The much-awaited dream of high-performance gaming Chromebooks with Nvidia graphics support seems to be slipping away. Last year's speculations hinted at a thriving gaming environment on ChromeOS, with the integration of Nvidia GPUs. The buzz grew louder when, in October, several manufacturers unveiled gaming-centric models, albeit with integrated graphics. But recent developments suggest this promising avenue may be coming to an abrupt halt.
About Chromebooks, known for their keen observations, have unearthed details in Google's code suggesting that the anticipated Nvidia Chromebook projects have been terminated. Google remains silent, withholding any official comments on these findings.
The potential demise of these projects comes as a blow for the ChromeOS gaming community. The discontinuation of Google Stadia was already a setback, but many remained optimistic, given the integration of platforms such as Steam and Nvidia's GeForce Now in the gaming models revealed last October.
The limitations of integrated graphics are well-acknowledged. While they cater to a broad range of games, they falter when tasked with graphics-intensive AAA titles.
Nevertheless, if you're keen on the ChromeOS gaming experience, options like the Chromebook 516 GE offer commendable features, sans the discrete GPU. With its QHD 120Hz display and responsive keyboard, it provides a decent cloud gaming journey, though with substantial data consumption.
