Nvidia Wants Gamers to Forget New Consoles, Go SFF PC
Small form factor PCs with Nvidia inside are a better choice.
So now that the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are on the market and doing well, Nvidia is seemingly pushing gamers to consider Valve’s Steam Machine initiative without actually naming the small form factor rigs. Matt Wright, consumer sales manager at Nvidia, says the company is proposing small form-factor PCs to be viable alternatives to the new consoles on the market.
"Enthusiast players want the ultimate games system and that is the PC," Wright told MCV. "The PC platform is far superior to any console when it comes to gaming, plus you get all the extra functionality that a computer brings."
While this speech really isn’t anything new, it arrives just before CES 2014 in January, which will play host to a number of Steam Machine reveals such as one prototype recently unveiled by IBUYPOWER. The OEM’s Steam Machine will sport a multi-core AMD CPU, Radeon R9 270 graphics and a console-like form factor, but there will be plenty of alternatives packed with Nvidia’s GeForce graphics.
"We want to make PC gaming as simple as possible and we think that it already becoming much more relevant and appealing to casual gamers," said Wright. "Steam now has more users than Xbox Live. There is a whole new generation who grew up playing on PC with titles like Minecraft or World of Tanks. There’s a huge community who love playing their games on PC."
As previously reported, Valve is currently testing a number of prototypes using a Nvidia Titan, GTX 780, GTX 760 or GTX 660 GPU. On the CPU front, some boxes will have Intel's Core i7-4770, some with the Core i5-4570, and some with Core i3 processors. Available RAM will be 16 GB DDR3-1600 (CPU) and 3 GB DDR5 (GPU), and storage will be provided by a hybrid SSHD with 1 TB for storage and 8 GB for cache. Power will be handled by an internal 450 watt 80 Plus Gold power supply.
As for the actual living-room friendly size, the prototype dimensions will be 12 x 12.4 x 2.9 inches. To put that into perspective, the Xbox One measures 10.86 x 13.18 x 2.96, making this prototype roughly the same size.
Small form factor PCs with GeForce inside aren’t anything new as shown on the GeForce website: a number of OEMs carry solutions including IBUYPOWER, Maingear, Origin, CyberpowerPC and more. What Nvidia is proposing here is a console-like form factor that features the same price range as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One but provide superior power. Plus throw in Steam, and gamers have a much larger library of titles than what’s currently made available on the new consoles.
The Steam Box is definitely a neat idea and it will be interesting to see it grow, although the SteamOS is extremely limited right now. The PS4 and XB1 do a lot more than the Steam Box can...for now. If Valve and nvidia are going to get into the console scene, they need to understand that console gamers don't want to feel like they are using a PC on their TV and how well they design the UI will surely be the determining factor in how many consumers are attracted.
But its hard to argue a value proposition of a 399.99 PS4 vs a 399.99 Gaming PC.
100.00 of a build is for Windows alone.
The Steam Box is definitely a neat idea and it will be interesting to see it grow, although the SteamOS is extremely limited right now. The PS4 and XB1 do a lot more than the Steam Box can...for now. If Valve and nvidia are going to get into the console scene, they need to understand that console gamers don't want to feel like they are using a PC on their TV and how well they design the UI will surely be the determining factor in how many consumers are attracted.
Keep it up, Nvidia? I'd rather see Maxwell released a month sooner than more comments like these - they just seem desperate.
But its hard to argue a value proposition of a 399.99 PS4 vs a 399.99 Gaming PC.
100.00 of a build is for Windows alone.
EDIT: You fixed it so now it totally makes sense.. "Gamers"
Have you seen the prices of these models? Almost, atleast double the price of the ps4.
Nvidia sounds like they wish they didn't miss out on console opportunity.
As for the steam machines, I like the idea, I feel like their for console gamers who have been told PC is better and don't know how easy it is to build your own, but I hope they succeed.
The Steam Box is definitely a neat idea and it will be interesting to see it grow, although the SteamOS is extremely limited right now. The PS4 and XB1 do a lot more than the Steam Box can...for now. If Valve and nvidia are going to get into the console scene, they need to understand that console gamers don't want to feel like they are using a PC on their TV and how well they design the UI will surely be the determining factor in how many consumers are attracted.
They do a lot more if you use Valves OS and not say 8.1. If you use 8.1 and wait a bit Kinect 2.0 will be out for Windows and you can do everything you do in the XB1 and more.
But its hard to argue a value proposition of a 399.99 PS4 vs a 399.99 Gaming PC.
100.00 of a build is for Windows alone.
Value is still a factor of pc gaming:
1: games are cheaper with digital distribution and multiple distributors battling for your favor and older games being still available at a lower price games can be considered a lot cheaper which compensates the initial heightened price. on the value perspecttive
2: a pc costs $60 less a year if you want to play online, that also doesn't count as big at the start but it does help in the end
3: os is something you can consider the cost of having a pc and you don't need to be a gamer to have a pc, you can also use linux in the future (now its not really feasable) or just go obtain your os through less official means.
so yea I'd argue that pc gaming is cheaper in the long run if you want it to be.
If they are willing to sell me a box that will cost about the PS4 and be my htpc and play games....well meh. I'd get a PS4 so I can play exclusives. But if they are selling me a box that will let me stream from my main rig to it, then I am all ears.
Here is the thing, I have an 7970 in there now. I'll eat my pants if the green team will play nice with my rig.
SFF Nvidia PCs are for entry-level PC gamers only, and for those foolish enough to buy them, the same user/consumer won't have the hardware knowledge to see the difference between their machine and a Dell, and Dell and other pre-made vendors already own that market.
They'll need a lot more mainstream exposure (advertising) to reach that crowd.
Oh yes, they did:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-amazon-android-fiscal-third-quarter,25026.html
This is laughably incorrect. A $400 PC runs games better than the consoles do already (the xbone runs bf4 @ 720p, while the PS4 only runs it at 1600x900, both around medium detail levels for the PC).
...a $500 PC is able to run the game at full 1920x1080 with matching settings at the same framerates.
"Hello, it's me... over here in the corner!!! Please look at me. I am still relevant. Please believe me. Stop laughing!!!"
Nvidia can be a tad more expensive.