Steam Machine looks like, teasing the less fortunate

Unless you're part of a select group of beta testers (or happen to be handy with Linux), you're probably reading this in a home without access to a Steam Machine. Wondering what you're missing out on? A handful of Valve's 300 beta testers are happy to rub their good fortune in your face and clue you in. The aptly named "SteamMachineBetaTester" Tumblr and Reddit user Colbehr have kindly documented their Steam Machine unboxings, revealing the same form factor we saw last month packed into a well padded wooden crate. Well, there is one change: Valve has drilled out a hole in each of the test units ventilation grates, marking the test device with a representative blemish on one of the vent's 300 perforations.

The complete kit comes with the beta hardware itself, a prototype Steam controller, HDMI, USB and power power cables, a USB Steam OS recovery thumbstick and a removable WiFi antenna module. True to Valve's promise, the beta rig is serviceable too, with disassembly instructions helpfully spelled out in the device's instruction manual. It's hard not to be a little jealous, but at least you've got options: check out the tester's galleries at the source links below or, you know, build your own.