Best answer: The ASUS Chromebox 3 is a great choice for anyone who needs a powerful Chrome desktop for business or personal use. If you're in the market for a high-end Chromebox, you should look at the ASUS Chromebox 3.
A great Chromebox: ASUS Chromebox 3 ($470 at Amazon)
Ready for the future
If you're thinking $470 is a lot of money for a Chromebox, you're not alone. Sometimes though, that's what it costs to get the latest generation of specs and this is one of those times. While the ASUS Chromebox 3 runs Chrome OS, it's the hardware that makes it a bit more expensive.
To be clear — you can buy an underpowered version of the Chromebox 3, but you shouldn't. Buying a desktop with a Celeron processor makes little sense in 2019 no matter what OS it runs, and we think the Intel Core i3 version hits the sweet spot when talking performance and price. And it's pretty sweet.
If you want to make sure you'll be able to support everything Google adds to Chrome for a while, the Chromebox 3 has you covered.
Besides the 8th generation Intel CPU, you'll find 8GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, a full set of USB 3.0 and 3.1 ports, dual 4K monitor support, and true user-serviceability with standard SODIMM memory slots and a standard M.2 SATA interface for storage. If you were building your own powerful Chromebox, it would look a lot like this one does.
And you can find a good use for those specs, too. Chrome supports Android and Linux apps natively, so there are millions of games, productivity tools, finance managers and any other application you might need are available and some of them will put the fast hardware to good use. Even more casual use like browsing the web will benefit from better hardware.
Know what you're getting with Chrome
Still, $470 is a lot of money; it's enough that you'll want to shop wisely. The ASUS Chromebox 3 is worth the cost, but Chrome isn't for everyone. You won't be able to run your Windows applications like Photoshop or play AAA games with the included GPU, so many of the reasons to buy a powerful desktop PC aren't relevant. Chrome is designed to be simple and secure until you want to make things a little less simple.
Google has big plans for Chrome in the very near future. If you want a Chromebox that will support all the various tools and features Google adds to Chrome, the ASUS Chromebox 3 is a great choice.
A great Chromebox for home or work
It's one of the most powerful Chromeboxes you can buy and it shows as soon as you turn it on. If you need a business-class Chromebox, the Chromebox 3 is a great choice.
