check it out - tiny little PC based console

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/01/08/do-you-want-to-get-piston/

I can't imagine this playing many PC games very well.  I know 1280x720 isn't the most demanding resolution to render, but I have to wonder what the real advantage over other consoles will be if the thing essentially forces the games on the lowest settings to run properly.  And if it's upgradeable, at what point is it just better to hook your PC up to the TV and call it a day?  They already have the new "The Big Picture" mode avaialble, so you can access your library on a large screen just fine.

Originally posted by kadepsyson
Is this the Steam Box or is this a small computer designed to work with Steam?  I had thought Valve would be making something, not some other company making something to work with Valve's software and approval.

Valve is just that, a software company. Turning into a hardware company takes a ton of money and knowledge(specifically around manufacturing logistics). It makes sense they find someone else to work with for this.

I would literally pay valve money if they would sell DLC that removed all ability for me to launch "the big picture" on my steam client.

It is incredibly frustrating for a click to suddenly open a full screen (7680 x 1600) application that I cannot close until about a dozen mouse clicks have hit the exit application button.  Even burying it deep within a menu I'd rarely look into would be a huge improvement compared to right next to the Friends button or the _ and X in the client window.

Originally posted by Kuppa

Originally posted by kadepsyson
Is this the Steam Box or is this a small computer designed to work with Steam?  I had thought Valve would be making something, not some other company making something to work with Valve's software and approval.

Valve is just that, a software company. Turning into a hardware company takes a ton of money and knowledge(specifically around manufacturing logistics). It makes sense they find someone else to work with for this.

Well it would be far from the first time a software company had launched some hardware, or gone in a surprising direction.  Microsoft is a pretty big example of this.

Hell even Nvidia made a gaming console, don't see why Valve can't do it themselves when they employ a guy who builds rocket engines for fun.

Originally posted by kadepsyson

I would literally pay valve money if they would sell DLC that removed all ability for me to launch "the big picture" on my steam client.

It is incredibly frustrating for a click to suddenly open a full screen (7680 x 1600) application that I cannot close until about a dozen mouse clicks have hit the exit application button.  Even burying it deep within a menu I'd rarely look into would be a huge improvement compared to right next to the Friends button or the _ and X in the client window.

weird.  It takes me two clicks to close, including the one to skip the intro thing.  Or you could f4 it.  I've also never accidently opened it, even when closing the client...

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Originally posted by Fearum
I don't understand, you can build a nice desktop that will crush that thing for 1100 dollars.

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Originally posted by Kuppa
It's a great idea, unfortunately I expect them to be pretty low end and very expensive for now.

The reality is, there really isn't a steam box lol. What Steam is doing is working with numerous "partners" to bring steam to various platforms. 

That is simply one of the "partners" Steam is working with. 

Razer is another, Nvidia is another, and there are others. 

This little unit is fairly impressive though. Though it's going to be another around the $1000+ range. 

If the thing is using an A10 core as Quizzical suggests, it won't perform well enough to compete with modern computers but it will produce decent graphics.  My current laptop uses an A8, which is barely worse than the A10.  I can play most games on a minimum setting at 1600x900 resolution.  If I turn off shadows and other fancy effects, I can start to turn up the graphics a bit and still stay above 30fps most of the time.  I tested this in Guild Wars 2, Rift, and WoW.  

Personally, I will wait until the next generation of CPUs with GPUs built into the same die are released.  Barely meeting the minimum for performance means you will be left wanting more when the next big game comes out that pushes graphics technology.  If the second generation of these devices is anything like the rapid advancements we have seen in smart phones, they should be on par with mid-range computers.

Originally posted by asmkm22

Originally posted by kadepsyson

I would literally pay valve money if they would sell DLC that removed all ability for me to launch "the big picture" on my steam client.

It is incredibly frustrating for a click to suddenly open a full screen (7680 x 1600) application that I cannot close until about a dozen mouse clicks have hit the exit application button.  Even burying it deep within a menu I'd rarely look into would be a huge improvement compared to right next to the Friends button or the _ and X in the client window.

weird.  It takes me two clicks to close, including the one to skip the intro thing.  Or you could f4 it.  I've also never accidently opened it, even when closing the client...

Yeah ideally when the thing is opened I can click to skip the intro thing, and then click the power icon exit thing and it will.

Last time it happened, I was sitting there clicking that shit like mad, and it just refused.

I really do not understand why this can't just be left in the "View" "big picture mode" menu subsection it already is in, and removed from the all over the fuck else it is also in.  Want quicker access to big picture, set up a user defined hotkey combo to launch it.

Also, yes you can build a more powerful desktop to crush this tiny Piston.  But if you don't feel like moving your computer from your desk over to your TV, or don't feel like moving your desktop when you travel across the country, this could be an excellent choice.

I'd love a device that's incredibly easy to transport and lets me play my steam library of games where I travel to personally.

Originally posted by kadepsyson

Also, yes you can build a more powerful desktop to crush this tiny Piston.  But if you don't feel like moving your computer from your desk over to your TV, or don't feel like moving your desktop when you travel across the country, this could be an excellent choice.

I'd love a device that's incredibly easy to transport and lets me play my steam library of games where I travel to personally.

Yeah, this thing is a lan party dream come true lol. The power of an Xbox+ that can fit in your coat pocket lol. 

Originally posted by ShakyMo
The more import question is what OS

Windows or valves own version of Linux.

As for why have it instead of a console.

CHEAPER GAMES & MOD SUPPORT

The main reason to pc game instead of console game.

Probably Ubuntu, maybe stripped down to just launch Steam.  It's the distro they are focusing on right now for the steam beta thing, although it means any Debian-based OS gets grandfathered in nicely as well.

Originally posted by kadepsyson

Originally posted by Kuppa

Originally posted by kadepsyson
Is this the Steam Box or is this a small computer designed to work with Steam?  I had thought Valve would be making something, not some other company making something to work with Valve's software and approval.

Valve is just that, a software company. Turning into a hardware company takes a ton of money and knowledge(specifically around manufacturing logistics). It makes sense they find someone else to work with for this.

Well it would be far from the first time a software company had launched some hardware, or gone in a surprising direction.  Microsoft is a pretty big example of this.

Hell even Nvidia made a gaming console, don't see why Valve can't do it themselves when they employ a guy who builds rocket engines for fun.

MS is way bigger than than Valve is and took a long long time before they developed their first one(with partners btw) they don't actually build it.

Nvdia does hardware....

It's not so much the creative part as it is the immense undertaking that is manufacturing complex hardware.