The Asus Chromebox is a surprisingly capable little desktop computer which sells for as little as $179 . It has an Intel Celeron 2955U processor, DisplayPort and HDMI, WiFi and Bluetooth, 4 USB 3.0 ports, an SD card slot, and unlike some cheap mini computers it comes with memory, storage, and an operating system.
But if 2GB of RAM and 16GB aren’t enough for your needs (or you plan to replaces the Chrome OS software with something a bit more resource-intensive), it turns out the Asus Chromebox has something else going for it: It’s easy to upgrade.
You can open the case by removing the 4 rubber feet on the bottom of the case and then removing the screws that were hidden by the feet.
After that you can gently pry open the bottom cover with a screwdriver or other thin implement (I couldn’t quite get a grip using just my fingernails).
Once the cover is off you’ll see two memory slots on one side of the case. Most retail models will ship with 2GB or 4GB of storage. To upgrade the memory, just slide in an extra stick of DDR3 RAM or replace the existing storage with a higher capacity module.
On the other side of the case you’ll find the wireless module and 16GB SSD. In order to get at the solid state drive you’ll need to first remove the screw holding the wireless module in place, slide it out, and then remove the screw covering the SSD.
Then you can just slide out the SanDisk SSD and replace it with a higher capacity model. The Asus Chromebox uses an M.2 SATA III SSD and you can find plenty of 32GB or larger models at Amazon. Most 42mm M.2 2242 drives should just slide into the space vacated by the original SanDisk SSD.
To be honest, 16GB of storage is probably plenty if you’re planning on using the Chromebox to run Chrome OS. But if you expect to install a large number of Chrome packaged apps, store a lot of music, movies, or other files, or install Ubuntu or another operating system, it’s good to know how easy it is to upgrade.
on a few photos I’ve seen that on the cpu side there’s another mini pci-e slot, on the ittle daugtherboard with sd-slot and buzzer.
anybody know if that slot is just simple mini pci-e or m-sata too?
I find this to be very informative. It is good to know how to upgrade it. I agree, 16 GB is enough for the ChromeOS but I also think it could be enough for the smaller operating systems too; like ReactOS http://www.reactos.org , Puppy Linux http://www.puppylinux.com and other similar operating systems.
Has anyone tried to install .. Android? Or XP on this? Wondering it its possible.
Not sure about android though….
I have windows 10 pro on one box and Ubuntu 18.04 on another, using EFI enabled bios from https://mrchromebox.tech, Just upgraded hard drive to 120 GB and Ram to 4GB for windows and for Ubuntu running on 2gb / 16GB stock. Please see list of supported devices from https://mrchromebox.tech/#devices. Infact you can put any Linux OS in this box. For windows I have only used Windows.
It is good for HTPC with low power and also this can be used as File server as you can attach 4 usb hard drive if you run this headless.
Yes it is very good for HTPC, If you have a 1080p Screen/Monitor/TV go with Asus CN60, if you have 4K TV, go with CN62. I use this as htpc as well as file server where I have 4TB hard drive connected to USB3 Port. If you connect Wireless Keyboard and Mouse, it will be better for HTPC.
ASUS CN60: Max 16GB, Supports Dual Monitor, Max 1080p on each Monitor.
I’m running Android-x86 4.4.2. It’s quite impressive. Only issues i’ve run into so far are screen lock which wraps up the CPU, HDMI audio isn’t working out-of-box and bluetooth became unavailable in OS after i messed up trying to pair keyboard/mouse Required a reboot to resolve and working fine if you pair properly. I wasn’t able to boot USB until implementing SeaBIOS from John Lewis. Google “John Lewis Asus Chromebox Owners Rejoice” for that. I’m not convinced that Windows can’t installed, so I’m working on that today.
Definitely want hear more about Android performance.
Also – I’m using a Dell E2014T touchscreen monitor which works perfectly out-of-box and much better than it does with the native Chrome OS. It’s like using a 20in tablet. Keyboard and mouse work fine though.
Nathan I am trying to use Dell E2014T Touchscreen but it is not running smoothly. Sometimes is responsive to the touch sometimes is not. Can you please let me know if you did something additional. I just got the monitor is out of the box.
But does does Chrome OS support 16gb of RAM?
Yes. I just completed my upgrade with 2x8GB DDR3L-1600 SODIMMs from Crucial (see photos for model number), and Chrome OS reads it without any problems.
Did you upgrade from the factory default 2gb, or had you already upgraded to 4 or 8 gb before you upgraded to 16? Have you found anything that utilizes all 16 gigs of ram?
Upgraded directly from the factory 2GB RAM. Nothing utilizes the full 16GB, but I’ll tell you, I can get a LOT more tabs open concurrently and performing without hitch. This machine really breathes at 16GB, no question. It’s noticeable.
I should add that remote desktop via ChromeRDP works FAR more efficiently now as well. These machines aren’t CPU-bound, they’re RAM-bound.
It seems like it would work as it’s the same as yours except only 4gb, but it turns out my Chromebox doesn’t detect it. I’m going to have to return it, but I’m just wondering if I messed up and ordered something that simply isn’t compatible or if it’s the memory that’s broken. Any ideas?
I bought the 8X2-16GB Kit, but they have 4, 8, etc. Worked fine for me.
Yes I have 16GB memory and it works on windows 10 and Linux.
What is the maximum RAM the motherboard can accommodate? Can it go up to 8 GB?
Just ran through this tutorial and successfully upgraded the Chromebox to 16GB of RAM.
Have people figured out how to boot Windows on these machines?
Apparently, that’s not yet possible and probably will stay that way.
So anyone found a way to boot into SeaBIOS and a desktop Linux distro without having to press a key combination each time?
I’d probably just leave it turned on. It’s fairly low power when awake, it can’t possibly draw more than a few cents/month worth of electricity when asleep.
I’m more concerned with reboots after kernel or other updates that require them. Especially when done through SSH. I had planned to make this into a server in addition to an HTPC.
Oh well, I’ll look more into the NUC and Brix. I was mostly interested in this because it was supposedly fanless but ASUS lied about that.
Hey Brad, Do you think this machine could manage as a SteamOS streaming box or is the Nuc a better choice?
The Chromebox requires PC3L-12800S RAM. If you install regular PC3-12800 RAM in it, it will not boot up. So, yay, this thing is easily-serviceable, but it’s a nightmare trying to find the exact RAM that it needs.
Some manufacturers use PC3L-12800S as a label others use PC3-12800.
Thanks! Makes more sense now.
Update: Got the 4GB version anyway.
So does this mean PC3L-12800S and PC3-12800 are the same thing? I’m looking to buy a Chromebox, and the 4gb ram version is priced 50$ higher than the 2gb one which I think is too much.
What Is the Maximum Amount of Ram and also the Maximum amount of SSD and what manufacture should it be?
I think 64 gb of ram is the max, i think its limited by the cpu. One of the advantages of the new x99 cpus is a higher ram capacity. AFAIK, there isnt a cap on ssd capacity, but i may be wrong. Also the brand shouldnt matter, as long as you get an established/reliable brand (Samsung, ADATA, Corsair, Crucial, GSKILL, Kingston, OCZ, PNY, SanDisk, Toshiba, Western Digital).