Thanks, Lon, for another detailed & insightful review. (By the way, I never realized that two 4GB ram sticks provide better performance than a single 8GB stick - thanks for the tip!) I have owned and enjoyed several different Chrome OS devices over the years, but in general I have always been puzzled by two basic design choices that just don't make sense to me. First, since these Chrome devices are dependent on a cloud-based operating system, why would so many of them (especially a desktop computer like this HP Chromebase) fail to include an ethernet port? Second, what is the point of the feature-poor toy keyboards that come with most Chrome devices? Granted, both of these deficiencies can easily be rectified with inexpensive peripherals, but isn't it time for manufacturers to start treating Chrome devices as fully mature computers rather than just quick-booting web browsers? For that matter, Chrome OS has the potential to be as comprehensive and powerful as any computer software, rivaling even Windows and Mac, but Google seems uninterested in fulfilling that potential. Why? These are rhetorical questions that I don't expect answers for, but I think the functionality that's curiously missing from Chrome devices dissuades many people from investing in them.
Regarding keyboards: when I got my 3rd Chromebook a few years ago, the all aluminum 14 inch clamshell Acer, it was curiously nearly identical to my MacBook Air. Among the similarities is the keyboard, simple, with a glass-like excellent large trackpad, premium keyboarding feel. I was shocked on such a low end unit, with Celeron 3150. It ran decently with the older iterations of ChromeOS, before it became more feature rich.
I think they are inching towards that point. I think one of the challenges is the vast array of processors that Chrome supports (both ARM and x86) so it was probably easier to implement a browser based solution vs. more robust functionality. Where these are really successful are in schools for obvious reasons - the low cost of hardware, ease of management and minimal need for anything more than a browser are really attractive. I think we are seeing them inching towards a more full featured OS with their Linux container. It's working really well now and we'll be seeing more support for it (i.e. Steam) in the near future.
I absolutely love the form factor. If I was in the market for a budget desktop setup, the vertical touch screen would be really compelling. Reviews have been scarce, and the ones that have been out are almost always about the Pentium version with 4 GB of RAM. Glad to see some more stuff on the i3 version.
I picked up that entry level one for $399 at Office Depot, and I impressed with its performance. I also have an ASUS i3 with 8GB so I can compare. Somehow, when I really load it down (like I do with the ASUS) the Cog app shows I'm using 100% RAM yet I'm still crusing, fast-scrolling on Facebook, watching a video in the corner. Still I'm going to upgrade the RAM...
could you comment? what happens with side by side windows after an display rotation? do they switch from left/right to to/bottom ?@@IntoTheLightAstrology
@@ttlstar3553 It depends: if you have two windows in a split screen arrangement, then yes, they'll shift to a vertical split screen. However if you have more randomly side-by-side, they will remain overlapping side-by-side when you rotate to vertical.
Glad to see it's still holding up. I would wish they would make a sequel out of it. Maybe some improvements. I would really like to see the option to use the monitor as a stand-alone HDMI output pin. So that way if the computer broke or if you outgrow it the monitor wouldn't be useless. But still I almost bought this thing many times. I just had too many computers at home to justify it. But at one point it was at an office Depot for like 200 bucks on Black Friday.
I have multiple of these units (three of them), and would be interested in connecting them so that i can use all three computers simultaneously..... would someone kindly provide me with directions on how to do so? I'd greatly appreciate it
Lon, do we see any Chrome OS keyboards coming down pretty soon? One of my biggest holdouts on making old devices chromebooks is the lack of the proper keyboard. Once you use a chromebook you will know what i'm saying. Like I use the screen capture key combo all the time. I would not want to use Chrome OS on a windows keyboard.
I picked up an OMOTON Bluetooth keypboard on Amazon that reproduces nearly all functions of the Chromebook one. Some I had to figure out, or ask the company. It's cheap, lightweight, good feel.
thank you for the review. Can you please let me know the display refresh rate. One surprising thing is this is mentioned in specs of monitors. But I don't see it in AIO specs.
My only gripe with AIOs...and even moreso ChromeOS devices, is that once something breaks or if you wanna upgrade something, you can't. It's just not economical to me. I do love your videos though, Lon. Keep up the great work. However, this one has upgrade capacity....not something I saw being easy with most AIOs as of late.
I currently own one, been five months. I love the concept I believe in the Google brand where AI power is God😍. Google cloud based power is no doubt the future.. Unfortunately I had the replace the screen due to a line horizontal on the screen. HP replaced it free of charge even sent a loaner laptop which was 😎. I am dealing with the mouse and keyboard loosing Bluetooth connection from time to time ... Maybe a update will come through for the connection issues. Love my chrome base all in all
I've watched a few reviews, yours is tops, so thank you! I recently picked up the Pentium version on a retailers sale, which came with 4GB RAM, a configuration not mentioned on HP's website. I want to upgrade to 8GB, but am not sure if my model has one or two slots, 2X2 or 1X4. Do you know where I can get that info, as well as the specific sort of RAM to order? FunFact: I have an 11th gen i3 Chromebook (15 in ASUS C536EA-BI3T3) with 8GB, that usually runs near capacity (based on the Cog slider view of RAM usage) and tried loading up my Chromebase equally, and found it performed very closely. What is interesting is while Cog showed I was using 100% it was still zipping along with a number of Facebook tabs, which are very resource intensive. I'm puzzled on that, but glad! 😀
you can upgrade it. Basically there are two versions, but also a page on HP to customize it. If you only have 4 gbs of ram you can add or replace the ram and ssd.
@@michaelcorcoran8768 Thanks Michael. Since I wrote that I figured out which RAM chip I needed, after both HP (India call center) and even Crucial (India call center) gave me mistaken info. The actual installation was a beast, with the video provided by HP (on UA-cam) being apparently from a pre-distribution model. It didn't fully match the 'guts' in mine. A delicate operation, all turned out well. The RAM bump makes a big performance difference, though still a clear step down from the 11th gen i-3 I have in an ASUS.
My 80 year old mother has been using windows for 15 years now and it is all she knows. She is looking at this as a replacement for her old computer. I am having a hard time finding info on how close to Windows it looks and feels. Can she have files on the desktop to put her photos and downloads in? Recycle bin? She uses Thunderbird for her email. Can something like that be used on this? She uses irfanview for resizing her photos. Basically she only browses, checks email, downloads eztv torrents and resizes images. She has trouble understanding my tablet and apps and my Mac is beyond her comprehension. Will this work for her or can you suggest a reasonably priced Windows PC? Oh and can I attach an external HD for more space? Thanks
I'd suggest sticking with Windows - ChromeOS will be a very different experience for her. Lenovo has some nice all-in-one PCs that would be a good alternative. I think HP has a few too that are nice.
I like this, even though I’m primarily a macOS fan. However how long will it receive OS updates? I’ve been bitten before by short lived OS updates on a chromebook, which has really put me off ChromeOS machines.
The price point should be $369.97. That’s because it looks like the overall quality of the “Nest Hub 2.” I have that hub. Trust me this is not like an apple-level thing.
Acer Aspire 5 A515-45-R8K1 Slim Laptop | 15.6" Full HD IPS | AMD Ryzen 7 5700U Octa-Core Mobile Processor | AMD Radeon Graphics | 8GB DDR4 | 512GB NVMe SSD | WiFi 6 | Backlit KB | Windows 11 Home // COULD YOU DO A REVIEW ON THIS PC PLEASE ? :)
Could get away with a USB 3.0 to Ethernet for cloud gaming. This device would be perfect for older family members looking to just browse the web and video chat
Hi thank you for your video review.. Looks good but its a pity it has the HP name. I have had and still have issues with my hp laptop. Bigger waste of Au$1200 I have ever spent. HP don't even want to know me. No warranty left.. Cheers for now.
Really slick form factor. For an all in one email and browsing machine for that price is a steal.
I think this is the perfect kitchen computer! Thanks for the in-depth video.
Thanks, Lon, for another detailed & insightful review. (By the way, I never realized that two 4GB ram sticks provide better performance than a single 8GB stick - thanks for the tip!) I have owned and enjoyed several different Chrome OS devices over the years, but in general I have always been puzzled by two basic design choices that just don't make sense to me. First, since these Chrome devices are dependent on a cloud-based operating system, why would so many of them (especially a desktop computer like this HP Chromebase) fail to include an ethernet port? Second, what is the point of the feature-poor toy keyboards that come with most Chrome devices? Granted, both of these deficiencies can easily be rectified with inexpensive peripherals, but isn't it time for manufacturers to start treating Chrome devices as fully mature computers rather than just quick-booting web browsers? For that matter, Chrome OS has the potential to be as comprehensive and powerful as any computer software, rivaling even Windows and Mac, but Google seems uninterested in fulfilling that potential. Why? These are rhetorical questions that I don't expect answers for, but I think the functionality that's curiously missing from Chrome devices dissuades many people from investing in them.
Regarding keyboards: when I got my 3rd Chromebook a few years ago, the all aluminum 14 inch clamshell Acer, it was curiously nearly identical to my MacBook Air. Among the similarities is the keyboard, simple, with a glass-like excellent large trackpad, premium keyboarding feel. I was shocked on such a low end unit, with Celeron 3150. It ran decently with the older iterations of ChromeOS, before it became more feature rich.
I think they are inching towards that point. I think one of the challenges is the vast array of processors that Chrome supports (both ARM and x86) so it was probably easier to implement a browser based solution vs. more robust functionality. Where these are really successful are in schools for obvious reasons - the low cost of hardware, ease of management and minimal need for anything more than a browser are really attractive.
I think we are seeing them inching towards a more full featured OS with their Linux container. It's working really well now and we'll be seeing more support for it (i.e. Steam) in the near future.
I know this is 2 years ago but I guess Chromebook plus would probably be to some degree their answer to that.
I absolutely love the form factor. If I was in the market for a budget desktop setup, the vertical touch screen would be really compelling. Reviews have been scarce, and the ones that have been out are almost always about the Pentium version with 4 GB of RAM. Glad to see some more stuff on the i3 version.
I picked up that entry level one for $399 at Office Depot, and I impressed with its performance. I also have an ASUS i3 with 8GB so I can compare. Somehow, when I really load it down (like I do with the ASUS) the Cog app shows I'm using 100% RAM yet I'm still crusing, fast-scrolling on Facebook, watching a video in the corner. Still I'm going to upgrade the RAM...
could you comment?
what happens with side by side windows after an display rotation?
do they switch from left/right to to/bottom ?@@IntoTheLightAstrology
@@ttlstar3553 It depends: if you have two windows in a split screen arrangement, then yes, they'll shift to a vertical split screen. However if you have more randomly side-by-side, they will remain overlapping side-by-side when you rotate to vertical.
@@IntoTheLightAstrology Thanks
@@IntoTheLightAstrologyout of curiosity, how has it aged? I've been wondering if they'll ever pump out a sequel
I keep thinking orange and white stripes for the VLC edition.....
It's so awesome! We have had ours for years and it's the perfect machine. Simple, easy to maintain, and secure. HP nailed it on this one!
Glad to see it's still holding up. I would wish they would make a sequel out of it. Maybe some improvements. I would really like to see the option to use the monitor as a stand-alone HDMI output pin. So that way if the computer broke or if you outgrow it the monitor wouldn't be useless.
But still I almost bought this thing many times. I just had too many computers at home to justify it. But at one point it was at an office Depot for like 200 bucks on Black Friday.
i have this same computer im on it now and i cant find the sd card insert? im trying to edit my yewchoob videos...
I have multiple of these units (three of them), and would be interested in connecting them so that i can use all three computers simultaneously..... would someone kindly provide me with directions on how to do so? I'd greatly appreciate it
Lon, do we see any Chrome OS keyboards coming down pretty soon? One of my biggest holdouts on making old devices chromebooks is the lack of the proper keyboard. Once you use a chromebook you will know what i'm saying. Like I use the screen capture key combo all the time. I would not want to use Chrome OS on a windows keyboard.
I picked up an OMOTON Bluetooth keypboard on Amazon that reproduces nearly all functions of the Chromebook one. Some I had to figure out, or ask the company. It's cheap, lightweight, good feel.
Theres.a.good handful of chrome os specific keyboards online, research
I found one here from Logitech: amzn.to/3MYJ6hU
Keep up the great work
thank you for the review. Can you please let me know the display refresh rate. One surprising thing is this is mentioned in specs of monitors. But I don't see it in AIO specs.
My only gripe with AIOs...and even moreso ChromeOS devices, is that once something breaks or if you wanna upgrade something, you can't.
It's just not economical to me.
I do love your videos though, Lon. Keep up the great work.
However, this one has upgrade capacity....not something I saw being easy with most AIOs as of late.
Yeah although as you note this has upgradable RAM and storage. Replaceable and upgradable.
Great video as usual. One question: Can this be used as an external display? Thanks
Unfortunately no
Can you play full screen games that you buy on play store like: scythe, mysterium, catan, stratego, clue? Thanks
Good review. Wondering if anyone has tried running MS Teams on this unit?
Very nice review.
I currently own one, been five months. I love the concept I believe in the Google brand where AI power is God😍. Google cloud based power is no doubt the future..
Unfortunately I had the replace the screen due to a line horizontal on the screen. HP replaced it free of charge even sent a loaner laptop which was 😎.
I am dealing with the mouse and keyboard loosing Bluetooth connection from time to time ... Maybe a update will come through for the connection issues.
Love my chrome base all in all
It’s an HP, why would Google handle the warranty repair?
@@frosty.winnipeg correction HP handle the repair . :)
Hey do you have Steam installed on yours? I was wondering if it can handle running Stardew Valley under steam lol
@@benjifrater6077 I use it mainly for business
what happens with side by side windows after an display rotation?
do they switch from left/right to to/bottom ?
Beer context; every time Lon rotates the screen 😉
28 times
Does web cam work in portrait mode. If so what does the video look like?
can you use google voice assistant??
Could I connect my Xbox to the display?? If so then I would pick one up immediately.
Does this have an ambient light sensor?
I've watched a few reviews, yours is tops, so thank you!
I recently picked up the Pentium version on a retailers sale, which came with 4GB RAM, a configuration not mentioned on HP's website. I want to upgrade to 8GB, but am not sure if my model has one or two slots, 2X2 or 1X4. Do you know where I can get that info, as well as the specific sort of RAM to order?
FunFact: I have an 11th gen i3 Chromebook (15 in ASUS C536EA-BI3T3) with 8GB, that usually runs near capacity (based on the Cog slider view of RAM usage) and tried loading up my Chromebase equally, and found it performed very closely. What is interesting is while Cog showed I was using 100% it was still zipping along with a number of Facebook tabs, which are very resource intensive. I'm puzzled on that, but glad! 😀
I'm pretty sure it just has two slots at least according to the teardown video: ua-cam.com/video/GP4Y-0oGmPY/v-deo.html
you can upgrade it. Basically there are two versions, but also a page on HP to customize it. If you only have 4 gbs of ram you can add or replace the ram and ssd.
@@michaelcorcoran8768 Thanks Michael. Since I wrote that I figured out which RAM chip I needed, after both HP (India call center) and even Crucial (India call center) gave me mistaken info. The actual installation was a beast, with the video provided by HP (on UA-cam) being apparently from a pre-distribution model. It didn't fully match the 'guts' in mine. A delicate operation, all turned out well. The RAM bump makes a big performance difference, though still a clear step down from the 11th gen i-3 I have in an ASUS.
Is 4 GB good for light business. Like editing videos, documents, etc?
Documents yes, video iffy depending on the app being used
I'd jump on one of these if it was slightly bigger and had a modern ryzen chip like the 6600h with the RDNA2 graphics baked in.
For its price excellent I would say!
The traffic cone design is an odd choice, but I don't hate it. What I am not a fan of is the latest trend of cloth wrapped plastics.
My 80 year old mother has been using windows for 15 years now and it is all she knows. She is looking at this as a replacement for her old computer. I am having a hard time finding info on how close to Windows it looks and feels. Can she have files on the desktop to put her photos and downloads in? Recycle bin? She uses Thunderbird for her email. Can something like that be used on this? She uses irfanview for resizing her photos. Basically she only browses, checks email, downloads eztv torrents and resizes images. She has trouble understanding my tablet and apps and my Mac is beyond her comprehension. Will this work for her or can you suggest a reasonably priced Windows PC? Oh and can I attach an external HD for more space? Thanks
I'd suggest sticking with Windows - ChromeOS will be a very different experience for her. Lenovo has some nice all-in-one PCs that would be a good alternative. I think HP has a few too that are nice.
@@LonSeidman Thanks you so much for quick reply. Cheers
I've thought before "why doesn't someone make a chrome OS iMac" I guess they do lol
With all the "old Intel" iMacs becoming EOL there will be a huge second hand market shortly. Mine is running Linux now.
mine won't download most apps, absolutely hate it. I can't wait to buy new computer with windows.
It looks like design by an IKEA designer
I like this, even though I’m primarily a macOS fan. However how long will it receive OS updates? I’ve been bitten before by short lived OS updates on a chromebook, which has really put me off ChromeOS machines.
Oops forgot to mention that - it's good through June of 2028
@@LonSeidman strange I thought it was supposed to get 8 years from its release which would be 2029.. maybe that's only for laptops.
Is this good for playing roblox and hooking up a Nintendo switch
The price point should be $369.97. That’s because it looks like the overall quality of the “Nest Hub 2.” I have that hub. Trust me this is not like an apple-level thing.
Acer Aspire 5 A515-45-R8K1 Slim Laptop | 15.6" Full HD IPS | AMD Ryzen 7 5700U Octa-Core Mobile Processor | AMD Radeon Graphics | 8GB DDR4 | 512GB NVMe SSD | WiFi 6 | Backlit KB | Windows 11 Home // COULD YOU DO A REVIEW ON THIS PC PLEASE ? :)
Could get away with a USB 3.0 to Ethernet for cloud gaming. This device would be perfect for older family members looking to just browse the web and video chat
WOW
Does anyone know if Call of Duty Mobile can be installed on this?
It won't run, bexause cod mobile was designed to soley run on ARM chips not intel so I'd be a poor performer
Not compatible - it wasn't available for install.
Thank you for replying. I really like this computer.
great for kids.
But will it Windows? 🤔
Under 600.00 ? 599.99 probably
Hi thank you for your video review.. Looks good but its a pity it has the HP name. I have had and still have issues with my hp laptop. Bigger waste of Au$1200 I have ever spent. HP don't even want to know me. No warranty left.. Cheers for now.
That base is hideous