Asus Announces Chromebox 4 With Support for 10th Gen Core Processors

Asus Announces Chromebox 4 With Support for 10th Gen Core Processors

Chromebooks are so plentiful these days they might as well grow on trees. There are fewer Chromeboxes — small form factor desktop computers that run Chrome OS — but Asus has been keeping its line of Chromeboxes updated. It just announced a follow-up to the 2018 Chromebox 3, the predictably named Chromebox 4. This device starts at just $289 and comes with a selection of Intel CPUs including 10th Gen Core chips.

You probably wouldn’t be able to tell the new Chromebox 4 from the Chromebox 3 at a glance — they’re both unimpressive black slabs (5.85 x 5.85 x 1.58 inches) with the Asus logo in the middle. That’s not surprising, though, because value is the name of the game in Chromeboxes. You can get a Chromebook with a slicker design and more features, but the displays add substantially to the cost. A Chromebox hooks up to whatever monitor you’ve got around and usually provides more ports and better thermals than a Chromebook.

The base model Chromebox 4 has an Intel 5205U Celeron CPU, which is more powerful than what you’d find in a similarly priced Chromebook (remember, you supply your own screen, keyboard, and mouse). You can also upgrade to a Core i3-10110U, i5-10210U, or i7-10510U. The i7 is probably overkill for a Chromebox, though. The base model starts with 4GB, which is fine for light workloads. 8GB is also an option, and that’s where you want to be for anything more than a few browser tabs.

Asus Announces Chromebox 4 With Support for 10th Gen Core Processors

One of the advantages of getting a Chromebox is that you’ll get more ports than the average (or even high-end) laptops of today. You get two HDMI ports, plus a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port that does Power Delivery and DisplayPort. That means you can attach three displays to the Chromebox 4, and it supports resolutions up to 4K. There are also five USB-A ports, including two on the USB 3.2 Gen 2 spec. There’s even support for Wi-Fi 6.

Like other small form factor PCs, Asus expects people will want to mount the Chromebox 4 to the back of a monitor. That’s why it comes with a new VESA-compliant mounting bracket that can lock the computer to the monitor, making it less likely it will grow legs and walk off. Asus expects to begin selling the Chromebox 4 in North America starting next month.

Continue reading

Micron Announces 176-Layer NAND, Volume Shipments Underway
Micron Announces 176-Layer NAND, Volume Shipments Underway

Micron has announced its 176-layer NAND today in an impressive step forward for the industry.

In Massive Shift, Apple Announces New Macs With ARM-Based M1 Chip
In Massive Shift, Apple Announces New Macs With ARM-Based M1 Chip

Apple saw huge success the last time it switched architectures to Intel, but this time? The jury's still out, but one thing is certain: Apple is about to make a lot more money.

Seagate Announces Its Own RISC-V Cores for Future Storage Controllers
Seagate Announces Its Own RISC-V Cores for Future Storage Controllers

To hit its 50TB per-drive target over the next few years, Seagate decided it needed a custom storage controller. RISC-V offered a solution.

Intel Announces New Optane Drives, 3D NAND SSDs
Intel Announces New Optane Drives, 3D NAND SSDs

Intel has announced a number of Optane and NAND storage devices coming to market in 2021, with a 3rd-generation Optane product on the roadmap thereafter.