Asus has announced a new fanless addition to its Chromebox family: the Asus Fanless Chromebox. Like previous Asus models, the compact size of the Fanless Chromebox is designed to be mounted on the back of a screen or table to save space in workplaces that care about size. Perhaps unintentionally, it also looks almost exactly like a wireless router.
The dimensions of the Asus Fanless Chromebox reach about 8.15 x 5.82 x 1.26 inches, which gives its aluminum chassis a small rectangular shape. But the real aesthetic of the wireless router comes from the fluted design at the top of the box and the two adjustable antennas at the rear.
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Inside, the Chromebox features a 10th generation Intel Core or Celeron processor: you can choose between an Intel Core i7-10510U, an Intel Core i5-10210U, an Intel Core i3-10110U or a Celeron 5205U. It also offers up to 16 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of SSD storage.
Depending on the configuration, the Chromebox offers different ports, with the main difference between the Celeron and Core models being the number and type of USB ports: the Celeron model has a combination of two USB 2.0, one USB 3.2 and one USB-C port , while Core models have three USB 3.1 ports and one USB-C port. All configurations have two HDMI 2.0 ports to connect to monitors and a microSD card slot to add extra memory.
Asus says the Chromebox’s specs, along with its fanless design, should allow it to connect up to three 4K monitors while running Chrome OS (and Android apps from the Play Store as well). With a starting price of $ 399, the Asus Fanless Chromebox can be a solid Chrome OS experience for the desktop – just don’t buy a wireless router by mistake.
The Asus Fanless Chromebox will be available in the U.S. in February 2021.