Asus' $179 Celeron-based Chromebox Shipping March 14
Cheap and cheerful little Chromebox from Asus.
Early last month, hot on the heels of the Consumer Electronics Show, Asus announced a mini PC it called the Chromebox. As the name suggests, this device runs on Google’s web-based Chrome OS. At the time, Asus said it planned to launch this mini computer in March. Now we have a release date for the little guy.
Online retailers now have the computer up for pre-order with a release date of March 14, which is next Friday. No word on whether the Chromebox will also be available in retail stores, though Engadget reports that Newegg, TigerDirect, and Amazon are all selling the device, so you’re spoiled for choice on the web at least.
This model packs the Celeron 2955U and Intel HD graphics with 2GB DDR3 RAM and 16 GB of SSD storage. Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be any listings available for the higher powered Core i3 or Core i7 models, though you can expect the price to jump alongside the bump in processor. Customers can also choose to double the RAM to 4 GB, but no word on the cost for that, either.
Chromebox will also sport dual-band Wireless N and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, Gigabit Ethernet, four USB 3.0 ports, one HDMI output port, one DisplayPort jack, one audio output jack, a Kensington lock and a 65 watt power supply. The Core i3 and Core i7 models will come with support for 4K/UHD 4K resolution displays, too.
Follow Jane McEntegart @JaneMcEntegart. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

No it's not gaming oriented, but nor was it intended to be. This is a Chromebox, not a Steambox. Very different things. The Chromebox is designed to run Chrome OS, a lightweight operating system based on the Chrome web browser running mostly web based applications that require very little processing or graphical power. Those suggesting using it as a Steam Machine are planning on replacing Chrome OS with Steam OS or some other Linux distribution.