ASUS CHROMEBOX 3-N020U Mini PC with Intel Core i7, 4K UHD Graphics and Power Over Type C Port, Star Gray

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This is a perfect device for someone who wants/needs a minimalist desktop. It boots within seconds like any other Chrome device, but if youre not familiar with anything other than a Windows machine, this is a welcome change. No need for anti-virus, etc. Its not limiting in the least, though someone moving to a Chrome device for the first time may need to make a few adjustments to how they work. However, in this day and age, when are you ever not connected to the internet? Unless you need a boatload of storage for your music library or something like that, or perhaps you need some intensive programs installed (image editing maybe?), then there really isnt a need for a full-blown desktop. Cloud apps have come a long way and even something like Only Office is a free and fantastic replacement for Microsoft Office. I really only need to print, scan, browse the net, and do word processing with a desktop, all of which can be handled via this Chromebox: printing via HPs Print for Chrome browser extension, scanning via the printers web interface, and word processing via one of the free cloud-based office suites. Its plenty fast for what I need it for, and it not only supports Android apps but also has support for Linux apps (in the dev channel, I think). Fast, secure, small footprint on the desk, etc. Ive been a Chromebook user for 4-5 years now, and now that Ive got the Chromebox, my house is more or less full Chrome. No regrets so far.

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Im not sure about the Celeron model, but I threw some DDR4 that I had in a laptop into the i3 model I purchased and it recognized it all and was very speedy. **Update** I originally tested with 16 GB sticks, recently 32 GB modules became available and I ordered some for my laptop but tested them in the Chromebox too, they are recognized and boot normally (though it takes a little bit longer to get anything on the screen while it enumerates all the RAM). While upgrading the RAM I observed that unlike the previous generation (Asus Chromebox 2 aka CN62) this one has holes for both the "short" M.2 and the "long" M.2 SSDs. You simply unscrew the standoff after removing the short drive that comes from the factory and then you can screw it into the long drive hole and install a much higher capacity SSD than is available in the "short" form factor. Currently I have only seen 256 GB or so at reasonable prices in the 2242 size (512 GB was crazy), while there are 1-2 TB drives available in the M.2 SATA 2280 form factor that arent insanely expensive. This model supports USB-C power delivery input as well as DP Alt Mode for video out, theoretically if attached to a monitor that supplies 60-65W it *should* work with a single cable connected (but has not in my testing with a Samsung monitor with 60W output). If the monitor also has a USB hub you could attach your keyboard and mouse to it and leave your Chromebox easy to unplug and take with you, youll just want a spare power brick until the monitor manufacturers supply the full 60W early enough for the Chromebox to boot. Somebody else mentioned they also couldnt run this off the USB-C from their Dell monitor, but I noticed that the i5/i7 version apparently comes with a 90W power adapter, and so far Ive only seen 1 monitor that supplies that much power, a 34" Dell I think, though I dont have one of those available to test (yet). At this point YMMV for powering it from a monitor, but you could use a USB-C dock/hub with DP or HDMI out and leave the keyboard and mouse plugged into the hub if you want a single cable disconnect. Because all the ports on this are USB3, you may want to pick up a USB2 hub or a "dumb" USB2 extension cable if you are going to use a wireless keyboard and mouse, otherwise you could use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to avoid that hassle. This Chromebox supports the Play Store (Android apps) and has Linux app support (woot woot) on the beta/dev channels and should be in stable soon. I havent yet grabbed a USB3/USB-C touchscreen monitor to test with Android apps, but I would imagine it works fairly well depending on the driver required for the screen, hopefully the one I ordered shows up shortly to test.

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Ive been tempted to get the expensive Google Pixel Chromebook, but wanted to see if I really could replace my Microsoft Surface tablet/laptop. The 8 GB ASUS Chromebox 3 was an excellent step into the world of SUPER Chrome plus Android apps. Chrome on this box is excellent; fast and responsive . . . more so than on my Surface or my faster desktop Windows computer. But the Chrome/Android apps are spotty at best (best example, Spotify installs, but doesnt work, so must go to the web version) and when they do work, they may or may not be full screen. This is not ASUSs fault: it is a great implementation. After several days of playing, Im not sure I will abandon my Surface for core work (I like the full versions of Word & Excel and even Lightroom), but may create space on my desk for the ASUS for fast always on Chrome use.

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I like everything about this Chromebox. It boots up quick and it is very quite. I upgraded the ram in it and now it has 8gbs and I also put a 128gb ssd in it. It is not necessary to do these upgrades because 4gb of ram and 32gb on storage is plenty on chrome OS. The first thing I did when I booted it up and log in was put it in the beta channel. I did this because in the beta channel linux apps is now supported. Having a terminal is a big deal to me. I have two monitor hooked up to the Chromebox and it does well. I know this machine is not a power house, but for me it works great for what I need. Ive been doing some python coding on it thanks to it supporting linux apps. Anyway, I am happy with this purchase and I recommend it.

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Exceeded my expectations. This New Chromebox 3 has a small footprint with plenty of inputs, 5 USB ports, an HDMI, also equipped with an SD CARD that accommodates a 128GB. It is fast and easy to add Play Store Apps. I love the picture on my 65" LG OLED, because it displays in 4k imagine. It has plenty of speed, memory, and options. If you are new to Google Chromebox let me first start by saying they are capable of doing many applications at the same time. You dont wait to connect to Chrome or searches. Within seconds you are enjoying your favorite content. It also syncs to your drive and your phone all in one easy step. Its abilities are endless and is a joy to work on. With both good memory and fast processor you will be enjoying your 4K content in just seconds. You can also hook up your favorite camera, microphone, 65 inch TV, the possibilities are only limited by your knowledge. I give this 5 stars easily for its performance. The Price is Right as well. So if youre thinking about buying a Chromebox this is the one. Thank you for reading my review. Any questions just contact me.

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This is a non-starter for my elderly mother, for whom I bought this, so she could access her email and for a little web browsing (without the problems associated with her now ancient and insanely slow PC). Unfortunately, and I hadnt realized this, every time you turn on the chromebox, you need to log into it by putting in your gmail credentials -- and, if you dont already have a gmail account, you need to create one before you can use this. This was a non-starter with my elderly mother. She doesnt use gmail for her email (shes long used an email account I set up for her on rackspace, using my url). So, even after we created a gmail account for her simply so she could use the chromebox, she became confused between the now two email addresses, despite our attempts to explain that the gmail account was only for logging into the chromebox and nothing else. After a couple of rounds of this confusion, we decided to give up on the chromebox and return it. I think well instead move her to a refurbished PC with an i5 processor and 8GB RAM -- and thats actually a little less than the cost of this chromebox.

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I got the one with i3 and 8GB RAM at about $475 or so. I really wanted an i5, but those are not available yet, at least on Amazon. Wouldnt have made much difference, Id think, and Im certainly glad I didnt shell out $700+ for an i7 model. Its not that theres anything wrong with the little box itself, and it fires up quick as a bunny, streams like a luxury liner, but there are really no apps I have found yet that have impressed me... especially the media apps for playing and managing videos... its all like Ive been kicked back 10 years technologically.... with the VLC and GOM players unable to do some of the simplest stuff I could do before. I mean if youre going to design something just for online media, why not help your apps designers adapt? BUT---- There are many things I do like. The small size and fewer required cables really help, even from the standpoint that I can just lean over and pull or push in a plug or a different cable... instead of climbing under the desk and pulling out a tower and having to get enough light down there to see where to put something... ah well. I like that its very easy to fire up, and it updates (if needed) instantly when turned on...thats cool. One odd thing though, I use Googles "YouTube TV" and have constant lip sync troubles. Maybe I am missing something, but I have my Asus M32 i5 sitting right next to me here and it does not have those troubles... Google? Whats the deal? Both of my machines are made by Asus and are using straight Google s/w... streaming from a Google source... so??? Chromebox is totally silent, runs cool as a cucumber... blows a little heat out the vents when Im streaming 4K, but not bad at all. Everything has been easy to set up and an easy learning curve... it just doesnt do all I want YET... Well get better apps when the designers realize theres a difference between android phones and chromebox/chromebooks... and maybe well start getting some real games one day too... that would be nice. But for now, I will continue to use my TWO systems side by side and wear out the carpet rolling my chair back and forth. Periphery: Logitech comfort wave wireless keyboard, wireless Logitech mouse, Samsung 28" UHD monitor, Panasonic high power audio system... plus a tiny 1TB external hard drive from Toshiba that I want to put my home 4K videos on, but havent done much with that yet. Edit: My ISP is now 50 Mb/s and my router is a verrrrry nice Arlo Satellite that blasts usable wifi 70 yards in all directions... the audio sync problem has been narrowed down to my expensive Sennheiser bluetooth headset which I use constantly... that headset works on my phone and my PC perfectly. My only workaround for the sync is to not use the headphones on the chromebox. I might try a different headset but I certainly should not have to do that. And... I wont mention that I still cant get the unit to print to my HP wifi printer even though it says its connected... because the other guy struggling with that was called an idiot. And I forgot to mention I have to click links many times to get a response other than a box popping up to tell me what the link name is... huh? I bought two new mice to fix the problem but they have the same result... sometimes they work with one click, but it has to be carefully centered on the box or icon or photo. 3.5 stars and decreasing.

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I love this device, and I am a huge fan of the chromebox. Sadly, there is no sound coming out of the HDMI port. I tried powerwashing, resetting, and installing all upgrades. The BT works, the mics port works, but no sound out of the HDMI port. ASUS support suggests replacing it. Ill update the review if the issue is resolved with the new unit. Update. Replaced the device and it works as it should.

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No its not a Mac and its not for games. But for a work machine to crank out docs, spreadsheets, and never (EVER!) lose a partially complete doc, this is the ticket. Its standard Intel graphics, so dont go crazy on a monitor. And get the best keyboard, because its going to get a workout. Why 5* ? Simply because theres no (none) time lost with this thing : no start-up time; no updates and lost time waiting; no installations that say "Hi!" or "working on it" and - goodbye extra cups of coffee. Oh, and no backup time - its automatic! Printers have to be "cloud ready and my pref is the less expensive HP, but that off subject. This is how computers ought to be have been for years now.

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Ive actually purchased two of these, model N019U, so the issues I have seen may not apply to other versions. The first one just locked up with a white noise screen after two days. The second did it after about 5 minutes. I suspect the devices didnt like my 2 year old Samsung TV. I returned one, and kept the other hooked up to an older Samsung, and after four days, it still has not locked up. I set the same screen resolution on both units so I suspect it has something to do with power on the HDMI cable, but who knows. I kept the unit, even though it has screen problems, and I really like the feature the unit has of using working with most apps from the android app store. I can use my favorite crossword puzzle app, the Pandora app, or the google music app. Too bad the amazon music app doesnt work. The other thing I like about the N019U is that it is very fast. Ive been using a four year old Chromebox, and sometimes it works well, and sometimes it just slows down. The N019U has been speed limited only by the websites Ive gone to. My guess is that there are just bugs that either ASUS or google still need to work out. Once they have them figured out, this should be a fine machine. Im adding on to this review that I also tried purchasing an HP Chromebox, and it also had trouble with my 4K TV. Ive found that if I set the screen resolution low enough, then I dont get the lockups. I have also found that I can cut down on the lockup frequency by connecting the USB-C to my TV through an adapter, rather than directly through the HDMI port on the box.

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