Chromebooks have always given people the impression that most of them have relatively weak hardware specifications and mainly rely on Chrome OS and its software ecosystem to maintain operation. They are not mainstream products, but they have a certain acceptance in the education market. Such a computer is usually difficult to relate to the gaming laptops that most people will buy now. However, there have been rumors that Chromebooks will add independent graphics cards, but there is no further definite news. However, Chrome Unboxed, a foreign media that has recently been concerned about Chromebooks, found clues from the Chromium OS source code and believes that Chromebooks will have independent graphics cards, and the graphics cards should be made by AMD: 
▲Now that AMD GPU is possible, then NV… (Image source）
In terms of product positioning, Chromebooks have always given people the impression that the hardware is not very powerful, but with good system and software support, it is still affordable and high-quality. This positioning makes it appear to be quite weak in the computer market. It neither affects the mainstream of the world with its powerful system like Windows computers, nor does it differentiate itself with its powerful integration capabilities like Mac computers.
This phenomenon is also reflected in the specifications of Chromebooks. Generally speaking, Chromebooks usually choose ultra-low-voltage processors for processors, paired with an internal display whose performance is not as good as the desktop. This combination has almost become a formula. Even if you want to build a separate display chip, you must first consider whether the Chromebook can be used in terms of usage scenarios and needs. After all, even if a Chromebook can play some light games, if you want to play AAA masterpieces, the first question is whether the Chromebook intends to develop into a gaming laptop:
▲ Although Chromebooks currently don’t seem to have anything to do with gaming laptops, they might be in the future (Image source）
Chromebooks are not very good at playing big games. Chromebooks are thin, light, easy to carry, and are of high quality and low price. As a result, Chromebooks are often the darling of campus, but they are not what people think of when they want entertainment and relaxation. But recently, as foreign media Chrome Unboxed discovered new evidence showing that Chromebooks will add independent graphics cards in the future, this positioning may also be affected. With the hardware supporting us, the software just needs to work harder to keep up.
According to Chrome Unboxed, they discovered that a new Chromebook codenamed Mushu is in development and has a discrete graphics card. This is the first Chromebook known to be equipped with an independent graphics card. Interestingly, through source code analysis, a lot of specifications information has been dug up. For example, this internal display will be paired with Intel’s 10th generation processor, and as for the independent display, it will be AMD Vega 12 GPU:
▲You can find words such as AMD GPU and Vega 12 in the configuration file (Image source）
Although Intel has briefly collaborated with AMD in the past to launch hybrid architecture processors with built-in AMD GPUs. However, judging from the source code, this possibility is very low, so the Intel CPU and AMD GPU should operate independently.
The Vega 12 GPU is basically a desktop graphics chip. It is different from Vega 11’s positioning in the internal display (iGPU). If this information is reliable, then it may mean that AMD is actually converting the Vega 12 GPU from a desktop chip to a GPU chip suitable for mobile platforms, that is, laptops.
On the other hand, foreign media wccftech The AMD Vega 12 development board discovered in China was reported last year. Although this development board has the appearance of a general desktop graphics card, at its core it is a laptop GPU. This shows that this display chip should have entered the development stage earlier and was roughly completed around last year. Judging from the development board, this Vega 12 GPU has 4GB of display memory, 1024 CUs, and can be recognized by the Linux system, which is “out of the box”:
▲A development version of the graphics card identified as Vega 12 was discovered in China. It is said that the GPU chip on it is actually the Mobile version (Image source）
If the new Chromebook will have this unspecified Vega 12 GPU, we may see Google’s plan to let Steam or its own Stadia platform enter the Chrome OS system. Valve, a company owned by Steam, launched a software called Proton in 2018. This software will serve as a compatibility layer for Windows games, allowing these games to achieve excellent performance even when running on Linux systems.
Will Chromebooks become more and more e-sports-oriented in the future? Maybe it’s too early to talk about e-sports, but the opportunity to get better game support will give consumers an additional purchase option other than Windows computers. But if Chromebooks want to shake up the Windows empire, supporting independent graphics can only be regarded as a small step.
Source:Chrome Unboxed、Android Authority
Source: KOCPC Chinese