Acer CXI3 Chromebox pre-orders now open and start at $279

By Joe Maring
last updated

Seemingly out of nowhere, 2018's been shaping up to be an excellent year for Chromebox fans. Asus and HP both announced Chromebox hardware during this year's CES, and a few weeks later, Acer unveiled its new CXI3. Acer's Chromebox has since gone up for pre-order, and pricing sounds more than reasonable.

There are a few different models to choose from, with the most affordable coming in at just $279.99 (opens in new tab). For that price, the CXI3 comes equipped with a dual-core Intel Celeron 3865U processor, 4GB of RAM (upgradable to 16GB), and a 32GB SSD. Alternatively, you can go all the way with the $744.99 (opens in new tab) model with a quad-core Intel Core i7 chip, 16GB RAM, and a 64GB SSD.

If you want something in between the lowest and highest-end models, Acer's also selling $469.99 (opens in new tab) and $511.99 (opens in new tab) models that come with 8GB RAM, a 64GB SSD, and an Intel Core i3 and i5 processor, respectively.

NextWarehouse says it'll have the CXI3 in stock on April 19, whereas CDW says it'll be available in 8 or 10 days. There's no date currently shown on TigerDirect, but it should be available around that same time.

See at TigerDirect (opens in new tab)

Joe Maring
Joe Maring

Joe Maring was a Senior Editor for Android Central between 2017 and 2021. You can reach him on Twitter at @JoeMaring1.

14 Comments
  • You can get a small cheap laptop for that much with 500gb of storage for $299
  • Exactly. Not much of a deal there.
  • And it will be crap in 8 months. A lot of good that does me. And this is a Chromebox which isn't even remotely in the same ballpark as a laptop as far as form factor.
  • Yeah, cheap laptops aren't the same as a $300 Chromebook, let alone a $700 16GB RAM Chromebox.
  • Very true - a cheap Windows laptop, which will be slower than molasses in January, can be had for $299.
    If looking for a fast, simple,low cost, secure laptop for less than $299, go with a Chromebook. I paid $199 for the Acer 14 aluminum laptop on a Costco deal, and got a mouse thrown into that deal. The Windows laptop of 500GB storage will be a slow 5400 spin HD -- trust me, those are slow. If you choose Windows, I would go with one with SSD inside, and expect to pay around $700, give or take. Windows is fine, Linux is fine, macOS is fine, as long as you get SSD. On the other hand, Chrome OS devices are mostly cheap speed, though you can go higher than $300 when buying and get into ridiculously high speed. No matter the level, they are built for a fast, and simple operation, while maintaining security without the need for adding anything outside of the original OS. Updates are fast. Adding extensions and apps is fast and simple. The learning period for the OS is a matter of a few hours or so, as you find out what works a bit differently with the OS. If you have a problem and quick Google of the question gets most every question answered. With simple GUI these days, most any OS can be tackled with a short period of time. Right click and Left click is your friend. I am sold on the concept as the way forward. For most everyone using a computer, Chrome OS gets it done. And Android on a phone is not anything all that hard to use. It is different than iOS for sure, but all in all, not all that complex a beast to control. No harder and perhaps easier in use than is iOS. Nothing these days is like trying to figure out DOS for the first time. :)
  • Typo: the title should read $279, not $297.
  • I literally just bought a Core i3 Acer laptop for $259. Why in the world would I want to pay that much for a Chromebox and then have to buy all the peripherals to go along with it?! Really not thought out well at all.
  • I'm not sure I understand. Why are you comparing a laptop to a Chromebox? Many times Chromeboxes are used as a media consumption device hooked up to the television in your living room or bedroom or potentially in an office as a desktop replacement of sorts. I don't want to look a laptop up to my television in my living room or bedroom. That's nonsense.
  • Simply comparing price per feature. If it's just used as a media consumption device, wouldn't a 4K Roku or Chromecast device be much simpler and cheaper?
  • Does it have SSD? Is the OS Chrome OS? If you are using the laptop as a box, as in additional monitor, with keyboard and mouse, you have to add those to your laptop as well, so what is the point?
  • I'm a huge fan of Chromeboxes. I have two Samsung i5 boxes that are amazing Chrome OS machines...as long as you have a PC too. My son has an Acer i3 $350 laptop without an an SSD that is way too laggy for me. Anyway, if you are working in the cloud, there is a great use-case for chromeboxes. P.S. Those prices are kinda sticker shock though
  • I'd like to get a Chromebox, but that is just way too much money for the hardware included. Google is really taking a cue from Apple, regarding pricing.
  • I think the pricing would be down to Acer not Google. I doubt even Acer are making any money on these.
  • It looks like a powerbank.