Alienware Steam Machine has 'restricted' upgrades, PC is 'better' for hardcore
Alienware is speaking out about their upcoming Steam Machine model, noting that new models will arrive every year. Oh, and you can't upgrade your Steam Machine. That's an important detail.
Valve is hoping to bring together the best of two worlds with Steam Machines by bringing a console-like experience to the PC world. However, if Alienware's recent statement regarding their Steam Machine is any indication, it may be time to raise an eyebrow. Alienware head Frank Azor says that their Steam Machine will not support upgrading, and that gamers that want detailed customization would be better off buying a standard PC.
"Lifecycle-wise, consoles update every five, six, seven years, we will be updating our Steam Machines every year," Azor told Trusted Reviews (via Eurogamer). "The platform will continue to evolve as the games become more resource intensive."
Though Azor says that Alienware's Steam Machine will feature configuration options upon purchase, there are no further customization options and the hardware cannot be updated.
"If you actually want to customize your Alienware Steam Machine, maybe change your graphics card out or put in a new CPU, you would be better off with the standard Alienware X51," he added. "This particular product [the Steam Machine] is restricted in its upgrade options."
While Alienware is only one of several Steam Machine partners, the idea that a Steam Machine must be purchased each year to stay current is somewhat disconcerting. Shacknews is reaching out to a number of Steam Machine manufacturers to find out if this is isolated to Alienware. We will have updates as they become available.
The first Steam Machines are set to arrive before the end of January.
-
Shacknews
replyOzzie Mejia posted a new article, Alienware Steam Machine has 'restricted' upgrades, PC is 'better' for hardcore.
Alienware is speaking out about their upcoming Steam Machine model, noting that new models will arrive every year. Oh, and you can't upgrade your Steam Machine. That's an important detail.-
Ok, now I'm confused as the dickins as to why I would want a Steam machine.
-
from alienware, you wouldn't.
if you already have built your own pc, or don't want to have something hooked up to your tv for pc gaming, you wouldn't -
[deleted]
-
-
Well, I guess these arent really geared at people who want to build/upgrade PCs, though not being able to do things like switch out a graphics card seems like your money would be better put into a regular gaming PC.
-
Don't upgrade! Buy new shit each year!
-_--
It works for Apple
-
-
This sounds stupid, but in fairness it's what I do with my PCs. I tend to keep all of the hardware from a particular build together and then sell it as a unit or whatever I'm going to do with it when I'm done. Usually by the time I want to upgrade, there's a new chipset, sometimes new busses or other interfaces and it's easier to build a new system rather than upgrade a few components.
That said, I have yet to see a Steam Machine that looked like it was a good value and would last a long time when the prices get mentioned.
-
So I guess they don't want to sell Steam Machines.
-
That's fine for people who don't ever want to open a case as if it really was a console. Options to build your own are coming out soon anyway: http://www.silverstonetek.com/raven/products/index.php?model=RVZ01&area=en&top=C
-
That silverstone case looks cool...I might have to build a PC for my TV using that!
-
-
-
This is only one of the options. There are plenty of others that are completely upgradable, namely any other PC on the planet.
-
-
So Alienware being Alienware.
-
*Dell
-
-
.... my computer is 7yrs old. it may not play everything on High settings, but it can still do the job.
3-4 year cycle for a computer is probably pretty normal for Computer gamers anyways, and since these steam machines will be able to use SteamOS they'll probably be backwards compatible for a very long time.-
what kind of current games does a 7-year old computer run?
-
probably like 80% of the Steam library. PC games have been pretty scalable for a long time. Just turn down the resolution and options and even brand new shit runs on just about anything.
-
7 years is pretty damn old though, especially GPU
-
yeah it's on the extreme edge of where I would even bother trying to play anything on it still. I recently dug out an old laptop to test out SteamOS and was surprised how much would play alright on considering it is about the same age.
-
-
-
Team Fortress 2. It runs on a toaster, you know.
-
I was playing on a Pentium 4 until late 2012. My GPU was from 2008, but I could play everything on high at 30fps at least, except for stuff like GTA IV and Battlefield 3 that just hammer the CPU. SFIV, Trine, Mark of the Ninja all ran at 60fps.
-
P4 and 2008 GPU running all 2012 games on High?
-
Not most of the AAA releases, like Sleeping Dogs or Far Cry 3. But indie stuff and less CPU intensive stuff I certainly could.
The rule of thumb was if a game called for a slower dual core at a minimum, then my P4 could probably run it at 30fps and my 3850 could handle the high settings. I would cap the framerate to get a decently smooth experience on stuff like Far Cry 2, Resident Evil 5, Mirrors Edge, and so on.
And I just realized most of my current PC is 6 years old, besides the 7850. I'm playing BF4 on high/ultra at 50fps, with sporadic dips to the 30's in crazy 64p matches. So yeah, if a game is optimized well enough, older hardware can usually give you a decent experience. -
[deleted]
-
-
-
-
changing the video card helps hugely, so it's not really a 7-year old system at that point
-
-
-
This is bad reporting; that's not even what they meant. Given the form factor they went with not just any off the shelf components are going to work. Hence 'restricted'.
Valve has been very clear that steam machines as a concept are open, and several of the ones that have been shown are clearly intended to be be accessible by the user. -
" the idea that a Steam Machine must be purchased each year to stay current is somewhat disconcerting."
This is kind of a bullshit comment. What do you want Alienware to do, somehow make Nvidia/AMD/Intel stop making new hardware? Should they not offer newer, more powerful hardware once it's available? Nobody is going to be forced to buy new hardware and there always has been and always will be newer faster shit on the horizon. That's not a gaming or even PC issue, it's just technology. This system will still let an uneducated consumer walk into a store or go to their website, push a button and have a machine they can plug into their TV with hundreds of games on it without having to know anything about hardware or do any research. That is the whole point.-
Right. Just because a new iPad comes out every year doesn't mean people are forced to upgrade every year. The option is there but you are free to upgrade however often you want.
-
-
It all depends on what the price points are at. If it falls below the normal price range, presumably because the components are more tightly integrated, then that's just part of the trade out. It's still the same model as the consoles, but here you have a means of upgrading your performance to newer tech AND still keeping your games - something no other console has done with any 'real' success. And, by that I mean beyond just the small handful of games that they massaged to work on the newer platform.
-
[deleted]
-
if I really wanted to upgrade I wouldn't buy a small form factor Steam Machine. Some people just want to be able to wait a couple seasons and grab a new affordable box (like a console). I think this is going to fill that exact void.
-
-
What info in this article makes you think people wouldn't want it? A huge market for the steam machine is people who don't own a gaming PC. These aren't people who are going to care that they can't upgrade because they wouldn't have the technical know how or desire to open up a PC in the first place (especially a small form factor PC that will probably be a bitch to mess around in anyway.)
-
-
-
No shit.
-
You don't have to upgrade each year. Alienware will have an upgraded system each year. You can upgrade whenever you choose. So you can buy this one. Then three years down the road get one that is three generations newer than this one. It's a constantly evolving system and you don't have to wait for Microsoft or Nintendo or Sony to have decided that they've milked all they can milk out of their system to finally get an upgraded machine. You can always get an upgraded system whenever you are ready for one.
-
