GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.

First Three Steam Machines Released, Prices and Specs Detailed

Prices listed for a range of configurations from Alienware, Zotac, and Syber.

111 Comments

The first run of Steam Machines, a line of computers designed to challenge consoles for space in the living room, have gone on general sale across North America and the UK.

Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.
This video has an invalid file format.
00:00:00
Sorry, but you can't access this content!
Please enter your date of birth to view this video

By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

New PC-console hybrids are being offered by three manufacturers: Alienware, Syber, and Zotac. Each comes with Valve's new game controller that is uniquely designed to map keyboard and mouse controls to a handheld pad. Prices start at $450 in North America and £450 in the UK, with certain high-end configurations available at three times that price.

To mark the release of these systems, Valve has started a game sale with discounts as high as 80 percent. Click through the link for the full list of Steam games on sale.

The NEN Steam Machine, by Zotac, ships for $800 (UK price not available) and bundles together an Intel Core i5-6400T, 4 GB of RAM, one terabyte of storage, and comes with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 960.

Zotac's NEN Steam Machine - click on the thumbnails below to view images in full-screen
Zotac's NEN Steam Machine - click on the thumbnails below to view images in full-screen

Meanwhile, the Syber Steam Machine is available in numerous configurations, starting at $530 (£500) for a system that comes with an Intel Core i3-4170 processor, a GeForce GTX 950 2 GB GPU, a 1 terabyte hard-drive, and 4 GB of DDR3 memory.

Syber's higher-end Steam Machine fetches for $1450 (£1200) and comes with an i7-4790k CPU, 16 GB of DDR3 RAM, and an Nvidia GTX 980 4 GB graphics card A middle-ground bundle, at $760 (£700) goes for the i5-4460 processor, 8 GB of DDR3, and a GTX 960 2 GB video card.

Cyber's Steam Machine - click on the thumbnails below to view images in full-screen
Cyber's Steam Machine - click on the thumbnails below to view images in full-screen

Alienware is the third manufacturer releasing a line of Steam Machines, with its basic model going for $450 (£450) with an i3, 4 GB of memory, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX graphics card that carries 2GB of GDDR5. The premium model sells for $750 (£700) and comes with an i7 CPU, 8 GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX graphics card with 2 GB of GDDR5. There are two tiers of pre-made bundles between these low and high-end versions.

Alienware's Steam Machine - click on the thumbnails below to view images in full-screen
Alienware's Steam Machine - click on the thumbnails below to view images in full-screen

Steam Machines were first rumoured in March 2012, months prior to Valve's official announcement. Each machine varies significantly in price and performance, while all run on SteamOS, a Linux-based operating system (though players can install windows too). A Valve-developed Steam controller has also been built for the devices.

Valve has also created a seperate solution to PC gaming in the living room, with a Wi-Fi-enabled device called Steam Link that transfers video signals from the PC to a nearby television.

Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.
This video has an invalid file format.
00:00:00
Sorry, but you can't access this content!
Please enter your date of birth to view this video

By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Join the conversation
There are 111 comments about this story