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.
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
Hubble Examines 16 Psyche, the Asteroid Worth $10,000 Quadrillion
Researchers just finished an ultraviolet survey of 16 Psyche, the ultra-valuable asteroid NASA plans to visit in 2026.
Samsung, Stanford Built a 10,000 PPI Display That Could Revolutionize VR, AR
Ask anyone who has spent more than a few minutes inside a VR headset, and they'll mention the screen door effect. This could eliminate it for good.
Nvidia Unveils Ampere A100 80GB GPU With 2TB/s of Memory Bandwidth
Nvidia announced an 80GB Ampere A100 GPU this week, for AI software developers who really need some room to stretch their legs.
IBM Plans to Reassign 31,000 Workers, Will Cut 10,000 Positions in 2018
IBM is firing over 10,000 workers and reassigning 30,000 more as part of yet another round of downsizing and reassignment.