Steam Machine teardown reveals $1300 price for components

Valve has not announced a price point for its Steam Machine, but a new teardown analysis from iFixit reveals that the system may carry a price tag of over $1000.

The sum of the system's various components--including its processor, motherboard, and hard drive--came out to around $1300.

The most expensive component was its Zotac GeForce GTX 780 3GB video card--estimated at more than $500.

It's important to note that the 300 Steam Machine units available today for beta testers are prototype systems. Specifications, and thus price, could change before the system launches publicly in 2014.

It's also important to remember that several boxes will be available, featuring an array of specifications and price points.

We've asked Valve to comment on the $1300 price point, but haven't heard back.

iFixit noted several problematic issues with the Steam Machine, including RAM removal being difficult due to the motherboard cowling. In addition, the site says precise cable routing during reassembly is difficult without a repair manual.

In October, Valve described its Steam Machine prototype as "something special" and suggested that it may carry a premium price tag. It is built out of off-the-shelf PC parts and is fully upgradable, meaning users can swap out the GPU, hard drive, CPU, or the motherboard if they want to.

"To be clear, this design is not meant to serve the needs of all of the tens of millions of Steam users," Valve said at the time. "It may, however, be the kind of machine that a significant percentage of Steam users would actually want to purchase--those who want plenty of performance in a high-end living room package. Many others would opt for machines that have been more carefully designed to cost less, or to be tiny, or super quiet, and there will be Steam Machines that fit those descriptions."

Valve will provide more details on its Steam Machine at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next month, while various third-party systems are also expected to be announced during the event. GameSpot will be on-hand at the show, which runs January 7-10 in Las Vegas.

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