Unveiled at CES, Piston isn't a console but it's not exactly a conventional PC either, although it's much closer to the latter than the former. It's tiny, and it's backed, at least indirectly, by Valve, which has invested in specialty PC maker Xi3, the company that's actually building the thing.
What Piston actually brings to the party hasn't been nailed down yet, although Xi3's high-end X7A rig, upon which it is apparently based, features a quad-core CPU running up to 3.2 Ghz, 8GB RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. On the outside, there are eight USB ports (three of which are USB 3.0), four eSATA ports, two Mini Display ports, analog and SPDIF audio input/outputs, an ethernet connector and an HDMI port, plus a connector for an external power supply.
Interesting, but it looks rather small. They are not going to be able to fit a high-end GPU in there. I guess it isn't designed to compete with gaming PCs but rather with consoles.
I can't see this happening. Their goals are simply too high, and if they cram that much technology into a tiny cube, they're bound to get several major issues popping up. How will it handle the heat? How are they going to keep dust from clogging up? And how do they intend to keep the price at less than $1000, while still keeping a 1 TB SSD in it?
I can't see this happening. Their goals are simply too high, and if they cram that much technology into a tiny cube, they're bound to get several major issues popping up. How will it handle the heat? How are they going to keep dust from clogging up? And how do they intend to keep the price at less than $1000, while still keeping a 1 TB SSD in it?
They have been fairly obscure about the specs, but it is not impossible. The power and cooling issues are addressed by using low power laptop CPUs and mid/high end laptop GPU. The case allows the system to be passivly cooled The small form factor come from the 3 piece modular motherboard. The system will offer an a 1TB hard drive with an option for an SSD drive in any size the user can afford.
I'm unsure why I'd want something that small and such a high premium. It's a pretty incredible bit of kit, don't get me wrong here. But... why?
It has the benefits of a console combined with the flexibility of PC software and hardware architecture. You can buy cheaper PC games with consolish graphics and still have some ability to upgrade. Maybe it is interesting for people who want a bit more than a console. Not sure if the pricetag will be convincing though.
From a company's perspective the great thing about such a cube is that you can easily upgrade it to be just a little better than the current console generation.
I still prefer powerful gaming PCs though. They have been neglected somewhat in the past, but with the new console generation and the 4k standard for screens we might get to see some interesting stuff for PCs in the future.
That's a lot of power in such a small box, but still the price tag seems too steep. Most PC gamers are probably satisfied with their current gaming rig (and could build or just buy another for cheaper), and I can't see them cutting too deeply into the console market.
Which makes me wonder who exactly is Valve expecting to buy the console?
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Valve unveils 'Piston' at CES 
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