Well folks, here it is (probably): Xi3 Corporation, maker of a tiny "grapefruit-sized" modular PC, is apparently the hardware company that will put the box in the SteamBox -- or whatever Valve ends up calling its Linux-powered settop gaming platform. According to a press release posted by Kotaku, Xi3 and Valve will each show off a new, gaming-optimized version of its tiny PCs this week at CES in Las Vegas.
What's this modular stuff about? The idea is that the Xi3 motherboard is built to be separated into three easily upgradable pieces, which Xi3 equates to LEGOS. The benefit there is that you won't have to throw away an entire motherboard to upgrade -- if you want more RAM, buy a new RAM module. If you want a faster CPU, get a new CPU module. According to the product video for its existing Xi3 line (published in late October 2012), these machines are built to be used for five to 10 years with upgrades. The basic X3A version is in the $500 range, with the gaming-oriented X7A version priced "competitively." Here's the video:
No precise specs are given for either configuration, but the previously available 5A modelfeatures a dual-core AMD Athlon 3400E CPU clocked at 2.2GHz, 2GB DDR2 RAM, and a 128MB DX11-compatible video board that supports up to 2560x1600 resolution via HDMI, DVI, or DisplayPort, and a 16GB SSD hard drive. It starts at $500, and note that that price does notinclude a Windows license -- that'll cost you an extra $110 for Windows 7. Again, this is an older version, so whatever Valve ends up using will certainly be better equipped than that. In fact, Xi3 claims that its system "exceeds the capabilities of leading game consoles." However, given that the leading game console at the moment is the eight-year-old Xbox 360, which has 512MB of RAM and an ancient graphics chip that runs games at 1280x720 tops, that's not hard to do.
If the base version of the Xi3 is around $500 without Windows, that doesn't bode terribly well for a super-cheap Linux box, unless Valve does some crazy locking-down on its version and then subsidizes the cost in the hopes of making money back as we buy games (which is how Microsoft and Sony traditionally sell their console systems). How much would you pay for such a box?
Posts
