We recently shared news of a minor update to Celeron-based Chromeboxes out there on the market. Currently, Acer, HP and CTL have refreshed their entry-level devices with the much newer Kaby Lake 3867U Celeron processor. As I previously noted, there aren’t many discernible differences in this chip and the 3865U that debuted in the latest generation of Chromeboxes.
That being said, CTL’s new box has just gone up for pre-order with shipments beginning in August and their sale price makes it hands-down the best value around for this segment of Chromeboxes. The retail on the CBX1B is $289 but during the pre-order sale, you can score this one for only $259.
That’s $20 less than HP’s model and while it’s $10 more than Acer’s, there’s a very good reason. If you caught my Chromebox video a few weeks back, you probably heard me talk about how Chromeboxes are easily upgraded in the RAM and storage departments. Generally, you can give your box a decent boost in storage and/or memory for $30-40 if you have the know-how.
CTL has gone and done us all a favor by equipping the new CBX1B with 128GB of storage out of the box. So, you’ll get everything the other guys have for only $259 but you’ll get 4X the storage. Win/Win. My original pick for best Chromebox for the average user was the ASUS because of its ease of upgrade but I’m changing my opinion and going all-in with the CTL.
You can place a pre-order on their site today. These will make great devices for home, office staff and especially the classroom thanks to CTL’s industry-leading support service for schools that includes free 2-way RMA shipping for qualified EDU customers.
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