Items tagged with xi3
A few years ago, you may have assumed that Xi3 was just a fad. But yet, here we are at another CES, and the company is making news once more. It came to fame by producing modular, low-cost computers that can be applied just about anywhere, from schools to small businesses to even Steam Machines. This year, Xi3 is touting its largest booth ever at CES (nearly 3x larger than prior shows), where it'll feature the Modular Computer line as well as the Steam-based PISTON Console. More than half of the booth "will focus on the business side of computing, leading off with a full-size mock-up of the "Patient Room of the Future" that features Xi3's new Near-Edge microSERV3R. Additionally, Xi3's in-booth...
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The face of home gaming is changing drastically this year, with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 both slated to make their U.S. debuts prior to the holidays. But what about the oddball from Xi3? After being teased a few days ago, the company has spilled the beans on the Piston's impending release. The Piston console will be available for purchase beginning on Black Friday: November 29, 2013. Why should you mark your calendar? Well, for one, the Piston is going to be even more advanced than what was initially announced. Storage capacity has been doubled, and its Ethernet controller has been optimized for gameplay traffic. It'll also ship with pre-loaded titles to get you gaming right away. Built...
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Valve earlier this week announced there will be several so-called "Steam Machines" in 2014, the official name for what the media was calling Steam Box. These Steam Machines are intended to run Valve's Linux-based SteamOS, and it's Valve's hope that users will interact with these machines using an official Steam Controller, the last of Valve's three big announcements. Where does all this leave third party players like Xi3 Corporation? While Valve has built a prototype Steam Machine, the real intent here is for third party manufacturers to take its blueprint and run with their own customized designs. Xi3 Corporation has shown considerable interest all along, and for a period of time, it was even...
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Xi3’s modular computers are intriguing to say the least, and now the company is expanding to the data center with a unique take on drive clusters in the FreeForm dataCENT3R. The structure features two vertical steel support posts with seven horizontal curved steel bars perched atop a metal base that has wheels. Attached to the horizontal bars are up to 96 Xi3 modular computers or microSERV3RS. The whole schmeer measures about four to eight feet tall depending on how many drives are installed, and the structure is seven feet wide and two feet deep. “For decades, I.T. Administrators and Professionals have been handcuffed into a paradigm that says Data Centers have to be built a certain...
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It's not a question of if there's a Steambox on the horizon, but when and for how much. How does right now and under $1,000 float your boat? Xi3 Corporation is now accepting pre-orders for its "Piston Console" PC, otherwise known as the Steambox, or at least one version of it (with Valve playing it coy, it's entirely possible other PC makers might build their own versions of the Steambox). The Piston starts at $1,000 though there's a $100 discount for anyone who places a pre-order between now and the end of SXSW 2013, which concludes on Sunday, March 17th. Xi3 is expecting these things to sell like hotcakes. "Given the amount of awards, media attention and gamer interest the Piston Console has...
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Although Xi3 made CES headlines for other things this week, the company has some tasty wares to show off in the form of its unique modular computers, and we got a firsthand look. There are just a handful of models in the lineup thus far, but despite their small size, these machines pack a wallop. The X7A is the highest end unit in the group and should offer dual- or quad-core APUs (up to the 3.2GHz R-464L) with up to HD 7660G graphics (supporting a max resolution of 4096x2160) and 384 programmable cores. What sets Xi3’s computers apart is the modularity of the devices. Essentially, the motherboard is split into three smaller boards, each with a different purpose and set of chips. For example,...
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Earlier, we came across a hot item about Valve and their rumored Steam Box gaming console. Word came out that modular PC maker Xi3 was Valve’s hardware partner on the project and was showing off the result, a beautifully designed computer called the Piston. However, when we eagerly scooted over to Valve’s booth here at CES 2013 in Las Vegas, they told us that the story simply was not true. According to Valve, there are several--potential--hardware partners, and in fact that’s pretty much all Valve’s booth is for at CES; press wasn’t allowed in. When we pushed a bit for more details, Valve’s representative was polite but firm: We were unable to enter the booth...
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For the past several months, the Internet has been flush with rumors about a so-called Steam Box that has the potential to revolutionize PC gaming. Such things have an unfortunate way of disappearing into a place called VaporwareVille (the only "Ville" not owned by Zynga), but lest you fear the same fate awaits the Steam Box, check out what showed up at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. A company called Xi3 showed up with a modular computer codenamed "Piston," which Valve and Xi3 confirmed is a "computer game system optimized for Steam gameplay." In other words, this is the Steam Box we've been hearing so much about, Polygon reports. Image Source: Polygon The Piston is an altered...
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Apple and PC doomsayers like to talk an awful lot about the so-called post-PC era, but you know what? Desktops are far from dead, "they've just been boring," claims the developers of the Xi3 Modular Computer project. They want to change the way computers are built, serviced, and upgraded, but first they need to raise a quarter of a million dollars. Where else to try and do that other than Kickstarter? "One of the biggest problems with desktop computers is that they have to be replaced every few years. They’re also expensive to operate, have roughly the same specs, look like each other, etc., etc., etc. In other words, they’re expensive, boring, and extremely unfriendly to the planet....
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At Google I/O earlier this month, Google introduced (briefly) a Samsung-labeled Chrome desktop box. But while it looked a lot like the Mac Mini, there still aren't any true details to show people what it may be capable of. Google also stated that they'd continue to push Chromium for those who want a taste of Chrome on a non-sanctioned machine, and it looks like Xi3 is jumping on that notion to make a timely announcement. The Xi3 Computer isn't new; those following desktops will likely recognize the form factor here. But there's a new twist to this -- the ChromiumPC computer is a cube-like, small form factor, low-power (20Watts) dual-core modular computer that can be adapted to run other operating...
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CES 2011 is just around the corner, and that always means that innovative ideas will start to pop up as the show draws closer. Many show attendees have already submitted their products for CES 2011 design competitions, and it looks like one company that will definitely get a lot of attention there is Xi3. You probably haven't heard of this company selling desktops along with Shuttle, Dell or anyone else, but you will soon. Xi3 has won a CES 2011 Innovations Award in the Computer Hardware Category, all thanks to the interestingly designed Xi3 Modular Computer. This unit measures under 4" per side and is powered by a selection of 64-bit x86 dual core processors. The real kicker? Xi3 says this may...
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