Asus Chromebox 2 i7-5500U 4GB 16GB $234.65 + Shipping (Free with Prime) @ Amazon US via AU

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eug on 26/02/2021 - 17:03 amazon.com.au (770 clicks)
Last edited 15/03/2021 - 11:37 by 1 other user

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This is a compact NUC-style computer that comes preinstalled with ChromeOS, includes a webcam according to the Asus page mini keyboard remote, has HDMI and DP out, Bluetooth 4.0, M.2 2242 SATA slot with a preinstalled 16GB SSD (it's ChromeOS after all), and slotted 4GB RAM that's upgradeable.

The lower power consumption and quiet fan levels make them great for things like Home Assistant, CCTV DVRs, HTPCs, an entry-level Plex server, VPN server, Asterisk/3CX, etc.

You can install Windows 10 or Ubuntu and Plex. There are just a few steps to follow to unlock the flash first.

The i7-5500U is not the most powerful nowadays but it'd be quicker than the Celeron CPUs you'd find in barebones NUCs at this price range.

If you're actually planning on using ChromeOS on it, do note that official support ends in June. You'd want to install a ChromeOS distro like CloudReady (which is by the official ChromeOS team).

Price History at CamelCamelCamel.

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• 

  Merlict on 26/02/2021 - 17:15

  Windows 10 on 4gb / 16gb storage
  Looool

  I don't think this has the webcam or speaker, that seems to be some other package deal.

  • 

    eug on 26/02/2021 - 17:36

    If you google the product code, the hits are for the meeting version of the Chromebox 2.

• 

  Speedster on 26/02/2021 - 17:16

  Chromebox 2. Cheap as it will only be getting ChromeOS updates until June this year.

• 

  Limbot on 26/02/2021 - 17:22

  +2

  Been thinking of having a Chromebox to supplement my Chromebooks, eyes lit up when I saw the deal and then…

  Need to upgrade the memory to 8GB
  Need to increase the storage to 64+
  As mentioned support ends June 2021 so would need to load Brunch or Cloudready onto it

  Not worth the effort. Might as well buy a NUC or an old refurbed USFF machine of higher spec and just load Brunch or Cloudready and miss all the intermediatary steps.

  • 

    eug on 26/02/2021 - 17:32

    +4

    Might as well buy a NUC

    But would a $230 NUC perform similarly to this i7-5500U?

    or an old refurbed USFF machine

    Yup if going down the used PC route, that can be an option. The lower power consumption of the U processor and silent operation of this makes it more attractive to me though.

  • 

    feral on 26/02/2021 - 21:57

    Thank you for highlighting Brunch, had not heard of that distro.

• 

  XanderYuan on 26/02/2021 - 17:23

  -1

  MacOS as well https://github.com/xjbhenry/asus-chromebox-cn62-hackintosh

• 

  m9 on 26/02/2021 - 17:23

  https://support.google.com/meethardware/answer/10008394?hl=e…

  Looked at gifting this Chromebox last month but decided not to as support is ending in June.

  Not really an issue if you're not using Chrome OS.

  • 

    Limbot on 26/02/2021 - 17:30

    +1

    @m9 Much more concise version of that doco (for non-meet units) here if that's any help :)
    https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366?hl=en#zip…

  • 

    eug on 26/02/2021 - 17:42

    +1

    Looked at gifting this Chromebox last month but decided not to as support is ending in June.

    I imagine you should be able to install something like CloudReady if up-to-date ChromeOS is desired.

    • 

      m9 on 26/02/2021 - 19:51

      +1

      Yeah that's an option but unable to tinker with it as I needed to ship direct to my non tech savvy aged friends.

• 

  ashanrath on 26/02/2021 - 17:47

  Oooh I was in the market for a NUC or SBC to replace my desktop Plex server with something more economical to run 24/7. No x265 hardware decoding on this but it's still great enough to handle a few streams in software. Hmmm

  • 

    ashanrath on 26/02/2021 - 17:59

    Scratch that, the CPU benchmark is horrible. Wouldn't bother with a Plex/jellyfin unless direct streaming only.

• 

  Bluebench on 26/02/2021 - 18:51

  +1

  Wait what, i7 5500U? As in, 5th Gen i7? In 2021??

  • 

    eug on 26/02/2021 - 19:10

    Yup! Must be new old stock.

  • 

    twig on 27/02/2021 - 13:56

    Wow I had to do a double-take on that too.

    Status Discontinued
    Launch Date Q1'15

• 

  BlueDiesel on 26/02/2021 - 19:52

  Would this be good enough to play games like Sims4…asking for a friend…

• 

  shaybisc on 26/02/2021 - 20:38

  -2

  They should be giving these away.

  • 

    eug on 26/02/2021 - 21:11

    +2

    There's a market for low-power PCs like the entry-level NUCs. This is more powerful than those being an i7-5500U, for around the same price.

    They'd be used for things like Home Assistant, CCTV DVRs, HTPCs, an entry-level Plex server, VPN server, Asterisk/3CX, etc. The lower power consumption and low fan noise makes it good for those uses.

    They can also be used as a desktop replacement, but I'd probably spend a bit more on a used Dell Optiplex Micro or something similar.

• 

  butter on 26/02/2021 - 21:55

  Perfect pfsense box if it wasn't for lack of interfaces

• 

  kozi on 15/03/2021 - 11:01

  I bought one of these to upgrade an old NUC, this unit does not come with the camera or microphone as the model number suggests, but it does come with an RF remote, with keyboard on the back… the power adaptor is US, not international, but is 100-240v so you should be able to use a travel adaptor? I already had a 19v 3.42a adaptor from my old NUC that worked a treat.

  The ChromeOS seems to be locked to enrolling in an enterprise account, I tried my regular Gmail account and it said it doesn't work with these, then tried a free Gsuite account I use and it said I lacked the licenses needed… which is okay by me, I intend on install ubuntu on it, but if you're planning on using the ChromeOS keep that in mind (unless there is a sneaky way of unlocking that side?)

  Unit is small and quiet like an NUC, and quite easy to upgrade, it takes laptop RAM DDR3 PC3L (low voltage), two slots, it came with 2x 2gb sticks, and its happily taken two 8gb sticks I had laying around. The storage is an M.2 2242 unit, I haven't upgraded this as it should do the trick for what I need from it.

  • 

    eug on 15/03/2021 - 11:34

    this unit does not come with the camera or microphone as the model number suggests

    Yup, I was surprised. Not sure what happened there. The seal on my box looked a bit loose - maybe someone took the webcams out to resell during the webcam boom last year!

    The power adaptor is US, not international, but is 100-240v so you should be able to use a travel adaptor?

    Yes that's what I'm using.

    The ChromeOS seems to be locked to enrolling in an enterprise account, I tried my regular Gmail account and it said it doesn't work with these, then tried a free Gsuite account I use and it said I lacked the licenses needed… which is okay by me, I intend on install ubuntu on it, but if you're planning on using the ChromeOS keep that in mind (unless there is a sneaky way of unlocking that side?)

    It defaults to kiosk mode. Press CTRL-ALT-S on that screen to switch to normal mode.

    I've converted one of them to a CloudReady installation. The steps are the same for any OS. In case anyone needs a rough guide:

    • Remove the write-protect screw inside the case
    • Enable developer mode
    • Boot up and login as guest
    • Press CTRL-ALT-T to open a crosh window, type shell to enter a shell
    • Install a full UEFI firmware with this Firmware Utility Script

    You can then boot any USB installer to install whatever OS. To install Cloudready, just download and run the installer on another computer. It'll write everything to a USB drive which you then boot the Chromebox off. Cloudready will run as a live install, to install it to the Chromebox SSD, click on the clock at the bottom right and click Install OS.

    If anyone needs more detailed steps feel free to ask and I'll help if I can!