Information obtained from the website 9to5Google suggest that Google is working on a new hardware platform for Chromebooks dedicated to gaming, powered by Nvidia GeForce RTX GPUs, as part of the company’s efforts to bring ChromeOS closer to the gaming world. Based on this platform, two devices would already be in development and could be presented soon, considering some of the technical aspects discovered.
It’s no secret that the search giant has been investing heavily in trying to make ChromeOS a more gaming-friendly operating system. Through Project Borealis, the company brought Steam to Chromebooks — albeit in beta and in specific models — while working with manufacturers such as Acer, ASUS and Lenovo to launch “gamer Chromebooks”, more focused on streaming platforms.
The work should reach a new level in the coming months, as indicated by command lines and comments from developers made in Chromium, source code for Google’s system, seen by 9to5Google. There are two highlights, starting with the implementation of the possibility for Steam to access dedicated video cards in ChromeOS. Valve’s store, extremely popular with the gamer public, runs through virtualization, that is, inside a container without direct access to the hardware.
Modifications can be made so that the container can have direct access to the machine’s components, a step that seems to have been completed recently in Chromium. The second point, and possibly the most important, is the presence of new hardware reference platforms, which serve as a basis for manufacturers to plan their Chromebooks. Codenamed “Draco” and “Agah”, these platforms would focus on games, combining a 12th generation Intel Alder Lake processor with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 GPU.
The information reveals that Google’s focus would have changed to a new, more powerful platform, codenamed “Hades”, which would already be being used by two unknown companies for the Chromebooks “Cora” and “Zeus”. There are no details on these laptops, but the codes bring several specifications from “Hades”, which should give us a good idea of what to expect from derivative devices.
The “Hades” platform would be equipped with a 13th generation Intel Raptor Lake processor and a dedicated Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU which, according to recent tests, would perform close to that of an RTX 3060 Mobile with the benefits of the most modern architecture. There are also some very interesting aspects, normally seen in gaming notebooks with Windows.
System memory would be DDR5 and, for the first time on a Chromebook, could be swapped out to increase capacity. Hades would also have at least one USB-C port with “Extended Power Range” technology, which makes it possible to recharge the laptop using sources of up to 240 W. In addition, a “bypass” feature would be implemented to allow the device to remain connected outlet without recharging the battery, extending battery life and allowing the CPU and GPU to reach full capacity.
The features are attractive, but it’s hard to imagine that Google will be able to convince the enthusiastic gamer to migrate from Windows to ChromeOS. It is speculated that the proposal is to introduce the world of games to Chromebook users, and even offer a viable option for those who work with the system to have access to more powerful devices. It’s unknown when Hades and derivative solutions will go official, but the specs indicate there’s a chance we’ll know more in the coming months.
Steam on ChromeOS should expand compatibility
While we wait for more concrete information about the arrival of Nvidia GPUs to Chromebooks, the portal Chrome Unboxed found other interesting details in Chromium. The search giant also seems to be preparing to expand support for Steam, adding much more modest models to the list of compatible machines. Featured is the Lenovo IdeaPad Chromebook Flex 3i, whose codename “Nissa” was added to the Project Borealis code snippets.
The machine is basic because it is equipped with an Intel N100, Intel’s latest entry-level processor and a member of the Alder Lake-N family, designed for low-cost notebooks. The addition is surprising precisely because of the simplicity of the chip, which features only 4 high-efficiency cores (E-Cores, the same ones used in CPUs like the Core i7 12700K, for example) and a small GPU with 24 Execution Units (EUs) — in For comparison, a Core i7 1260P used in premium notebooks has graphics with 96 EUs.
As pointed out by the Chrome Unboxed, despite the inclusion of Flex 3i in Borealis, nothing guarantees that support will actually be implemented. And even if this occurs, the device will not necessarily perform for heavy games, and should be a viable alternative for simpler titles. The fact is that Google is increasingly interested in the world of games, and we should have news this year.
Source: 9to5Google, Chrome Unboxed
