According to a report from CES 2014, a dozen custom PC builders and manufacturers are among the latest hardware partners announced to make third-party Steam Machines.
The dozen comprises Alienware, Alternate, CyberPower PC, Digital Storm, Falcon Northwest, Gigabyte, iBuyPower, Materiel.net, Next, Scan Computers, Webhallen, and Zotac. Valve may unveil other partners in the upcoming days.
And, actually, two companies have already unveiled their systems.
– First, the CYBERPOWERPC Steam Machine will go on sale soon starting at $499:
Powered by Valve Corporation’s Steam OS, the CYBERPOWERPC Steam Machine will feature full desktop PC performance in an advance stylish form. The revolutionary Steam OS will give you full control over your Steam game library straight from your living room. All Steam Machines will run the latest version of Steam OS, an open source Linux-based operating system developed specifically for gaming and other entertainment. The new systems will be capable of running hundreds of games currently in the Steam catalog, as well as upcoming titles from other developers.
The systems will include high-density storage, wireless connectivity via Bluetooth and WiFi, and USB 3.0. However, the key hardware feature will be the Steam Controller, which features two circular, clickable trackpads with a touchscreen in the middle. Driven by the player’s thumbs, the Steam Controller allows for higher fidelity than traditional gamepads, which makes it a better alternative to a mouse and keyboard for controlling PC-centric genres like strategy games and first-person shooters.
Official Source: http://www.polygon.com/2014/1/5/5278138/valves-latest-steam-machine-partners-include-alienware-origin-pc-and
