Xi3 Taps "Black Friday" as General Availability Date for its PISTON Console

[Cristian_25H]

Xi3 Corporation today announced that its PISTON Console will be available for purchase beginning on Black Friday: November 29, 2013. Xi3 customers who pre-ordered a PISTON Console during or before the SXSW 2013 Gaming Expo will receive their PISTON Consoles on or before November 15, 2013.

"The PISTON Console is just Xi3's first step in what we believe will be a transformative technology revolution for the Living Room," said Jason A. Sullivan, Xi3's founder, president and CEO. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you what I know is coming because it's not time to tell you. But I will say this: the bar has been raised. PISTON is smaller, lighter, and will last longer, provide more gaming options and be more powerful than any other gaming console on the planet. The reason I feel confident in saying this is because we started with a clean slate, unlike competing manufacturers. And that Tabula Rasa approach is what sets PISTON apart from other gaming systems today and what will set us apart tomorrow.





"That's why I've decided we'll provide the first public preview of production PISTON Consoles at the Interop New York trade show this week at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Journalists and Interop attendees are invited to come by booth #401 on either Wednesday or Thursday (Oct. 2-3) to try out PISTON for themselves."

PISTON Storage Capacity Doubled, Optimized Gaming Traffic & Pack-in Titles Coming
As part of today's PISTON General Availability announcement, Xi3 also revealed today additional information about its PISTON Consoles. Specifically, storage capacity for PISTON Consoles has been doubled; PISTON's Ethernet controller has been optimized for gameplay traffic, and PISTONs will ship with pre-loaded "Pack-in" titles. Xi3 also released today a separate PISTON Questions & Answers document to address other topics related to PISTON.

Previously, Xi3 announced that PISTON utilizes internal solid-state SSD storage and that PISTON Consoles will ship standard with 128 GB of SSD storage. Xi3 further revealed today that it has been able to double the potential SSD storage capacity of the PISTON Console by adding a second SSD connector within its PISTON design, as well as a separate, internal microSD slot. This second SSD connector gives PISTONs the capability of more than 1 TB of super-fast (6Gbps) solid-state storage.

Xi3 also revealed today that it has designed the PISTON's Ethernet controller to recognize and prioritize computer gaming data to the top of PISTON's network queue. Such data traffic prioritization will further speed-up response times for PISTON gameplay. Additional details about optimized gameplay data traffic will be revealed at a future date.

"With the latest and greatest games-whether played solo, against your buddy, or in online MMO titles-those extra milliseconds provided by PISTON's optimized gaming traffic can mean the difference between victory or death," Sullivan explained. "PISTON's solid-state drives also mean you'll be able to load games faster than ever before, making your overall experience even better. In addition, by adding a second SSD to their PISTONs, users will be able to load a second operating system onto their machines, including the newly announced SteamOS."

Xi3 also revealed today that the company will ship PISTON Consoles with "pack-in" gaming titles pre-loaded onto its PISTONs. Details about publisher and developer partnerships, as well as a list of pack-in titles, will be released before Black Friday.

"Our goal is to set a new standard for the gaming world with the PISTON Console," Sullivan said. "It's so small and lightweight, it can easily fit in the palm of your hand. The PISTON has also been designed to be modular from the ground up, which means we've built it so it can be easily updated and upgraded-no other gaming console manufacturer has ever done that.

"Additionally, PISTON was built for super-fast gaming by utilizing SSD storage and prioritizing gameplay traffic. PISTON also gives you 3 Ways to Play-at your desk, in your living room, or via a Virtual Reality setup. And you can still play with a controller or via keyboard and mouse, you decide. And naturally, we'll ship PISTONs pre-loaded with pack-in games. The bottom line is I can't wait to get this into the hands of gamers everywhere 'cause I know they're gonna love it."

Built on the modular and patented Xi3 Computer Architecture, the PISTON Console is housed in a grapefruit-sized, matte black aluminum chassis with chrome trim. The PISTON Console comes equipped with a quad-core x86-based 64-bit processor integrated with 384 programmable discrete class graphics cores capable of running the most popular games. PISTON further supports up to 4K-resolution (4096x2160 pixels) and provides users with the ability to run three high-definition monitors or displays simultaneously to provide a fully immersive gaming experience.

PISTON Consoles are available for pre-order today at $999.00 at http://xi3.org/buy_now-piston.php. Additional PISTON details will be released between now and Nov. 29.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[cheesy999]

ship standard with 128 GB of SSD storage

That's not really enough

Or am i misreading it and there is a mechanical HDD somewhere?

EDIT: And is that just a straight APU. for $1000?

 

[sno.lcn]

Am I missing the point of this thing?

 

[cheesy999]

Am I missing the point of this thing?

I'm not sure, but "With native triple monitor support, the PISTON Console offers a truly immersive experience. Surround yourself with vivid visuals supported by 384 graphics cores that deliver stunningly smooth gameplay and uninterrupted gaming action." is a bit interesting

I'm not sure how fast a triple screen set up would move with 384 graphics cores

 

[lobsterrock]

That's not really enough

Or am i misreading it and there is a mechanical HDD somewhere?

EDIT: And is that just a straight APU. for $1000?

And they're going to sell this extremely overpriced PC with the best weapons ever, buzzwords, big numbers and hypotheticals. Just an APU? Nope, it's a quad core x86-64 with 384 graphics cores, big numbers means big performance you see. A slot for up to 1TB of SSD storage(which is not included)!!!!!! 128GB SSD, THAT'S AN SSD PEOPLE!!!!! IT GOES FAST!!!!! What are you waiting for? This thing will revolutionize the way you view slideshows(slideshows that look like games when played on a proper rig). It's not an offical steam machine, but you can dualboot SteamOS on it with your amazing 128GB SSD!!!!!



That being said, I'm glad valve isn't partnered with these charlatans anymore and they can't use the Steam Machine certification..... yet.

 

[zsolt_93]

Its an i7 ULV with a Kepler 384 Shader part. At least that was in the rumors, not an AMD APU.

 

[PopcornMachine]

So many revolutions going on in my living room.

Think I need to vacuum.

 

[a_ump]

wow...this better be like a maxwell Top-end GPU to cost $1000 dollars. granted no one could build such a tiny and capable pc...but i'm betting more people are willing to spare another 6 cubic inches in their house for an HTPC that costs 65% less and is every bit and more capable.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

Its an i7 ULV with a Kepler 384 Shader part. At least that was in the rumors, not an AMD APU.

For a thousand dollars I would want more than an I7wtf:I5no) Ulv Quad, and at 384 shaders(either vendor) its not getting anywhere near console performance imho.

 

[NotBasic]

Its an i7 ULV with a Kepler 384 Shader part. At least that was in the rumors, not an AMD APU.

Sadly if you look carefully they state what's in it.

"3.2Ghz Quad Core (R464)"

This is AMD's highest end based on TRINITY, and also is a mobile part.

This is AMD's R-464L just look it up, 3.2 at turbo and 384 shaders.

 

[flynnski]

Its an i7 ULV with a Kepler 384 Shader part. At least that was in the rumors, not an AMD APU.

Nope:

From
http://www.xi3.com/piston

"Gaming supremacy starts with a powerful system, and Xi3’s PISTON Console comes packed with a 3.2 GHz AMD Trinity Processor, Radeon 7000-Series GPU and 8GB DDR3 Gaming RAM. Never lag behind gaming standards with the only console that’s also an upgradeable Modular™ Computer that keeps up with the latest technology in the industry."

AND

http://www.xi3.com/piston/resource/1380561154000/pFAQ

AND
http://xi3.com/buy_now-piston.php

Primary Storage: 128GB SSD
Hard Drive Standard- Internal 128GB SSD
8GB RAM
3.2Ghz Quad Core (R464)

 

[Roph]

It's basically $300 worth of components sold for $1000. Anyone in their right mind will avoid this for the plague that it is.

 

[flynnski]

It's basically $300 worth of components sold for $1000. Anyone in their right mind will avoid this for the plague that it is.

Pretty much nailed nearly all Apple products to a T ..

 

[Sasqui]

So many revolutions going on in my living room.

Think I need to vacuum.

 

[Steevo]

39



Yeah.......


I think its going to be a piece of something.


So I see they added a second SATA connector, and they said they doubled the storage by adding it, but I am unaware of where they state its doubled, only that it could go up to 1TB, and by those simple but unclear statements I could have 10X the storage as I have the SATA ports for it!!!


And hey, we added a card slot so after paying more than the cost of a much faster PC, you could either put in a slow memory chip, or pay MORE for a kinda fast memory chip.

 

[RCoon]

Just so everyone knows, Xi3 is a fake company, it's one single guy working from his basement. These Piston boxes are just mini-pc's bought from alibaba.com, hence why on the website it says preorder. Because he has no stock, he orders them from a factory. He went to some marketing show - invited by Valve - and they handed out cheques, but Gabe insisted that these cheques DID NOT IMPLY endorsement of any kind, merely to keep making advancements. Of course Xi3 lied and claimed he was the manufacturer etc, and decided to hop on the Steambox bandwagon, despite Valve saying in March, they had nothing to do with the Xi3.

News websites need to stop giving the Xi3 publicity, because its one giant troll. This thing wont last longer, because its not good enough to run Doom 3D(huge exaggeration), let alone anything else.

It has the same specs as the AMD A10-4600M if you want to look that up for performance comparisons

 

[DannibusX]

Ha. These dudes came out and said Valve had subsidized the development of the "console" to which Valve said no, and now just after Valve announces SteamOS, Steam Machines and their controller these guys announce pre order availability.

GG Xi3, using interest in Valve's developments to try and push this onto the market. I seriously hope Valve has a Nintendo-like Seal of Quality or whatever they used to have on officially licensed hardware.

 

[RCoon]

Ha. These dudes came out and said Valve had subsidized the development of the "console" to which Valve said no, and now just after Valve announces SteamOS, Steam Machines and their controller these guys announce pre order availability.

GG Xi3, using interest in Valve's developments to try and push this onto the market. I seriously hope Valve has a Nintendo-like Seal of Quality or whatever they used to have on officially licensed hardware.

I hope somebody swiftly crushes Xi3 into nonexistence, and we never get news reports about them again unless they are being liquidated into mulch.

 

[Prima.Vera]

1000$?!? You kidding me? I suspect for that price that the GPU is a 7970M, but can even be shittier...
Waiting for reviews.

 

[AsRock]

It's basically $300 worth of components sold for $1000. Anyone in their right mind will avoid this for the plague that it is.

Well no chance of it becoming the plague either at that price HAHA.