iBUYPOWER's (Unofficial) Steam Machine Has Arrived

iBUYPOWER introduced its new SBX Entertainment System, a console-like gaming machine that was previously introduced as a Steam Machine during CES 2014 in January. As predicted, many OEMS like iBUYPOWER are releasing their unofficial Steam Machines anyway, seemingly unwilling to wait on Valve Software to get the Steam Controller just right.

The Xbox One-shaped SBX arrives in four flavors: the SBX Raw for $399, the SBX plus an Xbox 360 controller for $459, the SBX plus the controller and Windows 8.1 for $549, and the SBX "Plus" with the controller and Windows 8.1 for $699.99. The SBX Raw and SBX + Controller model do not have operating systems pre-installed.

The SBX Plus model includes an AMD Athlon 740 CPU, an AMD Radeon R7 250X video card with 1 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, 8 GB of DDR3-1600 MHz memory, and the iBUYPOWER FM2A78M+ ITX motherboard. There's also a 1 TB 2.5-inch hard drive, Wireless N and Bluetooth connectivity, and a 30-day trial of Office 365. This console rig is backed by a three-year standard warranty.

In addition to the controller, what's the difference between the four consoles? The SBX Raw, the SBX + Controller, and the SBX + Controller and Windows 8.1 include 4 GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive. As previously mentioned, the SBX Plus includes 8 GB of RAM and a 1 TB hard drive.

Even so, the specs of the SBX consoles aren't too shabby, and the beauty of this setup is that customers can upgrade components when needed. The amount of memory of the three non Plus gaming rigs – 4 GB – is rather low, which will prevent customers from playing games that require 6 GB of RAM or higher. Again, customers can presumably modify this setup when needed.

"Customers will be able to configure their SBX to boot into Steam Big Picture mode, or any other configuration. Games, media, streaming, the SBX handles it all," the press release said. "It’ll even be the perfect system for those who want to enjoy their classic games on emulation on the big screen. SBX is also fully Steam OS ready."

The iBUYPOWER SBX product page reveals that an app for Android and iOS is coming soon that will allow SBX owners to customize the color and pattern effect of the console's lighted strip. The SBX is only offered in matte black.

Customers can pre-purchase the SBX console now. Shipment will begin in three weeks. Is the name SBX short for "Steambox?"

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  • chaospower
    For 400$ that's not too bad, but for 700$ I expected the pro version to have better specs than that...
    Reply
  • CRITICALThinker
    Just saying

    PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ds8HnQ
    Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ds8HnQ/by_merchant/

    CPU: AMD Athlon X4 740 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($75.24 @ Amazon)
    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($69.97 @ NCIX US)
    Memory: Mushkin Stealth 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.99 @ Newegg)
    Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 5K1000 1TB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
    Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 250X 1GB Video Card ($67.99 @ Newegg)
    Case: Thermaltake Urban S1 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.26 @ NCIX US)
    Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
    Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Amazon)
    Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($32.99 @ Amazon)
    Total: $446.40
    Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
    Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-10 12:58 EDT-0400
    Reply
  • mnivek
    Pro version seems weak for the price, particularly the RAM and CPU. Also, given the default selection of mobo form factor, there is no Intel option available if you wanted to upgrade along a Haswell path.
    Reply
  • chaospower
    14349651 said:
    Just saying

    PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ds8HnQ
    Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ds8HnQ/by_merchant/

    CPU: AMD Athlon X4 740 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($75.24 @ Amazon)
    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($69.97 @ NCIX US)
    Memory: Mushkin Stealth 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.99 @ Newegg)
    Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 5K1000 1TB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
    Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 250X 1GB Video Card ($67.99 @ Newegg)
    Case: Thermaltake Urban S1 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.26 @ NCIX US)
    Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
    Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Amazon)
    Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($32.99 @ Amazon)
    Total: $446.40
    Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
    Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-10 12:58 EDT-0400
    You should try building it in an ITX form factor, then we'll talk. It seems everybody who's building "Console Killer PC's" are forgetting the part that it's supposed to come in a nice to look at, tiny box that will fit in the living room, not a regular pc case that's a bit smaller than normal.

    Reply
  • CRITICALThinker
    14354272 said:
    14349651 said:
    Just saying

    PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ds8HnQ
    Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ds8HnQ/by_merchant/

    CPU: AMD Athlon X4 740 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($75.24 @ Amazon)
    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($69.97 @ NCIX US)
    Memory: Mushkin Stealth 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.99 @ Newegg)
    Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 5K1000 1TB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
    Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 250X 1GB Video Card ($67.99 @ Newegg)
    Case: Thermaltake Urban S1 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.26 @ NCIX US)
    Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
    Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Amazon)
    Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($32.99 @ Amazon)
    Total: $446.40
    Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
    Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-10 12:58 EDT-0400
    You should try building it in an ITX form factor, then we'll talk. It seems everybody who's building "Console Killer PC's" are forgetting the part that it's supposed to come in a nice to look at, tiny box that will fit in the living room, not a regular pc case that's a bit smaller than normal.

    Hadn't found a MOBO with Wifi, and I wasn't about to take two USB ports for wifi and bluetooth

    Here it is

    AMD
    PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9Fkjqs
    Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9Fkjqs/by_merchant/

    CPU: AMD Athlon X4 740 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($75.24 @ Amazon)
    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard ($92.99 @ Amazon)
    Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
    Storage: Samsung Spinpoint M8 1TB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.67 @ Amazon)
    Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 250X 1GB Video Card ($67.99 @ Newegg)
    Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
    Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
    Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
    Total: $428.85
    Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
    Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-11 12:29 EDT-0400

    Intel
    PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HHgzHx
    Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HHgzHx/by_merchant/

    CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ Amazon)
    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($97.48 @ OutletPC)
    Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
    Storage: Samsung Spinpoint M8 1TB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.67 @ Amazon)
    Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 250X 1GB Video Card ($67.99 @ Newegg)
    Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
    Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
    Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
    Total: $428.09
    Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
    Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-11 12:36 EDT-0400
    Reply
  • Lex Luger
    Nobody is going to buy this thing over a 400 dollar PS4. It has a slightly better CPU and harddrive, but everything else is WORSE. I doubt that GPU could handle PS4 games at 720p, let alone 1080p. The lastest PS4 games when played on pc consume around 3gb of video memory at 1080p. That means many of the newest games wouldnt even run on most steamboxes. (Dead Rising 3, Watchdogs, Shadow of Mordor) You need a gtx 970/980 or a amd 290/x. Its an inferior gaming machine at a bloated price.
    Reply