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Zotac, a leading maker of advanced graphics cards and small form-factor personal computers, this week announced its first Steam Machine. The personal computer, which is due to be launched sometimes in November, will be very small and rather stylish. However, this does not mean that Zotac’s SN970 will offer mediocre performance. In fact, it will be rather powerful.
Zotac’s SN970 will be based on Intel’s sixth-generation Core i-series microprocessor code-named “Skylake” and will feature Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M MXM graphics card with 3GB of onboard GDDR5 memory. The SFF PC will also be equipped with 8GB of DDR3 random access memory, 64GB M.2 solid-state drive, 1TB 2.5” hard disk drive, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, dual Gigabit Ethernet, a card reader and so on.
Despite of its small form-factor, the Zotac SN970 is expected to pack quite a lot of performance thanks to high-performance Intel Core i5 or i7 processor powered by the “Skylake” microarchitecture, advanced graphics processing unit from Nvidia and all the other advanced things that are inside the box. The system will even support four HDMI 2.0 output capable of connecting 4K UHD panels with 60Hz refresh rate, but it is unclear whether horsepower of the GeForce GTX 970M is enough to deliver solid framerates in such high resolution.
The SN970 from Zotac will come pre-loaded with Valve Software’s SteamOS that is expected to be tailored for maximum performance in video games. Since SteamOS should support Khronos Group’s Vulcan low-overhead/high-throughput graphics application programming interface, it should be able to take advantage of all hardware features packed in the SN970.
Zotac did not reveal pricing of its SN970. Given rather powerful configuration, it will cost more than a new-generation video game console, but it should not be too expensive either.
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KitGuru Says: Without any doubts, the Zotac SN970 is an impressive piece of hardware that should deliver gaming laptop-class performance on a big screen. The system is considerably better than any game console from graphics and processing horsepower standpoint and it guarantees high framerates in 1080p resolution. However, if the system is too expensive, it will hardly become really popular.
expensive useless mini pc….
There’s no way this will be as much as a PS4 or the likes :/
This will be more expensive than a PS4. A single 980m cost around 1k and I don’t think a 970m will cost that much lesser. With this spec, I’m expecting minimum price of $999
Ffs gf970m? Why mobile GPU wtf
M series… whyy!!!!!!
less heat for a smaller package while offering good performance, if it’s not enough you can upgrade to a 980M
This won’t be worth it if it costs more than 600.
A GTX 970m is on par with a desktop GTX 770 and has more Maxwell cores, more Vram and a wider memory bus then a desktop GTX 960 . It is a great chip, this isn’t 2010 mobile GPUs have come a long way.
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Because its more powerful then a desktop GTX 960 and draws very little power while staying cool. Perfect for a small steam machine.
That may be the case although I doubt it…
Why not use the 970 card and sacrifice space. People want performance and value for money rather than the space of the machine. Judging by the dimensions of the image, this device is smaller than a ps4 or Xbox. They could easily make it bigger for a 970 card. No?
Completely agree – I assume these devices are not for people who look into the specs – more for the mass market of people. Which disappoints me :/
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Your replies don’t work they are just an email
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Add the fact these cam hardly play any AAA titles it makes them a poor product. They need Windows and Steam in Big Picture mode to be able to compete with consoles at all
So true. I can’t think of people needing a steam box at all. Not sure where the market is. You can technically build a cheaper price PC capable of Steam Stream to the living room.
Because if you went for a full sized 970, you might as well go for a complete ATX-format PC.
I think people are underestimating the power of the latest mobile GPU’s by NVIDIA
The 970/980m Are actually very powerful and only about 20% weaker than the desktop versions. The mobile 900 chips have made a huge performance increase and are really quite amazing
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For better performance and value
Don’t bet on that. The fact that it’s a 3GB 970M might very well mean it’s soldered to the board.
980M = $720 USD
970M = $440 USD
you don’t get it, do you?
ehh… so!
#1 not everyone needs a massive goddamn case to carry around in their travel bag
#2 it still delivers awesome performance
#3 noone would complain if it were a laptop with 970M GPU
#4 you really don’t get why this exists, do you?
It’s a PC. and it’s made to be in a TINY form factor. otherwise it would be just some pedal-to-the-metal kind of ITX PC.
Tell me please, what would you rather carry around with you: a giant 20kg+ case or a tiny box with a bit lower performance than the case?
20kg case… yeah okay..more like the weight of a ps4.
Awesome perfomance..ehh not quite im afraid.
For something that is sitting in my living room – not going to be moving a lot (just like my consoles) I would rather get the proper Gpu which is A) cheaper. and B) better perfomance.
They are. And they don’t care to learn. Same with the CPUs.
1. I was talking about carrying your own PC around, instead of having this more compact tiny things that do the exact same fucking thing.
2. Have you ever tried one of the Zotac’s steam machines? Ehh not quite, am I right?
3. You REALLY don’t get it. This was made for people that go around often, and don’t like carrying their laptops, this way they can hook up to a TV and they’re good to go. I’d like to see you do the same with your full-sized PC.
It’s comparable to a console. Which can be easily be carried around but they are bigger.
I have, have you?
I have a console (i don’t play on it tho). It’s similar in size, true enough. But the thing is, it has MUCH better performance. While the consoles are running something comparable to R7 265, this runs a crippled GTX970, which can run games much better than any of the R7 series. R9 is another story, but yeah.
*this was made to be compact and deliver desktop performace*
Oh there is no doubt these steam machines are much better than a console!
I was just comparing the size for portability reasons.
Nvidia cards are far better than the AMD equivalents. I would have just preferred a Real card – Plus a M series is unlikely to be changeable after purchase. Upon further thinking I assume this was another factor why they chose M series so people would buy a new machine rather then just upgrade the card.
Well, You can’t really compare the old gen AMD card to newer gen nVidia card. Let’s wait till AMD releases R9 3xx.
I think they went with the M version because not only they profit out of it more, but actually can claim to have lower temps and power consumption while having a GTX970 in there.
You fell for NV marketing again.
Desktop 970 is 49% faster than a GTX970M. GTX970M SLI is only 3% faster than a desktop 980. 970M/980M are nowhere near “only 20% slower” than desktop 970/980 cards!
http://www.computerbase.de/2014-10/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970m-sli-notebook-test/3/
The MXM GPU is the same ones that are used in gaming laptops. So they are upgradable. http://www.eurocom.com/ec/vgas%281%29ec
I like the idea of this for me. I fly 1.5 hours to work and have a full size backpack with cloths and bathroom stuff. my old M17x was to much of a pain to carry with everything else. Not useless at all