# Does Alienware Steam Machine work on FreeBSD



## Phishfry (Sep 14, 2016)

I really like powerful mini PC's and they offer i7 Gen4 in these:
http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-steam-machine/pd

Anybody running one on FreeBSD?


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## Rod Myers (Sep 15, 2016)

The hardware looks like it "should" work.


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## ANOKNUSA (Sep 15, 2016)

Steam Machine FAQ said:
			
		

> *Q: WILL THE ALIENWARE STEAM MACHINE BE ABLE TO RUN WINDOWS?*
> A:The Alienware Steam Machine is pre-loaded with Valve’s SteamOS. It will support a Windows operating system but customers would be at their own risk to install it over what comes factory shipped.



So the answer is "No." Or at least, "This is a bad idea." No surprise there. The Xbox One and Playstation 4 run on multi-core AMD x86-64 CPUs. Would you try to run FreeBSD on one of those? If managed to install FreeBSD but it didn't work properly, do you think you'd get a refund? This is the same scenario. It's a locked-in hardware configuration with an embedded OS.


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## sizigee (Sep 15, 2016)

One can always clone the entire disk and try it out... if it doesn't work, just dd it back onto the disk.  Make a backup before you actually try it out.


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## SirDice (Sep 15, 2016)

ANOKNUSA said:


> It's a locked-in hardware configuration with an embedded OS.


Actually it isn't. It's just a custom PC with COTS hardware. As a matter of fact, you can download SteamOS and run it on your homebrew PC. SteamOS itself was/is based on Ubuntu but they've switched to Debian not too long ago due to licensing issues with Canonical.

The PS4 and Xbox are custom hardware that's indeed locked down, the Steam Machines are just customized PCs.


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## Snurg (Sep 15, 2016)

Beautifully small. But imho the 8GB max RAM limit spoils it all.


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## ANOKNUSA (Sep 16, 2016)

SirDice said:


> Actually it isn't. It's just a custom PC with COTS hardware. As a matter of fact, you can download SteamOS and run it on your homebrew PC. SteamOS itself was/is based on Ubuntu but they've switched to Debian not too long ago due to licensing issues with Canonical.



I'm aware of all that. Poor choice of terminology on my part. What I meant was that it's a strict hardware configuration that comes with a pre-installed OS with usage restrictions: what it comes with in the case is what you get. It's "customized" in the same sense that any Dell off-the-shelf PC is "customized." It comes pre-loaded with SteamOS. Now, you buy this thing, wipe SteamOS, and install FreeBSD. It doesn't work properly. Now you get to have the fun of figuring out what on Earth you're gonna do with this thing, 'cuz I'm sure there are anti-tampering safeguards in place to ensure your warranty is properly voided and keep you from returning it for a refund.

It's a canned system with one intended use; deviate from that use, and you accept responsibility for anything that goes wrong. Since the OP said "small" and "i7" were the only selling points, I'd seriously think twice before buying this thing. A DIY system could potentially be less expensive and better supported.


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## SirDice (Sep 16, 2016)

ANOKNUSA said:


> 'cuz I'm sure there are anti-tampering safeguards in place


There isn't. Like I said, it's just a customized PC. You can even build your own Steam Machine from scratch.


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## ANOKNUSA (Sep 16, 2016)

SirDice said:


> You can even build your own Steam Machine from scratch.



Yeah, I get that. But are you saying that I can buy one of these off-the-shelf Steam Machines, take it home, wipe SteamOS from it, play with it until I'm certain I'm unsatisfied, download the SteamOS installation image, reinstall it onto the Steam Machine, and bring it back to the store for a full refund? Is that right? If you buy this thing with the intention of using it for something other than what it's intended for, and it turns out not to work, are you stuck with it or not? If you can't return it, but in fact have the ability to customize the hardware inside it yourself, is it going to be worth it to replace the things that don't work with things that do, when you could have just purchased hardware that you knew worked in the first place?


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## Phishfry (Sep 16, 2016)

Lets drop this. I am not trying to cause unrest.
Could I build one for less. Probably, but I find the Alienware offerings worthy.

Truth is I will not buy this but I was wanting to flesh out the details of firmware locked or not. We see alot of people asking for small box recommendations. I was simply researching the high end offerings.


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## sizigee (Sep 19, 2016)

the steam machines can have a different OS.  People once said the same thing about mac's, and people (including me) got linux and windows onto it...  

its easy putting something else on a PC... but reverting it back to factory defaults can sometimes be a problem (if you didn't clone the drives first)


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