The lowest-end Steam Machine costs around $500 and packs approximately the same amount of power as a PS4 and Xbox One. But the biggest amount of customisability you get with Sony and Microsoft's consoles is being able to switch out the hard drive. Steam Machines, on the other hand, are there to be tweaked with and upgraded as you please. The $549 Syber Steam Machine, for example, comes with an Intel i3-4160 processor, GeForce GTX 750 GPU, 4GB RAM and 500GB hard drive. The PS4 and Xbox One have similar specs, aside from their advantage of having 8GB RAM each. But 8GB RAM can be bought for around $50 these days, so that's how much it would cost to boost your Steam Machine to 12GB RAM, ensuring it outRAMs the consoles by a solid 50%. In terms of direct value for money, there's little difference between a Steam Machine and its rivals, but the fact that it's open to tweaking gives it the edge over the competition.
Gamer, Researcher of strange things.
I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.
