Valve reveals prototype Steam Machine specs

Valve has revealed the system specifications for its hotly anticipated Steam Machine consoles.

Prototypes of the hardware are being shipped to 300 Steam users, which will also include the recently unveiled unique touch-based controller.

The Steam machines being sent out are described as high-end hardware, built with off-the-shelf PC parts. Users will however be able to upgrade it however and swap out the GPU, hard drive, CPU and motherboard.

System specs of the prototype Steam Machines vary, with some containing an Nvidia Titan GPU, while others house a GTX780, GTX760 or GTX660. CPUs also vary, and include an Intel i7-4770, i5-4570 or an i3.

Some of the hardware will feature 16gb DDR3-1600 RAM, or 3gb GDDR5, while storage goes up to 1tb.

Valve said the Steam Machine will be manufactured by a number of companies, and the specs for each system could vary substantially, depending on what the user wants.

The development and digital distribution giant also stated that its prototype specs are not designed to serve a mass market, and there will be machines created to fit other specifications and needs, such as low cost.

Despite readying the prototypes, Valve said it still isn’t prepared to release a picture of the Steam Machine while it puts on the finishing touches, but it will reveal that hardware before it is shipped to test users.