It's not going to be your main machine, but the HP Chromebox could be a simple and inexpensive choice for the right person
Chromebooks may be the talk of the town when it comes to Google's Chrome OS, but the tiny desktop-class machines called Chromeboxes have carved out their own niche as well. While they're primarily focused on education and business applications as video Hangouts machines, Chromeboxes are a great go-to choice for a cheap computer just like their laptop-style counterparts.
Several different manufacturers are in on the Chromebox game, but the most affordable model right now is the HP Chromebox starting at just $159. It's not as easy to pick up and get to computing right away as a Chromebook is considering you'll need to add your own screen and in some cases peripherals, but for a few specific use cases a Chromebox may be just the right tool for the job. Read along for our full impressions and review of the HP Chromebox.
Hardware, ports and connections
IT'S AN INCREDIBLY SMALL DESKTOP MACHINE.
The HP Chromebox is a pretty unassuming device, made to be compact and easily placed where you aren't going to see it. At 4.88 x 4.96 x 1.54 inches it's incredibly small for a desktop machine, easily stowed in a drawer with just a couple cables leading to it if you so desire. It's a square with rounded edges and few design flourishes, but it isn't ugly by any stretch (though it might be if you choose the turquoise color option). Even the power brick is small — about the size of a standard laptop one.
It also isn't particularly heavy and is built quite solidly. There's just a single vent on the back for cooling, which will kick out some hot air from time to time if you put your hand against it, and is all but silent in operation. There's just one button on the this little box — the power button on the front.
I quite like the look of the HP Chromebox, and the size is really something you can admire when you realize it contains an entire computer worth of components inside. It's notably smaller than even a Mac Mini, inching more towards the size of small set top boxes instead. I'm sure more than a few people will consider putting the HP Chromebox behind a TV for media purposes because of this.
PLENTY OF PORTS FOR ANYTHING YOU NEED TO DO, INCLUDING RUNNING DUAL MONITORS.
Considering its size, the HP Chromebox isn't light on ports. There are four USB 3.0 ports (two front, two back), both HDMI and DisplayPort out for video (including dual monitor support), analog audio out, an SDcard slot, Ethernet port and a security lock slot. There's also 802.11b/g/n Wifi and Bluetooth 4.0 inside for connecting to networks and peripherals. That's more than enough connectivity for a low-end desktop machine, and it's all stuffed into such a small package that you wouldn't expect much more.
On the inside you'll find a very basic set of internals that could be found in any Chromebook from early in 2014. An Intel Haswell Celeron processor at 1.4GHz, backed up by 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. Not your standard set of desktop internals, but enough for Chrome OS. I'll get further into the performance of this machine below, but it's important to point out that you're not getting anything revolutionary inside the HP Chromebox — it's just a modern Chromebook in a different form factor.
Keyboard and mouse
If you're not interested in buying a separate keyboard and mouse (or repurposing one you currently have) to go with your new Chromebox, HP also sells a bundled version of its Chromebox that comes with a Bluetooth mouse and Keyboard. The MSRP of the bundle is just $20 more than the stand-alone computer, which should set your expectations for the quality of these peripherals, and only comes in the white case color.
AN EXTRA $20 GETS YOU A CHROME OS KEYBOARD AND FUNCTIONAL MOUSE.
Although the HP Chromebox itself has Bluetooth, the keyboard and mouse actually connect via a small Bluetooth dongle that's included in the box. It's a bit odd at first to "waste" a USB port on a dongle when the machine has Bluetooth inside, but the nice thing is that the dongle and peripherals are pre-paired giving you a "plug and play" experience. If it wasn't pre-paired, you'd have to first use a wired keyboard and mouse to boot up and then pair them — not the best experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment