Google has canceled plans for Nvidia GPU-powered Chromebooks

[Shawn Knight]

In a nutshell: Google has seemingly nixed plans for Chromebooks powered by discrete Nvidia graphics cards, dashing near-term hopes of those interested in AAA gaming on ChromeOS. Earlier this year, 9to5Google reported that Mountain View had been working on the project for over a year. The publication cited multiple internal prototypes including "Agah" and "Draco," and even referenced more advanced foundational hardware codenamed "Hades" that was to be used in retail devices.

Now, it seems those plans have been modified. About Chromebooks points to a recent code commit message noting the cancellation of Agah, Hades and Herobrine boards, all of which had one feature in common: support for Nvidia discrete GPUs. Bummer, eh?

Chromebooks have come a long way in recent years but they still lack the raw horsepower that the latest games demand. To date, manufacturers have essentially tried to fake it with gaming-grade features like high refresh rate displays and anti-ghosting keyboards but as they used to say in the automotive world, there is no replacement for displacement. In order to play AAA titles with all the eye candy, you're going to need a discrete GPU.

That does not mean Chromebooks are absolute rubbish for gaming. So long as you temper expectations and stick to older or less demanding titles, gaming on a Chromebook – especially a premium model – can be a rewarding experience.

Google maintains a list of games that they have personally tried and think users might enjoy, but notes that some might perform better on systems with higher specs like having 16 GB of RAM. Highlights include plenty of mid-2010 bangers such as Doom (2016), Fallout 4, Tomb Raider, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, among others. Cloud gaming is another area where a Chromebook can excel.

It is worth mentioning that Google might not have completely written off true gaming-grade Chromebooks. Earlier this year, it was reported that Google is working on new branding for higher-end Chromebooks, dubbed Chromebook X.

Image credit: Kind and Curious, Kubra

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https://www.techspot.com/news/99841-google-seemingly-cancels-plans-nvidia-gpu-powered-chromebooks.html

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I'd like more powerful chromebooks that can run the steam chromeOS beta, but nobody seems to want to make one with a ryzen 7800 series and 16-32GB of RAM, and core i5 stuff is running upwards of $1000 now.

 

[punctualturn]

Google just dodged the sharpest knife in the industry, lodging itself on Googles unsuspecting back.

Just ask Apple, EVGA, MS, Sony and all the others that did the mistake of working with them.

 

[yRaz]

Considering chrome OS is android based which is Linux based, having an nVidia GPU in a chromebook is just bad news. With AMD releasing the rx7000 series on laptops soon, it's the much better option. APUs on the low end and discrete 7000 series graphics in the high end. It also means I can get a chromebook and put my favorite Linux distro on it.

 

[sorten]

"Google has canceled"

You don't say. At this point is Google known more for its search engine or its habit of cancelling products?

 

[human7]

"Google has canceled"

You don't say. At this point is Google known more for its search engine or its habit of cancelling products?

To be fair, Google has cancelled more things than most companies ever dream of trying. Ambition is good. Google may have had too much unfocused ambition, though, and these days they seem to be putting themselves in the same place Meta is: at risk of being displaced.

 

[ZedRM]

Google has canceled plans for Nvidia GPU-powered Chromebooks.

Gee-wiz, what a shocker.. No one wants or asked for a highend gaming Chromebook.

High-end gaming on Chromebooks will have to wait

Here's a WILD and CRAZY idea... Buy a Windows gaming laptop, or even an Android Gaming tablet! Yes, yes.