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After a false start last week, Steam is finally officially available for a few Chromebook models. The Valve-owned digital storefront is now accessible on the Chromebook 514, 515, Spin 713, Flip CX5, as well as the HP Pro C640 G2 and Lenovo 5i. This limited number of compatible machines listed is due to the strict requirements that Google applies to certify a Chromebook for use with Steam. These hardware criteria state that systems must include Intel XE graphics, an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor of 11and generation and at least 8 GB of memory.
These rather high stats (for a Chromebook) put the vast majority of Chromebook models ever released out of the running. To make matters even more complex, Google has indicated in its Chromium blog post that games designed to run with 6GB of RAM may have difficulty on systems with 8GB of RAM due to a known problem. Similarly, models with built-in display resolutions higher than 1080p may experience “performance and scaling issues”.
The company says it is “actively investigating ways to improve these issues” and also promises to update and expand the list of supported models as soon as new hardware configurations are approved. Between the aforementioned performance bugs, a long list of known issues in Google’s blog post, and the fact that installing Steam currently requires users to first install a Dev Channel build of Chrome OS, it seems obvious that Steam on Chromebooks remains in a beta, if not alpha state.
That said, bringing one of the biggest and most popular digital game storefronts on the planet to Chromebooks would certainly benefit both Google and Valve. Provided that they manage to make it work well enough for users to adopt it enough to have a real impact on their respective sales charts. If you have one of the few supported models and you feel like an adventurer, however, be aware that the process is quite technical and may not be advisable for users who rely on the optimal stability of their Chromebook when used for other applications.
Source: ZDNet.com
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