It’s a small form factor PC, pre-installed with Linux and steam. Period.
Can you build something more powerful cheaper? Probably
Can you build something more powerful with the same form factor for cheaper? Maybe, probably not… We don’t know.
All of those are beside the point.
They sell millions of desktop PCs pre-installed with windows, they often make terrible hardware choices, and don’t even have a small form factor, if they do they have the computing power of a laptop. All of this at an unreasonable prices. At the very least the steam machine will be better value than those. Anyone who would consider one of those PCs, might consider a steam machine instead.
I’m sure a bunch of console buyers are turned away by the “complexity” of buying+installing+maintaining+storing a desktop PC, thinking that they just want to play and they don’t want this seemingly too complicated/boring/sizeable machine with all those cables and connectors.
They just want to buy a box that they turn on and just pick a game to play (like a desktop with icons was that different, but oh well).
The Steam cube will be at least somewhat closer to their more familiar concept.
It’s a small form factor PC, pre-installed with Linux and steam. Period.
Can you build something more powerful cheaper? Probably
Can you build something more powerful with the same form factor for cheaper? Maybe, probably not… We don’t know.
All of those are beside the point.
They sell millions of desktop PCs pre-installed with windows, they often make terrible hardware choices, and don’t even have a small form factor, if they do they have the computing power of a laptop. All of this at an unreasonable prices. At the very least the steam machine will be better value than those. Anyone who would consider one of those PCs, might consider a steam machine instead.
I’m sure a bunch of console buyers are turned away by the “complexity” of buying+installing+maintaining+storing a desktop PC, thinking that they just want to play and they don’t want this seemingly too complicated/boring/sizeable machine with all those cables and connectors.
They just want to buy a box that they turn on and just pick a game to play (like a desktop with icons was that different, but oh well).
The Steam cube will be at least somewhat closer to their more familiar concept.