ASUS Chromebox CHROMEBOX5A-S7162UN 2024, Core i7-1355U, 16GB, 256GB SSD, A1000, Black

A Chromebox with a sports car GPU and a bicycle storage compartment. The A1000 is cool, but 256GB of storage in a $1,014 box is a joke.

The i7-1355U is a solid 10-core chip, and pairing it with an A1000 GPU is genuinely interesting for a mini PC. In our database, the GPU sits at the 67th percentile, which is respectable for this form factor. But the CPU lands at the 42nd percentile, and the RAM at the 32nd. That's a mismatch. You've got a discrete GPU that wants to do real work, but the memory and processor hold it back. The 256GB SSD is the real kicker, sitting at the 13th percentile. That's one of the smallest drives we've seen in a machine with this kind of GPU. You'll be juggling files constantly.

Stack this against the Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra and it's not even a fair fight. The Mac Studio obliterates it on CPU, GPU, and storage, though it costs a lot more. The Lenovo Legion Tower 5a Gen 10 is a more interesting comparison. It's a tower, not a mini PC, but it gives you way more performance per dollar if you have the desk space. The HP OMEN GT16-0364 and Dell ECT1250 both offer better balance for similar money. Honestly, the only reason to pick the Chromebox 5a is if you specifically need ChromeOS in a tiny box with a discrete GPU. That's a narrow niche.

At $1,014, this is a tough sell. You're paying for a discrete GPU and a Core i7, but you're getting a storage setup that belongs in a $400 budget box. If you need a mini PC for ChromeOS specifically and you'll use that A1000 for something real, maybe. But for most people, this is overpriced for what you actually get. The storage alone makes it feel like a bad deal.

The ASUS Chromebox 5a is a weird one. It's a Chromebox, which usually means cheap and cheerful, but this config packs an Intel Core i7-1355U and a discrete NVIDIA A1000 GPU. That's a lot of muscle for a machine that runs ChromeOS. The problem is, the rest of the spec sheet doesn't keep up. 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD in a $1,014 box feels like putting racing tires on a minivan. It's fast in short bursts, but you'll hit the storage ceiling before you can really stretch its legs.

If you're looking for a general-purpose mini PC for home or office work, this isn't it. Go get a Mac Mini or a decent Windows mini PC instead. You'll get more storage, better reliability, and a more flexible OS for the same money. The Chromebox 5a is for a very specific person, and that person already knows who they are.

Skip it unless you have a very specific need for ChromeOS plus a discrete GPU in a mini form factor. The A1000 is a nice touch, but the 256GB SSD and 16GB of RAM make this feel like a prototype, not a finished product. For $1,014, you can do better almost anywhere else.