Last September, Valve announced a trio of hardware and software additions to the Steam Library. What began as a series of “circle-based hints”, eventually became the Linux-based SteamOS, the innovative Steam Controller PC gaming peripheral, and the announcement of Steam Machines– third-party gaming PCs equipped with Valve’s new operating system. While SteamOS has already been released, the Steam Controller was only released to a very, very select group of individuals. While it was originally planned to release this year, the Steam Controller has been delayed to 2015.
As of right now, future Steam Machines are still set to release later this year. As these Steam-oriented gaming PCs are from third-party manufacturers, their releases may not be affected by the delay of the Steam Controller. The first hardware specifications for various Steam Machines were revealed at CES 2014. Confirmed manufacturers include the likes of Alienware, CyberPowerPC, iBuyPower, Origin PC and Zotac. Several of the announced PCs are meant for the sole purpose of living room gaming and streaming media. As such, many of the “stock” Steam Machines run in the $1,500 range- Falcon Northwest will offer Steam Machines that may even cost upwards of $6,000.
Apart from the aforementioned manufacturers, Asus will release their own Steam Machine later this year. In a new press release, Asus revealed the ROG GR8 console gaming PC, due to launch “in alignment with Valve’s Steam Machine schedule”. The GR8 features an Intel Core i7 CPU and an a GeForce GTX 750Ti GPU. This sleek, slim-line PC is equipped with a Miracast receiver, which allows for in-home HD content streaming from other Android and Windows devices. Two versions will be released; the first model will include Windows 8.1 as the installed operating system, with the SteamOS-enabled Steam Machine arriving on an unspecified date.
Asus ROG Devices (Image courtesy of Asus)
The GR8 desktop PC and Steam Machine are only two products from Asus’s ROG line, as other devices include the G20 gaming desktop PC, GX500 notebook, Gladius optical wired mouse, and the GK2000 mechanical gaming keyboard. Two motherboards will be released for Intel and AMD processors, with the ROG Maximus VII (Intel) and ROG Crossblade Ranger (AMD). Asus is also bringing a new 2560×1440 27″ gaming monitor to the table later this year, along with a new, limited edition graphics card. The ROG Ares III will only release with 500 units worldwide, and features dual Radeon Hawaii XT GPUs, with a hand-crafted and engraved EK water block for on-board water-cooling.