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Digital Storm Dual Boot Steam Machine Will Start at $1899

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LOL iBuyPower a competitor with DigitalStorm... I just can't stop laughing at the comparison! That's like comparing eMachines to Apple, they both make computers... but they are playing entirely different games with entirely different customers.
 
I may be missing something but I thought the point of the steam machine was to be affordable? Why would I buy this when I can just get a great gaming PC for the same price?
 
cburke82, my understanding is you can build your own machine and have Steam OS installed on it, like fatelost said. There's nothing really special about it other than it's an alternative OS. That also means games must be especially designed to run on Steam OS.

That said I know of 2 guys personally who will be uninstalling Windows from their machines and turning them into Steam OS boxes that can dual boot with Linux. They know there will be games they can't play right now, or maybe ever, but their hatred of Microsoft and therefore Windows is greater than their love of those games.
 
@cburke82 - No no, steam machines are meant to be PC priced machines that can play some of the games that a regular windows machine could play.

The advantage is that they are (supposedly) easier to use and play on in the living room and have access to some of the games on steam.

I'm sure in a years time we will be reading articles like with Chromebooks where they are supposedly selling by the truck load while nobody actually knows anyone that has or wants one.

Any windows PC can do what a steam machine can do and so much more for a very comparable price. Valve do not have the ability to incentivise / subsidise sales of steam machines and their niche status will keep their prices up compared to windows machines so their limited library of games and limited use case will make it a hard sell in the future.

Not a bad idea just not very practical in reality.
 
"Digital Storm said today that it's not trying to compete with consoles when it comes to price."

And DS pisses away an opportunity to sell massive numbers of units. Steam OS boxes were meant to be a companion box to a PC here and now IMHO. Anyone who runs a "steam machine" already has windows/mac. They DON'T need OMGWTFBBQGRASSTITAAAAAANNNNNNINQUADSLIFPSGAZIM levels of power as chances are they ALREADY have a capable rig elsewhere in the house. And if they don't, well that kind of pricing makes buying a PS3 XB1 and a wIIU (With about 4 games a piece) a very attractive option.
 
Packing as much gaming power into a small form factor is really what the steam machine is all about. The idea is to play PC quality titles from your couch, so you need something that will elegantly fit within your entertainment setup. The reason most companies steam box's are twice as costly as current consoles is because you can't DIY that much hardware into a small chassis without some custom help. For example think of the size of your average power supply try to build something vcr sized around that.
 
Sounds like typical DS. I can't quite understand how they stay in business with products like these.
 
@nosupport4u: The reason why you can't understand it is quite simple. You're not the target market.This thing is designed for someone who wants the most powerful console regardless of the price and there is a which happens to not be you. The difference between this one and iBuyPower's console is that this one will play the same games at a much better graphics quality. Many people will gladly pay a huge price premium for that privilege. If I had lots of money to burn I would get one ASAP.I've also noticed a trend where more and more games on steam get Linux compatibility. This is great news for PC gamers who can't wait to get rid of windows and for people that want a steambox in their living room.
 
So your paying a lot of money so that you dont have to have a regular PC case in your living room? LOLOLOLOL I have my gaming PC hooked up to my TV for HULU and such and a monitor for gaming and it works great. The case I use is not very slick but you can buy any number of cases that would blend into a living room. Did they design the OS to at least be able to play windows games? if not then this is a complete wast of money.
 
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