Steam Machines are back. Yes, even the name “Steam Machines,” if an email I just received from Syber is to be believed.
“Syber, a new division of of CyberPowerPC, today announced a full line of Steam Machines during the Game Developers Conference as part of Syber’s open platform PC gaming systems.”
That sounds pretty definitive to me.
We knew a second generation of Steam Machines would probably be at GDC in some form, but recent statements by people like Origin CEO Kevin Wasielewski made it sound like the “Steam Machine” name itself was dead. Even Valve shied away from the term in its recent announcement, instead saying that “new living room hardware” would be at the conference.
Syber’s Steam Machine-Mini prototype
Either way, Syber is the first hardware maker to officially announce a new lineup of SteamOS-enabled hardware. There will be six models available at launch, with the low-end starting at a $449 unit called the Syber Steam Machine-E, powered by a quad-core AMD processor and an unspecified “Nvidia GeForce GTX Graphics” card.
Other units are more specific. The $549 Syber Steam Machine-P will feature an Intel G3258 3.2GHz processor and AMD Radeon R9 270X, and the $999 Syber Steam Machine-K will have an i5-4690K and a Nvidia GeForce GTX 970. Beyond the prebuilt models, you’ll also be able to fully customize a Syber rig with your choice of components from Intel, AMD, and Nvidia.
When can we expect to see all these teeny-tiny living room PCs? CyberPowerPC’s press release says the new Syber systems are “scheduled for the Steam Machine launch later this fall.”
We’ll presumably have more information tomorrow when the GDC show floor opens and we get a peek at Valve’s booth. You’ll be able to find more information on the Syber gaming website soon.