
Power Supply: Internal 450w 80Plus Gold
Dimensions: approx. 12 x 12.4 x 2.9 in high
"As a hardware platform, the Steam ecosystem will change over time, so any upgrades will be at each user's discretion," wrote Greg Coomer, of the company's product design division. "In the future we'll talk about how Steam will help customers understand the differences between machines, hardware strengths and weaknesses, and upgrade decisions."
While we may have gotten a look at the...shall we say, "unique" looking controller for the console, the appearance of the system itself is still a mystery. Wrote Coomer, "We aren't quite ready to post a picture of our prototype - just because they're not finished enough. Before they ship we'll let you know what the prototype looks like. And we expect people to redesign the machine, too. Both from a technical perspective, deciding on different components, and from an industrial design perspective, changing the enclosure in interesting ways."
Still, as soon as the systems make their way out of the safety of Valve's hands and into the world, I wouldn't be surprised to see a few pictures pop up here and there.
"This design is not meant to serve the needs of all of the tens of millions of Steam users. It may, however, be the kind of machine that a significant percentage of Steam users would actually want to purchase - those who want plenty of performance in a high-end living room package.
"Many others would opt for machines that have been more carefully designed to cost less, or to be tiny, or super quiet, and there will be Steam Machines that fit those descriptions."
Valve said to also "stay tuned" for a closer look at the Steam Controller.