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ASUS Chromebox 3 — flashed and ready for Linux
This is an ASUS Chromebox 3, powered by an Intel Core i3-7100U (2 cores/4 threads, 2.4GHz) with 8GB 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 stress test) before listing.
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 i3-7100U's HD Graphics 620 includes Intel Quick Sync Video, with hardware decode for 10-bit HEVC and VP9 — real hardware transcoding, not something you get out of a Raspberry Pi or most Celeron-based mini PCs:
- 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 — 8GB of RAM and 4 threads give real room to run several containers at once.
- OPNsense / pfSense-style router-firewall — the i3-7100U supports AES-NI and comfortably clears OPNsense's recommended spec. Note: it has one onboard Gigabit NIC, so a USB3-to-Ethernet adapter is needed for a second interface if you want a separate WAN/LAN.
- k3s / Kubernetes cluster — buy three of these and you've got a legitimate multi-node k3s cluster for the price of a single "real" server. Great way to build hands-on Kubernetes experience for professional development without cloud costs.
Power draw:This mini PC idles at 3 watts (measured with a Kill-a-Watt). It SIPS power compared to most PCs, you won't even notice it on your electricity bill!
Upgradeable: Unlike fixed-storage mini PCs, this one has two accessible SO-DIMM slots (RAM) and a standard M.2 SATA slot (storage) — both are user-upgradeable if you outgrow the included RAM or SSD.
Why this beats a Raspberry Pi 5: A Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB) now runs $175 direct from Raspberry Pi — and street prices are often higher, up to ~$199 on Amazon — due to ongoing DRAM price increases. Add in another ~$35–40 for a power supply, case, and microSD card, and a comparable Pi 5 build lands around $210–240+ — before you've even installed an OS. This Chromebox matches the Pi 5 on RAM, comes complete out of the box, and goes well beyond it on CPU/GPU: a real x86 dual-core/4-thread 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.
What's included: Chromebox unit and original power adapter.
