For a while, it seemed like Chrome OS desktops were a thing of the past. Seemingly out of nowhere, HP, Acer, and ASUS all announced new Chromeboxes at CES earlier this year. Details were scarce about Acer's CXI3 desktop, but now the full specifications are available. You can now pre-order the machine from TigerDirect and NextWarehouse, starting at $297.99.
Acer is selling four different variants of the CXI3, ranging from the Celeron-based model with 4GB RAM to the Core i7 version with 16GB RAM. Here are the general specifications:
SPECS
|
Processor |
Intel Celeron 3865U, Intel Core i3 (7th Gen) 7130U, or Intel Core i5 (8th Gen) 8250U |
|
RAM |
4-16GB DDR4 RAM |
|
Storage |
32-64GB m.2 SSD hard drive |
|
Connectivity |
3 x USB 3.0 (2 front, 1 rear), 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB-C 3.0, HDMI output, LAN (Gigabit Ethernet), headphones/microphone (1 in front), microSD card slot, Kensington lock slot |
|
Included Accessories |
Vertical stand, wireless antenna, VESA mounting kit |
|
Price |
$297.99 (Celeron), $469.99 (Core i3), $511.99 (Core i5), $744.99 (Core i7) |
The pricing seems pretty reasonable based on the specifications. Like many Chromeboxes and small desktop PCs, these have the U-Series Intel Core CPUs that are designed for ultrabooks. That means power consumption should stay pretty low - even the i7 variant only ships with a 90W power adapter. The vertical stand and VESA mounting are nice touches as well.
TigerDirect and NextWarehouse appear to be the only sites selling the Chromebox so far, but it should appear on Newegg soon. You can buy the Acer CXI3 from the links below.
Source: TigerDirect, NextWarehouse (Celeron, i3, i5, i7)
Via: Chrome Unboxed