CYBERPOWERPC subsidiary SYBER introduced the Vapor Xtreme gaming console packed with Nvidia's freshly-baked GeForce GTX 980 graphics card. This "console" could have been deemed as a Steam Machine had it included SteamOS and the Steam Controller; however, this machine arrives with Windows 8.1 (64-bit) and Logitech's F710 Wireless Gamepad, and it boots directly into Steam's Big Picture mode.
"Thanks to the use of standard off the shelf components, with the SYBER Vapor line of PC Gaming consoles, you will never be locked in to your hardware specifications and experience degraded performance as games become more demanding," the press release said.
The specifications show that the default configuration includes Intel's quad-core Core i7-4790K clocked at 4 GHz, Nvidia's GeForce GTX 980 with 4 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, 8 GB of DDR3-1600 MHz memory and a 1 TB 7200 RPM SATA 3 hard drive. Powering this "console" is a 450 watt power supply.
The "Xtreme" model also comes equipped with one USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports and an audio/microphone jack on the front. On the back, the device includes headphone and SPDIF HD audio jacks, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI 4.1 output and a DVI-D port. There's also a Gigabit Ethernet port for connecting to a wired network, and it has Wireless N connectivity.
If the cost of the Vapor Xtreme is out of your price range for a console, the company also offers the Vapor A for $599.99. This model includes an AMD Athlon X4 740 CPU clocked at 3.2 GHz, an AMD Radeon R9 270 graphics card with 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, 4 GB of DDR3-1600 MHz memory and a 500 GB SATA 3 hard drive. This rig is powered by a 250 watt power supply, and it comes with Windows 8.1 and the Logitech controller.
There's also the Vapor I, which costs $100 more than the "A" model. This machine packs an Intel Core i3 processor clocked at 3.5 GHz and Nvidia's Geforce GTX 750Ti with 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM. Other hardware features include 8 GB of DDR3-1600 MHz memory, a 1 TB SATA 3 hard drive and a 250 watt power supply. Like the other two, this "console" includes Windows 8.1 and the Logitech controller.
The company also stresses that customers can modify the base configuration through CYBERPOWER PC's VenomX service. Customers can change the CPU and the graphics card, add memory and more. However, the SYBER website shows the Vapor Xtreme as "coming soon" whereas the other two can be pre-purchased now. The release date for the Vapor I and Vapor A is October 27, 2014.
The company points out that Vapor Xtreme will be ready for the Linux-based SteamOS platform whenever it becomes available, meaning this console is waiting patiently to become an official Steam Machine. But don't expect that to happen until 2015, as Valve is currently trying to spit-polish the Steam Controller for mass consumption.
That said, you can download SteamOS already, but Valve recommends that the majority of gamers wait until the platform is ready for the general public.
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