Valve's 'get it early' Steam Machine promotion sells out

[HEXUS]

So you will have to wait until 10th November to receive one, even if you pre-order.

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[Jonj1611]

I am only interested in the Steam link and have done without it up to now so I am sure I can wait until November.

[Saracen]

I'll be waiting a lot longer than November. Good news for someone else that can have 'my' machine.

[DanceswithUnix]

Anyone else built their own out of old junk parts just to have a play?

I ended up going for an old Llano motherboard that wasn't UEFI and used an old 500GB hard drive so two places where the machine failed to meet specs. That meant I had to google how to install it, but got it working easily enough. My very old USB gamepad only worked in the big picture front end not in games, so I stumped up for a Logitech f310 which I wanted to play Gauntlet anyway.

Llano integrated graphics sucks pretty badly, but I don't have better graphics kicking around to try it properly. Good enough for Papers Please I suppose

I hope they get some more games before proper launch though, half of my Steam catalogue is still unplayable.

[Jonj1611]

No, I never bothered to be honest, thats why I want the Steam link so I can run all the games I have installed.

[cheesemp]

I'm more interest in steam link myself but I'll keep an eye open to see how it develops.

[shaithis]

I really hope that they can get enough support to make this work, rather then dying a death due to games not being ported or ported badly.....plus there is the issue of AMD Linux drivers.....

Unless they can sort these things out quickly (AMD dragging their heals again even though the market is pretty ripe for their APUs might be the biggest issue) then the platform may fizzle out and die.

[Jonj1611]

I can't really see the attraction unless I am missing something, the machines that will play all games well are quite high priced and its just a pc. Whereas you could buy a pc and just add the steam link to it and know that every game will work. Unlike the current Steam OS whereas as mentioned not all games do work.

[Bluecube]

That's pretty much what I did. I built a PC specifically to sit in my lounge and to play games on. It runs Windows and boots straight into Big Picture mode. I don't even have a keyboard or mouse for it; I just use an Xbox controller. It runs very well indeed. So yes, I don't understand the point of the Steam Machines either.

[DanceswithUnix]

I really hope that they can get enough support to make this work, rather then dying a death due to games not being ported or ported badly.....plus there is the issue of AMD Linux drivers.....

Oddly I have found since my last graphics upgrade on my main machine that Windows has a habit of rebooting when the machine has been idle for a while so presumably when entering one of the various power saving modes. Linux has been rock solid so far. I was very much expecting that to be the other way around.

I have twice tried updating to the latest beta drivers, and have rolled back again to some 14.x driver as that seems better though not immune to reboots. I did report the problem on the beta driver feedback. For now, in the 14.x driver I just make sure I tell the machine to sleep before I walk off, then it comes back with a tap of the space bar. Next to try is probably a boot into safe mode and uninstall the drivers to try and get a clean install. Have the newer Windows releases got a proper packaging system yet? Even the AMD Linux driver built me an rpm so I could "yum install fglrx" it and know all the files are properly tracked by the system.

My default boot is into Linux, so basically I keep coming back to my machine to find it at the Linux kdm login prompt. Perhaps I should take that as a sign?

[DanceswithUnix]

So yes, I don't understand the point of the Steam Machines either.

Well in my case I had spare motherboard, ram etc kicking around, but no Windows license. I could get one, but if this became a proper Steam PC I would probably want to upgrade the motherboard and get a graphics card, at which point yet another OEM Windows license would need to be re-purchased for the motherboard swap. Really, it is so nice to be outside that sort of stupid licensing looking down on it.

[shaithis]

I can't really see the attraction unless I am missing something,

Slimmer OS, less overheads, no license costs. In essence, this could be the ultimate gaming platform and should allow for lower specs and price-points to be viable.

[The Hand]

I'll just go the build pc route and get the "Link" as well. I can't reasonably convince myself to get a steam machine.

[Corky34]

I can't really see the attraction unless I am missing something, the machines that will play all games well are quite high priced and its just a pc. Whereas you could buy a pc and just add the steam link to it and know that every game will work. Unlike the current Steam OS whereas as mentioned not all games do work.

As has been mentioned lower costs, when building a PC able to play games at 720p and 1080p for around £300-400 the cost of Windows (£75) eats into a large portion of your build costs, it's also for people that want the console-like experience without the hassle that comes with running a PC, not everyone likes searching for drivers, updates to the OS, patches for games, researching where and what hardware to buy.

If you're already running Windows then a full blown Steam Machine probably ain't for you, if on the other hand you want that console-like experience with the ability to drop to a desktop and run non-vendor related software, unlike consoles, then perhaps a full on Steam Machine will suit your needs.

[Jonj1611]

To be honest though I can't remember the last time I "searched" for drivers, updates are pretty seamless for the most part, I use steam and can't even remember last time I had to go looking for a patch etc.

Plus the steam link is compatible with my wireless xbox 360 controller.

I don't see anything in the Steam machine that makes it a real viable alternative to a PC. While I appreciate its a games machine, it is just a PC and you might as well just go get a PC really. Some games will or won't work and latest releases generally get their Steam OS version a few weeks to months afterwards.

Even if taking into account the cost of Windows its still cheaper than the cheapest Steam machine.

I am not convinced myself, think the Steam link will do well, think Steam machines won't be going that far.

On a side note I noticed Sainsburys are selling Windows 8.1 for £49

[Chadders87]

@Corky34

I couldn't have put it better myself. I am tempted to by one for my brother. He's too young for a full blown PC in his room, and wouldn't know how to properly maintain one anyway. That's not to mention the cost.

A steam machine will be ideal for him.