Author Topic: SMACH Z (first steam handheld machine) is on Kickstarter (Read 23991 times)

wolfstar27 · « **on:** December 09, 2015, 11:55:46 pm »

Hey Just wondering if anybody is thinking about getting the new handheld steam machine? it went live on Kickstarter today

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smachteam/smach-z-the-first-handheld-steam-machine

zhongtiao1 · « **Reply #1 on:** December 10, 2015, 12:18:03 am »

Quote from: wolfstar27 on December 09, 2015, 11:55:46 pm

Hey Just wondering if anybody is thinking about getting the new handheld steam machine? it went live on Kickstarter today

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smachteam/smach-z-the-first-handheld-steam-machine

Not for 249 euros. Maybe for 149. Maybe.

wolfstar27 · « **Reply #2 on:** December 10, 2015, 12:36:39 am »

I managed to nab the early bird special for 199 euros, it says not only will it be able to play steam games but other emulators like Gamecube & Wii and Playstation 2

lemmywinks · « **Reply #3 on:** December 10, 2015, 07:38:20 am »

I'm gonna wait until there's some actual gameplay footage of the more demanding games, also for a steam console they need 128gb onboard storage as standard (not just the premium Pro model). For my tablet I have my Steam folder on a 64gb card with nothing else on it and it's full already, for PC games you need twice that at least unless you're just playing indies. If they don't meet their stretch goal then the storage will be 32gb which is useless to me.

wolfstar27 · « **Reply #4 on:** December 10, 2015, 04:24:32 pm »

I know they mentioned in comments that it is possible to upgrade the RAM on the standard model, cause I would like to Play Fallout 4 on it...it does have a slot to put a Micro SD in it and you can put a 128GB card in it, so would that be any good?

lemmywinks · « **Reply #5 on:** December 10, 2015, 09:01:53 pm »

I doubt it will be able to run Fallout 4. I don't think it will run anything current gen and I'm a little dubious about the claims they're making RE Witcher 2 and Metro Last Light. I'll be very happy if I'm wrong though!

I don't know how Steam OS uses storage but usually you just have your Steam folder on one drive and can't spread your games across multiple drives/cards. On my tablet I use an external card for Steam games as the internal 32gb isn't enough, even then the 64gb card is full and load times are longer.

This is kinda what worries me, they'll (hopefully) have a nice powerful console which can play last gen games, only lots of those games are 5-15+gb so you won't fit more than 10 on there. That's after someone has managed to get Windows on it so you can actually play the majority of your Steam games...

ker · « **Reply #6 on:** December 10, 2015, 10:59:52 pm »

What tablet do you use?

superfenix2020 · « **Reply #7 on:** December 11, 2015, 12:28:21 am »

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smachteam/smach-z-the-first-handheld-steam-machine/

AMD embedded G-Series SoC (formerly codenamed "Steppe Eagle") with "Jaguar"-based CPU and GCN-based Radeon? graphics with 2 GB of dedicated GPU RAM.
4 GB RAM memory (8 GB on PRO model)
64 GB* internal memory (128 GB on PRO model)
MicroSD Card Slot.
5-inch Touch screen with 1080p** resolution.
USB 3.0 type C
Configurable tactile gamepads.
HDMI video output connection.
Wi-Fi connectivity 5.0 Ghz
Bluetooth connectivity.
4G mobile network connectivity (PRO model only).
* Only if the Stretch Goal is achieved, otherwise: 32GB.

** Only if the Stretch Goal is achieved, otherwise: 720p.

Specs comparison:

SZ PRO: 8GB RAM vs SZ: 4GB RAM.
SZ PRO: 128GB HD vs SZ: 64 GB HD.
SZ PRO: Front-camera vs SZ: No camera.
SZ PRO: 4G connectivity vs SZ: Only WIFI.

wolfstar27 · « **Reply #8 on:** December 11, 2015, 12:52:33 am »

well they say fallout 4 should run on PRO version not the standard since the standard version only has 4GB of RAM but this video shows it working on a 4GB RAM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lDCz_2MEUk

lemmywinks · « **Reply #9 on:** December 11, 2015, 07:41:46 am »

Quote from: wolfstar27 on December 11, 2015, 12:52:33 am

well they say fallout 4 should run on PRO version not the standard since the standard version only has 4GB of RAM but this video shows it working on a 4GB RAM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lDCz_2MEUk

Yeah, that's a desktop with an i5 and a GTX760, just because it also has 4gb RAM doesn't make it comparable to a low power AMD tablet APU! I would be very happy if the claims were true (it would mean very cheap gaming capable ultraportables are around the corner) , just don't get your hopes up until you see some actual gameplay footage on real hardware. AMD have a habit of vastly overstating the capability of their upcoming hardware - both power and efficiency, it's a running joke on laptop forums and has been for years. I've been using AMD low power stuff for years (it's actually very good) but reality always falls way short of expectation.

enodr · « **Reply #10 on:** December 12, 2015, 10:05:54 am »

Is there any benchmark of this AMD SoC? Wondering if it can handle Dolphin and PS2 emulation but I doubt.

lemmywinks · « **Reply #11 on:** December 12, 2015, 02:42:44 pm »

In the comments they say the SOC they are using now is a new secret one from AMD and not the GC-424CC, apparently they're under an NDA so can't talk about it. This information appeared after they were told the G series isn't powerful enough to back their claims up, they also claim the new SOC will have a GPU from the Radeon R7 family.

By the way the prototype is a small PC hooked up to an LCD screen, also the GC-424CC they were using for reference is a 25w TDP net top / mini PC board and not for tablets. The one they'll be using will probably be a 7w variant which will have way worse performance. No way should you lay down that kind of cash for such a vague sketchy idea. This is reminding me of that "retro" cart console that did the rounds a few months ago, they've got a case and a render and will think of everything else later.

I don't think these guys know what they're doing.

EDIT: This is what the realistic application of the 25w GC-424CC looks like btw:

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/QNAP/TVS-463/5.html

For reference the best quad core G series SOC with the appropriate power requirements for a handheld is the GX-412HC - 1.2ghz CPU and 300mhz GPU which is roughly half of the GC-424CC.

Pardue · « **Reply #12 on:** December 15, 2015, 01:14:25 am »

These guys are in way over their heads and way behind where they should be.

I'm surprised it hasn't been removed for not having a working prototype. Campaigns like these that are based on nothing but promises and claim they've discovered a revolutionary new manufacturing method that'll solve all of your concerns only exist to take advantage of people who have never backed a hardware project on that site.

wolfstar27 · « **Reply #13 on:** December 17, 2015, 03:45:07 pm »

The Kickstarter is OFFICIALLY CANCELLED now, i guess that was quick

lemmywinks · « **Reply #14 on:** December 17, 2015, 04:02:07 pm »

Oof, was to be expected though really. Hopefully they can get a more solid foundation and try again, they would do well to finalise their SoC and show what it can do. It was optimistic to think that people would throw money at something so vague, maybe in the early days of kickstarter but not now.

SONY · « **Reply #15 on:** December 17, 2015, 04:16:40 pm »

R.I.P.

wolfstar27 · « **Reply #16 on:** December 17, 2015, 07:00:37 pm »

this was there last comment they sent to backers

Hi folks,
We have been analyzing the status of the campaign and have decided to take it down and re-consider our campaign. We believe that it?s the best decision for the project because the following reasons:

- Campaign progression: Pledges started very well but they have stopped in the last days. We?ve to work better our marketing strategy next time.

- Too high goal: Even if we need 900k to produce SMACH Z, it?s a very ambitious goal. We'll need to find additional private funds and go for a lower goal.

- AMD SoC: This is causing a lot of confusion. We think we?d need to give more info about the final SoC and we can?t do it now. We're going to discuss the matter with AMD.

- Prototype: Everybody expect to see SMACH Z working in an encapsulated prototype and it?s something that we can?t offer just now. So we?ve first to build a more advanced prototype to better demonstrate SMACH Z capabilities.

- Windows: Many people is asking for a Windows version of SMACH Z. We need to re-analyze better this possibility and see how that?d impact the cost. While we can do that during the campaign, we believe that it?s better to stop it and start a new one in the next months.

- Rewards: Same that for Windows, people is asking for changes in the rewards that would be done better if we re-launch the campaign.

But don?t worry, this isn?t a tragedy: This campaign has meant a lot of good stuff to us. It let us see that lots of people are interested in SMACH Z. From loyal backers to people that shared the campaign through social media. We?ve received great feedback and we have seen people becoming authentic spreaders of their love for SMACH Z. It means that there?s a market for this product. Our intention is to keep going and launch a new improved campaign improving to make sure that we can reach our goal!

We can't tell the specifics yet, since we're studying different possibilities. And we want to keep you in the loop, we hope we can count with you on board for the next campaign, to stay tuned about the news don?t forget to sign-up our Newsletter: http://smachz.com/news

Once again, we want to thank you all for your amazing support! We?re amazed and glad to your interest on our project. It?s the fuel that motivates us to create the best handheld console ever!

Finally, we've set up a Google poll for you to let us know your opinion about how to improve our next campaign and SMACH Z. Please fill this out, your answers will count a lot on our decisions for the next campaign: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1pz1O1Ronw_TBXAk9XVsSNzsaWXUG7jVlEfbACnbxIZs/viewform
See you soon!
SMACH team

lemmywinks · « **Reply #17 on:** December 17, 2015, 08:16:45 pm »

Sounds like they know where they went wrong, hopefully we'll see a more realised campaign in the near future. Also good to see a Kickstarter acknowledge that being solely reliant on backers' money can be problematic. I look forward to seeing a working prototype run some great PC games, I think that will make the difference between a successful and a failed campaign.

wolfstar27 · « **Reply #18 on:** December 17, 2015, 08:30:38 pm »

I guess there isn't really anything out there which is an independent handheld gaming PC?

10basetom · « **Reply #19 on:** December 30, 2015, 03:24:28 pm »

Even if you can play PC games with acceptable frame rates, it won't be enjoyable on a 5-inch screen.

Author Topic: SMACH Z (first steam handheld machine) is on Kickstarter (Read 23991 times)

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