Valve showcases Steam Machine with e-ink display
The Steam Machine was finally unveiled on Wednesday. The compact and cube-shaped device is basically a Linux desktop computer and a gaming console that’s running Steam OS, while its performance is slightly lower compared to the Sony PlayStation 5 (from $499 on Amazon). Most notably, the exterior design looks pretty plain at first glance.
Valve opted for a black case that sports an LED strip on the front. Third-party accessories are expected to address this potential "issue" upon the device’s launch early next year, as dbrand has already announced a skin for the Steam Machine that’s modeled after the Companion Cube from Valve’s puzzle hit Portal, as we reported earlier today.
Meanwhile, Valve itself has unveiled several printed front panels in different designs that users can easily swap, as the front cover of the Steam Machine can be attached magnetically. The most interesting front panel Valve showed to some press members features an e-ink display that can show real-time data including CPU and GPU load as well as fan speed.
Unfortunately, this add-on is only intended for internal testing and will not hit the market. However, it will likely be only a matter of time before a third-party manufacturer releases a similar product. Since Steam OS is based on Linux, customization is possible both in terms of hardware and software, which should allow users to mod t heir Steam Machine according to their own taste. More details on Valve’s new gaming console can be found in our launch article.
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