I have an older PC with an i5 2500k and GTX 570. Should I upgrade my current PC and purchase a Steam Link, or just buy a Steam Machine?

Has anyone used either over reliable wireless?

Not me personally but I have a friend who LOVES his steam link and sees very little if any lag at all. (100% wireless)

as for your parts 2500k's are still decent cpu's. If anything I would try updating your graphics card and possibly your ram if you aren't up to 16 gigs.

Don't buy a Steam Machine, that's for sure. They are overpriced and underpowered.

Here's a recent topic about the Steam Link.

http://www.giantbomb.com/valve-corporation/3010-1374/forums/steam-link-controller-initial-impressions-1784505/

@boxxybae: Only at 8 GB RAM at the moment. The i5 shouldn't be much of a bottleneck if I get a great card then?

@barrock: Your CPU is fine. You can always overclock, too.

8 GB of RAM is still fine, too. You really do not need to upgrade to 16 GB for gaming.

@mike: Thanks. GTX 970 is a popular choice?

@barrock: Yup. 970 is a great card. and while you might not need to double up on ram right now keep it in mind. currently ram is cheap as hell and can really help deal with the whore that is windows.

@boxxybae: 8 gigs of ram is totally fine, if the guy has a little extra $$ to throw around then yeah by all means but you shouldn't need 16 gigs to run Windows.

Just get a new GPU and you're solid.

I just upgraded from a Core 2 Quad and GTX 550Ti to an i5 and GTX 970. I've been using it very effectively with a Steam Link, so I'll agree with those that are suggesting just upgrading your GPU.

Fantastic. I'll do just that. Are all 970's effected by the memory issue I've read about?

@barrock: It hasn't really been an issue for me, but I'm not playing at 4K resolution.

@barrock: The other good news is that the 970 consumes less power and runs cooler than your 570. It should be a direct replacement, just make sure your drivers are current and it's as easy as popping out the old one and putting in the new one. Same power connectors, too.

Do you recommend a particular brand?

And do they plan on releasing a new version any time soon or is it a good time to buy?

There is always a new GPU coming, but they are never announced far in advance because then people would stop buying the current stuff. Now is as good a time to buy as any since there aren't any rumored new releases coming out anytime soon. Especially since you are on a 570...the 970 is a HUGE upgrade for you. It really depends on what your budget is.

Check out EVGA. They have good customer service and a Step-Up Program, so at least if something new comes out within 90 days you can trade your 970 in. Otherwise, I like Asus because of their cooler design and I've had good luck with their hardware overall over the years.