PlayStation 4 and Xbox One VS CyberPowerPC Steam Machine
CPU
Packing powerful octo-core processors, both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles are powered by AMD’s Jaguar APU technology. The core clock speed of Sony’s latest console is 1.6Ghz, and it can be overclocked to 2.75Ghz max per core. On the other hand, Microsoft boosted the clock speed of its latest living-room console to 1.75Ghz after giving a 10% performance boost to the CPU.

Now talking about CyberPowerPC Steam Machine, it comes with an A6-6400K 3.90Ghz CPU from AMD. Simple it is, the A6-6400K delivers more severe performance per core compared to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4′s overclocked tablet-style APUs, despite the fact that the number of cores in the latest consoles is comparatively higher. Now AMD’s A6-6400K could be surpassed with those titles that prefer multi-threaded design configurations, but there is not an ample number of those titles presently.

GPU
The APUs for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One bind the CPU and GPU of the consoles to share an end, but they are still clocked in a distinctive manner which allows them to compete with what will come packed in the OEM Steam Machines. Sony arranged an 800Mhz core clock speed with 18 compute units for its latest console and also performed some custom design work on its GPU, thanks to which, the PlayStation 4 can outshine its rival gaming console by a theoretical performance rate of up to 50%. On the other hand, Microsoft upgraded the Xbox One’s GPU by 53Mhz, coming up with a total of 853Mhz core clock speed and 12 compute units.

Now, the CyberPowerPC Steam Machine runs on a Radeon R9 270 GPU with 2GB GDDR5 VRAM. Comparatively, the PlayStation 4 GPU performs closer to a Radeon HD 7870, this clearly means that the R9 is about 17% more faster in terms of memory bandwidth and 11% more powerful in terms of pixel computations, as mentioned by Hardware Compare chart. The R9 270 can also outshine PlayStation 4′s GPU by overclocking with proper conditions. Comparing it to Xbox One’s underclocked 7770 equivalent GPU, the R9 270 can leave it in dust in terms of memory bandwidth by about 150% and 100% in terms of pixel rate.

RAM
The PlayStation 4 console rocks 8GB of GDDR5 memory that is shared between the CPU and GPU on the APU. It is still not sure how much of it is required by the operating system of the console, but most reports suggest that only 5GB of usable RAM is left behind after fulfilling the OS requirements. The Xbox One comes with 8GB of DDR3 memory, and 32MB of high-bandwidth ESRAM, which is widely used for caching purposes. The operating system of Microsoft’s console also eats about 3GB memory and brings down the usable amount of RAM to 5GB.

On the other hand, the CyberPowerPC Steam Machine comes packed with 8GB of DDR3 dual-channel 1600mhz memory that can be overclocked. The amount of memory that SteamOS requires to run is still not properly known, but it asks for at least 4GB of RAM, which would mean that it only eats up about 1GB. This proves that the SteamOS requires smaller amount of RAM than operating systems of the latest video game consoles, and allows Steam Machines to reach scalable speeds.

Price
Both the latest PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles cost $399, while the CyberPowerPC Steam Machine has a price tag of $499. However, paying a $100 more won’t hurt much when you know that you are getting more power and performance, and given the open-source Linux -based SteamOS, you have the freedom to enjoy your favorite apps for free. Not to mention, online multiplayer gaming on Steam Machine PCs won’t cost you a penny, unlike the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One online subscriptions.

This comparison proves that while the latest consoles have their own place among gaming platforms, the CyberPowerPC Steam Machine is surely a better option if you are willing to pay only a $100 more for a living-room entertainment and gaming solution that packs better and powerful hardware specifications, and offers more performance and features. I know it will come down to the exclusive titles now, but don’t forget, we are only comparing the specifications and performance of the machines here, not the titles they are capable to run.
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