A powerful AMD-powered Chromebook might be in the works if rumors are to be believed. Not only is this Chromebook going to be powered by AMD, but it also will allegedly feature a dedicated GPU of a powerful variant.
Many are asking why create such a Chromebook in the first place with gaming laptops already dominating the market? The answer might surprise you.
Are The Rumors Credible?
Chromeunboxed’s very own Luke Short has found references regarding the build configuration of the supposed build, codenamed “Mushu.”
Mushu is rumored to be a Chromebook with a respectable AMD Radeon Vega 12 dedicated GPU.
Of course, Short looked for more information and discovered a development board found on eBay some time ago that could be another indicator of what the Vega 12 GPU might entail. It’s said to have 4GB of high-speed memory, 1024 compute cores, and driver support offered for Linux.
As Chrome OS is also based on Linux, it may run native Linux apps more efficiently.
The specs alone are not going to wow people right off the bat. However, the Mushu Chromebook will reportedly be by far the most powerful of its kind.
TechRadar explained that current Chromebooks only come with integrated GPUs as compared to the supposed dedicated GPU Mushu might offer. To be clear, there is still no official title for the most powerful Chromebook that Valve is working on. So, we only have these details to go by.
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Why Create A Chromebook This Powerful?
Chromebooks are already known to be your work devices that get tasks done easily. However, more intensive usage is not a strong point of Chromebooks.
To put it simply, Chromebooks are the go-to alternatives for people who don’t want a bulky laptop as their daily driver, and opt-out for a smaller package that does the same basic tasks.
Furthermore, Chrome OS allows developers and manufacturers to use less powerful components, making Chromebooks less resource-dependent as compared to its Windows brothers and sisters. As a result, Chrome OS works smoothly for most of the user experience.
Short has come up with theories as to why Valve would make one now.
Rumors surrounding Valve and Google might be having talks about bringing Steam to Chrome OS is reported by Android Authority. This would mean that PC games for the most part can now be played within Chromebooks via streaming games from other PCs.
Codename “Hatch”
Short was able to find that the same hardware currently used for Mushu, codenamed “Hatch,” is being used to test how Steam works on Chrome OS. If true, Steam running natively could mean that Chromebooks would now have a wider range of games to play than ever before.
Valve has been working with a solution to allow games for Windows 10 to work natively with Linux called “Proton.”
Valve co-founder and managing director Gabe Newell was recently asked about bringing Steam games to consoles and he replied by saying: “You will get a better idea of that by the end of this year… and it won’t be the answer you expect.”
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Written by Alec G.
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