Back in January, Xi3 teased a dainty little PC it called the Piston. The Piston caused quite a stir at CES 2013 in Las Vegas as it was pegged to be Valve Software's upcoming (unofficial) Steam Box. Well, this week brings us yet more news of the Piston, as the modular computer is now up for pre-order.
Xi3 this past weekend announced that pre-orders for the Piston would kick off at South by Southwest in Austin. The list price of Xi3's Piston console PC starts at $999.99 but those that place their order during SXSW will get a $100 discount off the list price. In case you were unaware, SXSW does not end until Sunday, so there's plenty of time to talk yourself into buying one of these early Steam Boxes.
"Given the amount of awards, media attention and gamer interest the Piston Console has generated since it was unveiled at CES 2013 in January, we've become seriously concerned that we will not be able to meet the demand for Piston Consoles this year," said Jason A. Sullivan, founder, president and CEO of Xi3 Corporation. "That's why we have decided to begin accepting pre-orders on our Piston Console, beginning today with the start of the SXSW Gaming Expo. Gaming Expo attendees will also get the benefit of being the first to see the Piston Console in action."
The Piston packs a quad core CPU clocked to 3.2Ghz as well as 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD. According to Xi3, pre-ordered Piston Consoles will ship in time for the 2013 holiday season.