Windows 10 App For Xbox One Could Render Steam Machines Useless

SlappingOysters writes: The release of Windows 10 has brought with it the Xbox app -- a portal through which you can stream anything happening on your Xbox One to your Surface or desktop. Finder is reporting that the love will go the other way, too, with a PC app coming to the Xbox One allowing you to stream your desktop to your console. But where does this leave the coming Steam Machines? This analysis shows how such an app could undermine the Steam Machines' market position.

Comments

Useless?

[nsre]

They probably mean redundant. Having an alternative doesn't make something useless.

Re:Not competition for steam machines.

[Anonymous Coward]

"Finder is reporting that the love will go the other way, too, with a PC app coming to the Xbox One allowing you to stream your desktop to your console."

I understand it's not normal to RTFA, but to not even read the summary?

$50 Streaming Device

[KermodeBear]

Why would a streaming XBox make a steam machine irrelevant?

The $50 streaming device from Valve makes the XBox+App irrelevant: Steam Link Streaming Box

Re:Steam Link

[Khyber]

"A PC that drives 4k is going to be hot"

Are you that ignorant of current processor and GPU technology? I've been driving 2048x1536 (that would be 3K to you) on my desktop well over 15 years with Matrox. Qualcomm has Snapdragon, meant for MOBILE PHONES, driving 4K. For gaming, it ain't getting hot unless you do something STUPID like pick some power-hungry GPU. For video, even without acceleration from the GPU, a shit-tier i3 can handle 4K video. I was doing 1080p video on a Geforce 2 and Pentium 4 back when..... Naruto Shippuuden first came out and DB started doing 1080p encodes.

Re:Steam Link

[Baloroth]

For gaming, it ain't getting hot unless you do something STUPID like pick some power-hungry GPU.

For gaming with decent graphics at a decent (i.e. 30+) framerate, yes, it's gonna put out a lot of heat. You're looking at a 980 ti or Fury X to handle 4k, which means a total system power (under load) of ~400 watts. If you want actually goodgraphics, you need SLI/Crossfire, which means ~700 watts or more. That's quite a lot of heat.

Now, if you only want to browse the web or watch a movie, sure, even a low-level low power PC can do that. Hell, my eee901 netbook with it's super-shitty integrated Intel graphics could push 1920x1080. But, we're talking about gaming here, and that takes vastly more power.

Re:"Don't buy it yet" strategy

[bondsbw]

The Verge interviewed Phil Spencer yesterday, and asked about streaming PC to Xbox. He replied that they are very interested in it.

That's hardly a "campaign".