Update: Xi3 Opens "Piston" Steam Box Pre-Orders
- Thread starter Steven Bogos
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I understand why. It's because there's nothing worse than plunking down your $400 Steambox and finding out a fifth of the games are too intense for it. Remember, this is Steam, which sells PC versions, which are not well-optimized.
But still, $1000? Tough sell, indeed. Looks like this is the downside of what looked to be a bit of a Holy Grail in console/PC crossover.
But still, $1000? Tough sell, indeed. Looks like this is the downside of what looked to be a bit of a Holy Grail in console/PC crossover.
The difference is hardly "marginal". A clean, fresh computer on SSD vs. HDD is something like eight seconds boot versus twenty eight seconds boot.Evil Smurf said:
Source: Personal experience, hardware class I'm acing
Also, the 15,000 RPM drive is not very stable and just as expensive as a standard SSD, and SSD is getting exponentially more stable.
This is a computer. It does have all the functions of a computer.Legion said:
It's built specifically with Steam in mind, but you can still use it as a regular old micro-PC.
OK, I think people are missing the point here. Yes, I too have a PC that is more powerful than this and cost less and probably got more functionality. Then again I can't carry my PC in one hand. It is actually quite big and thus giving me some problems to balance in one hand.
Now I often have to spend a few months away from my computer and it's too big to bring with me. I see this one having a major advantage because I can actually bring it with me. Still this is a bit too expensive for my taste seeing as I already have a PC.
Now I often have to spend a few months away from my computer and it's too big to bring with me. I see this one having a major advantage because I can actually bring it with me. Still this is a bit too expensive for my taste seeing as I already have a PC.
I don't see the advantage of one of these over a laptop. Unless you're playing the very newest games at their maximum settings you can easily get a laptop for these prices. My five year old laptop runs the Batman games smooth as silk on nearly the highest settings. On top of that it isn't all that portable. Sure it's small but you still need a screen and something to control it with so unless you're just going from hotel room to hotel room where there are televisions, than a laptop is superior. I can bring my laptop on the train, plane, or bus and bring it to school to do work but I can't do that with this thing.
I'm sorry to break it for Xi3,but I'l go Pachter on this and predict the future:
Piston will be a commercial failure. The biggest downside it has is that it uses laptop/tablet type of hardware,which might make individual hardware parts smaller,but at the same time they are also weaker than desktop parts,and more expensive.
The processor it has is R464. That's an embed AMD APU. In fact its of the weakest processors from AMD.
It's not anywhere near as fast as a Bulldozer FX chip,it's actually even less faster than Phenom II cores.
The embed gpu of the R464 is an HD 7660.
They tried to demo Tomb Raider on it,and the game lagged awfully. I wonder why they decided to demo the machine with this game,as the machine obviously has a very low frame rate on that game.
But then they also demoed a Call of Duty game,that the machine could play with a decent frame rate:
A seasoned PC gamer,or even console gamers who happen to visit forums and read threads like this, won't give it a thought to buy this the moment they check the specs.
So who is this machine targeting ? Is it the casual crowd that just wants something that can play some games and fits under a big TV,but aren't excited enough to research ?
Then I'm sorry to say it,but this target group is going to focus its interest on OUYA.
The console that will cost 99$ and already has 500 games listed for its launch.
Piston will be a commercial failure. The biggest downside it has is that it uses laptop/tablet type of hardware,which might make individual hardware parts smaller,but at the same time they are also weaker than desktop parts,and more expensive.
The processor it has is R464. That's an embed AMD APU. In fact its of the weakest processors from AMD.
It's not anywhere near as fast as a Bulldozer FX chip,it's actually even less faster than Phenom II cores.
The embed gpu of the R464 is an HD 7660.
They tried to demo Tomb Raider on it,and the game lagged awfully. I wonder why they decided to demo the machine with this game,as the machine obviously has a very low frame rate on that game.
But then they also demoed a Call of Duty game,that the machine could play with a decent frame rate:
A seasoned PC gamer,or even console gamers who happen to visit forums and read threads like this, won't give it a thought to buy this the moment they check the specs.
So who is this machine targeting ? Is it the casual crowd that just wants something that can play some games and fits under a big TV,but aren't excited enough to research ?
Then I'm sorry to say it,but this target group is going to focus its interest on OUYA.
The console that will cost 99$ and already has 500 games listed for its launch.
Is this thing gonna be a PC or just a machine to play games? $1000 is not worth it just to play games.
I don't quite understand the point of this, anybody that owns an HD television in their living room should be able to connect their computer to it. I feel the size of a computer case is a distinct advantage because it means there is practically no limit on how far you can upgrade the system, provided the motherboards have the same anchor points.
As good a system that is, I wouldn't pick the K series processor unless you were gonna throw a in a better cpu cooler later and overclock.Tar Palantir said:CPU: 3570K 220$
Mobo: Z77MA-G45 116$
GPU: Gigabyte HD 7950 300$
HD: WD Blue 1TB 80$
SSD: Samsung Pro 840 128GB 134$
RAM: Corsair Low Profile 8GB 1600mhz 59$
CASE: HAF 912 PLUS 70$
979$
Until they can beat this, I'll stick to custom building, thank you
Back on topic, I can see the appeal of a tiny, yet powerful PC. I mean, it would be an awesome LAN box because you can still use a keyboard and mouse. Just a bit costly for a PC.
Custom building your own PC, will always be 4x cheaper then buying some Company made Console. Add the hardware of game controllers to your pc via wireless bluetooth, and you have the most powerful self-made pc console for decades to come.
Congratulations, you have a faster computer than the lab computers I've been working with.CrossLOPER said:
(You know, the lab computers from the computer hardware course I referenced, which you cut out of the quote.)
Regardless of what you say, the SSD cut the boot time by two-thirds, and I passed the lab.
You don't "know" anything on this topic if your only point of reference is "my HDD boots in fifteen seconds", and you know it. Prove that you didn't quote me just to be antagonistic.
In order:CrossLOPER said:
NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology). It's not a university, it's a hands-on tech school.
Hardware course = total deconstruction of a standard desktop and its components.
The boot time might not matter to you, but do the ridiculously fast access time? Loading times on an SSD are barely noticeable if the software has any degree of optimization.
The lab section in the course, yes. Seeing how there was no other context for it, it was a safe assumption.
OK, I went overboard and read excess hostility into your post. Sorry. (To be fair, you DID more or less compare me to a desperate salesman and basically call me an asshole, but whatever.)
All those sources you gave are nearly two years old, or older. A lot changes in that space of time in a hot new technology.
We have claims like this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/294754-32-long-ssds-last
...which I can support, as I've had two SSDs, one from two years ago (which is dedicated to the OS) and one from a year and a half ago (which has the OS and everything else on it... my sister does install a lot of things). They're both still very alive. And I have a very difficult time finding lifetime stats on SSDs from late 2010 and on. I feel it's safe to assume that this is because SSDs are lasting much longer, and the new ones haven't died as soon as one would expect.
So if you think the future isn't here yet, I'd say that it's coming much more swiftly than you'd think.
EDIT: Missed a word.
This is a computer. It's not a special new kind of computer or anything, just...a computer. Computers are not a new invention. This is, quite simply, overpriced.Occams_Razor said:
"We believe there's room in the market for a 1000$ machine that'll cost you three times as much as a console and not be as timeless or offer you the ability to play console games and not offer anywhere near the specifications you could acquire for that amount of money if you bought a PC"
Brilliant.
Brilliant.