Acer Chromebox CXI3 — flashed and ready for Linux
This is an Acer Chromebox CXI3, powered by an Intel Celeron 3867U (2 cores, 1.8GHz) with 4GB of DDR4 RAM and a 32GB M.2 SATA SSD. MrChromebox's custom UEFI firmware has been flashed, so this boots straight into any standard x86-64 OS — no ChromeOS lock-in, no Developer Mode hoops. Each unit has been fully tested (RAM, SSD, and a 30-minute stress test) before listing, and the SSD has been securely wiped.
Linux Mint is ready to go
This mini PC comes preinstalled with Linux Mint (XFCE variant): A fully-featured Linux desktop, ready to be used right out of the box.
🚨🚨 PLEASE NOTE: THIS DEVICE DOES NOT RUN CHROMEOS 🚨🚨
Why this is a great homelab box
The Celeron 3867U's HD Graphics 610 includes Intel Quick Sync Video, with hardware decode for 10-bit HEVC and VP9 (plus hardware encode for H.264 and HEVC) — real hardware transcoding, not something you get out of a Raspberry Pi:
- Plex / Jellyfin — Quick Sync handles hardware transcoding, letting the CPU stay free for everything else.
- Pi-hole / AdGuard Home — trivial workload, tons of headroom left over.
- Navidrome — a lightweight, self-hosted Subsonic-compatible music streaming server for your own library.
- Docker/Portainer host — room for a handful of lightweight containers, and RAM is easily upgraded (see below).
- Home Assistant, Tailscale/WireGuard node, or a small file/backup server.
- Light desktop / kiosk — Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are built in.
Power draw: This mini PC idles at about 4 watts (measured with a Kill-a-Watt). It SIPS power compared to most PCs, you won't even notice it on your electricity bill!
Connectivity: Gigabit Ethernet, built-in dual-band Wi-Fi (Intel Wireless-AC 7265, 802.11ac) and Bluetooth, HDMI plus USB-C video out for dual-monitor setups (tested with two 1080p displays; a USB-C to DisplayPort/HDMI adapter or cable is required for the second screen), 6 USB 3.x ports (5x Type-A: 2 front and 3 rear, plus 1x rear USB-C), a microSD card reader, and an audio jack.
Upgradeable: Unlike fixed-storage mini PCs, this one has two SO-DIMM slots (one populated, one free — drop in another stick to double your RAM) and a standard M.2 SATA slot (storage) — both are user-upgradeable if you outgrow the included RAM or SSD. Supports up to 16GB of RAM.
Why this beats a Raspberry Pi: A Raspberry Pi needs a separate power supply, case, and storage before it does anything, and prices keep climbing with DRAM costs. This Chromebox comes complete out of the box — power adapter, case, real SSD, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth — and goes well beyond a Pi on CPU/GPU: a real x86 CPU with genuine Intel Quick Sync hardware video transcoding, something the Pi's ARM SoC simply doesn't have. All that, for a fraction of the price.
Condition:
This is a used, functional device — expect good condition: some cosmetic scratching/scuffing from prior use, but 100% tested and functional. See photos for the actual unit.
What's included: Chromebox unit and original 65W power adapter.
