Joystiq - Xi3's Steam-focused PC "console," the Piston, is now available for pre-order, the company announced yesterday. The tiny, $999 box includes a 128 gig solid-state drive that can be upgraded to 512 gigs for an additional $750 (for real, SSDs aren't cheap, y'all), eight gigs of RAM and a 3.2 Ghz quad-core processor.
In this interview with Xi3 Corporation's Stan Phillips, GamerFitnation's Gregory Laporte gets a look at the customization feature that consumers who purchase the company's X7A and PISTON computers get to use. This feature lets each user tailor their PC to their specific requirements as opposed to simply buying an off-the-shelf system.
Gamer FitNation got the chance to talk to Whitney Merrifield about the console and its lightweight energy saving capabilities. The Piston retails for $999, but you’re getting your money’s worth with this PC console.
Maximum PC: There was quite a bit of mystery surrounding Xi3's Piston PC at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas earlier this year. Early reports pegged the PC as being Valve's hotly anticipated Steam Box, and when asked straight up by Maximum PC Online Editor Jimmy Thang, Xi3's chief marketing manager, David Politis, played it coy. Now two months later, a branded version of Xi3's Piston PC has broken cover on Facebook and Twitter.
WTF, 1000 Bucks.
I hope it is nothing more than a Place holder.
It needs to rock a seriously powerful GPU at that price point.