Here’s a video from MaximumPC, showing off the Alienware Steam Machine running the actual SteamOS system. So, the “real” SteamMachine, not a Windows-based one, equipped with the Steam Controller.
Apparently Alienware has partnered with Valve for over 3 years to develop their Steam Machine proposition.
As you can see in the video there are several upgrade paths for the base configuration (such as bigger hard drive, more memory) while the GPU is not upgradeable. In case you switch the hard-drive or want to switch from the ALpha Windows model to SteamOS, Alienware is currently thinking of how to actually upgrade to SteamOS in an easy way.
The Alienware folks have been apparently quite active to get support (i.e. games) for SteamOS from a number of publishers.
Myself and a few colleagues have been around the world talking to all of the major game publishers, […] sharing news about Alienware Steam Machine and our plans and how it will be our flagship product, getting those publishers excited to get their content [on it]…
Another thing to note, the Alienware representative mentioned that there are apparently many new titles to be announced for SteamOS in the course of this summer 2015, both from the back catalog as well as upcoming new titles. Exciting!
On top of the Steam Machine models, Alienware will continue to produce Windows-based models on top of the SteamOS version, but the system integration is supposed to be much better with SteamOS (and they plan to distribute the Steam Controller ONLY with the SteamOS version).
You can already pre-order the Steam Machine from Alienware on their website, or at Gamestop (US costumers). The first model sells at 450 dollars with an i3 CPU (desktop, not mobile version) and a 500Gb hard drive, while the most expensive model is equipped with an i5 CPU and 1TB harddrive for 750 USD. Too bad all of them come only with a nVidia 860M class of GPU, but that should still be able to run most games very well, at least in 2015.
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Do you think the model listed here will support the recent games, particularly WoW? and Fornite.
On SteamOS, Fortnite is not supported for now. WoW yes.
[…] Alienware clearly did a good job since most respondents know about it, and in general more than 50% know about it in details (specs). […]
It looks like the bigger wave of games for Steam OS won’t be until 2016 once a huge number of developers target their new games with Vulkan. Vulkan is expected to have the same benefits of DX12, but unlike DX12, developers can sell their games on all platforms.
Steam OS still hasn’t officially launched, yet there are 1000 games ported over to Linux and more on the way. That’s huge. Linux is actually a superior gaming engine to Windows because of it’s low use of system resources. Once the Linux steam library gets large enough, it’s very likely that Linux could take over market share for PC gaming altogether, since the same games play on Ubuntu.
The interviewer was off by quite a bit when he said that about 90% of Steam games lack Linux support. Over 22% of the Steam library (1283 of 5771 games) currently offer Linux versions and that isn’t even including games with Linux betas available that aren’t marked as Linux games yet or games with ports in progress that haven’t been released yet. When one factors in the avalanche of back catalog Windows titles that have been flooding the Steam market over the past year or two, and that Steam has only officially supported Linux for a few years, that is… Read more »
The most expensive model($750) is actually equipped with an i7, not an i5.