ASUS Chromebox CN60

The ASUS Chromebox is a square sized compact mini computer that runs on Chrome OS. It has the latest, Haswell based Intel Core i7 processor inside that ensures smoother multitasking performance. The unit supports 4K Ultra HD video playback. It comes in three variants: one with Celeron Processor having 2 GB RAM, with i3 with 4GB Ram and with i7 processor with 4GB RAM. All other specs are same across these models.

Elegant design

The tiny desktop looks elegant, features black matte finish with Chrome logo sculpted at top left corner. There are 2 USB 3.0 ports on front with SD card and a Kensington lock on side. The display port, HDMI port, 3.5 mm Audio Jack, 2 USB 3.0 ports and an Ethernet port are housed at the back.

The Chromebox is lightweight and compact and can be placed almost anywhere and can connect to multiple displays at once and even attach to any VESA-mountable monitor or HD TV.

Useful software

The Chrome OS has been designed for a specific set of purpose and functionality and caters to Google-only products and services. The interface uses as little screen space as possible and everything runs in the form of web pages. There is no pixel-based screen positioning; instead everything operates in a full-screen mode.

The bottom left corner has a row of icons looking like a Start menu as in Windows PC, followed by the icons of Chrome, Gmail, Google Search, GoogleDocs and YouTube. Apart from Chrome icon that opens up like an ordinary-looking browser window, the rest of them open their respective websites as new tabs in
a browser.

Superb performer

To review the performance we tested the Chromebox CN60 with the AOC Full HD (1920*1080p) monitor. It needs all-time internet connectivity. The apps run smoothly without any performance lag. We ran browser specific benchmark tools to check for browser capability. Sun Spider completed in 159.1 mili seconds while Kraken took 1213.1 milisecond. In Peacekeeper it scored 5543. The results prove that the Core i7 processor can handle heavy web browsing and performs well above other Chromebooks tested in our labs.

You get 100GB of free Google Drive space free for two years to access all your data and files in the cloud by logging into your Google account. All your documents, presentations etc are opened in Google docs and saved automatically to your Cloud Storage. The Chromebox lets you edit documents, play games and use other popular apps without an internet connection. The file app behaves like a file manager and displays content of Google Drive and downloads folder, plus any USB drive plugged in also pops up here.