Google, Acer, Asus and Lenovo are launching three new Chromebooks designed for gaming in the cloud. A revival for these small PCs which have long been seen as machines reserved for office automation.
Chromebooks were launched as inexpensive computers designed for students. Very limited in their beginnings, they have since gained in usefulness. Not only has the hardware part evolved, but the application base has grown to work even offline and offer a large number of alternatives to the software we know on Windows and macOS. The arrival of the Google Play Store has also brought thousands of additional applications to these small PCs.
Video games on Chromebook
With the arrival of cloud gaming services like Nvidia GeForce Now, Google Stadia (RIP) and Xbox Cloud Gaming, Chromebooks have also been able to access high-quality games, but on machines that were not necessarily for them. That’s why Google, in partnership with a few market players, is today announcing three new gaming-oriented Chromebooks.
Here are the Acer Chromebook 516 GE, Asus Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip and Lenovo Ideapad Gaming Chromebook.
The main novelty of these Chromebooks is the increase in the refresh rate of their screen, ranging from 120 to 144 Hz, respectively in WQXGA (2560 x 1600 pixels) or in Full HD. In addition, they are equipped with anti-ghosting keyboards for better consideration of simultaneous actions (RGB obviously), as well as Wi-FI 6, even 6E, for a more stable and faster wireless connection.
High technical characteristics
For Chromebooks, these three new representatives are rather well equipped. We find on board 8 or 16 GB of RAM, 11th or 12th generation Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processors depending on the configuration and SSDs from 128 to 512 GB in PCIe 3.0.
The Asus even has an HDMI port and the Acer adds an Ethernet port to this to avoid using a dongle.
GeForce Now, Xbox Cloud Gaming and Luna
The GeForce Now application is directly installed on these three Chromebooks, but it is also possible to go through other services such as Amazon Luna or the Xbox cloud. Three months are also offered with the purchase of these devices for the GeForce Now RTX 3080 and Amazon Luna + services.
For the Nvidia service, the integration goes even further since the computer’s search engine is able to launch a compatible game directly.
At the end of the year in France
In France, the Acer Chromebook will be available in December. The other two won’t arrive until the first quarter of 2023. Prices in euros are not yet known, but they should start from 399 dollars.
Google also announces that certified accessoriesWorks With Chromebookยป come to guarantee a good gaming experience. Among them, we find the HyperX Cloud II headset, the SteelSeries Rival 3 wireless mouse or the SteelSeries Stratus + controller.
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