Gigabyte recently updated its BRIX line of small form factor PCs to include Intel Haswell processors, 4K display support, and additional IO port options. The new BRIX systems measure 29.9mm x 107.6mm x 114.4mm and feature a chassis constructed of anthracite aluminum with a glass top panel. The new BRIX PCs come in four SKUs, each of which comes with an Intel Haswell processor of i7, i5, i3, or Celeron varieties.
The BRIX PCs come with the case, a small Gigabyte motherboard, an Intel CPU, and a wireless module with 802.11n and Bluetooth 4.0 radios. Users can choose their own mSATA SSD, DDR3 SO-DIMMs (two per system, up to 16GB), and operating system. The front panel of the Haswell-powered BRIX PCs includes two USB 3.0 ports and a headphone jack that doubles as an optical S/PDIF output.
The back panel of the BRIX system includes:
- 2 x USB 3.0 ports
- 1 x RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek RT8111G NIC)
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2 x Video outputs:
- 1 x Mini-DipslayPort
- 1 x HDMI
- 1 x DC-in
- 1 x Kensington Lock
Internally, the BRIX PCs have one Mini-PCI-E slot, one mSATA slot, and two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots. The Mini-PCI-E slot is used by the pre-installed Wi-Fi module, however. Processor options include the Intel Celeron 2955U, Core i3-4010U, Core i5-4200U, and Core i7-4500U. At the high end, the i7-4500U is a dual core CPU with HyperThreading, 4MB cache, and clockspeeds of 1.8GHz base and 3.0GHz turbo. The i5 also has turbo boost, but only up to 2.6GHz. The Core i3-4010U has HyperThreading but no Turbo Boost while the Celeron is stripped of both Turbo Boost and HyperThreading. The chart below lists all the processor specifications.
| BRIX Model | GB-BXi7-4500 | GB-BXi5-4200 | GB-BXi3-4010 | GB-BXCE-2955 |
| Processor | Core i7-4500U | Core i5-4200U | Core i3-4010U | Celeron 2955U |
| Cores / Threads | 2 / 4 | 2 / 4 | 2 / 4 | 2 / 2 |
| Clockspeeds | 1.8 GHz to 3.0 GHz | 1.6 GHz to 2.6 GHz | 1.7 GHz | 1.4 GHz |
| CPU Cache | 4MB | 3MB | 3MB | 2MB |
| Maximum RAM | 16GB | 16GB | 16GB | 16GB |
The new Haswell-powered Gigabyte BRIX PCs include the GB-BXCE-2955, GB-BXi3-4010, GB-BXi5-4200, and GB-BXi7-4500. Unfortunately, the company has not yet released pricing or availability for the SFF devices. More informtation on the Haswell models can be found on this Gigabyte microsite.
Read more about the Gigabyte BRIX platform and how it compares to the competition here.
I have been looking at these,
I have been looking at these, though also willing to get an AMD one if they were to offer one of those. What is the drop off from the i3 to the Celeron in terms of processor and graphics?
You lose hyperthreading, 1MB
You lose hyperthreading, 1MB of cache, and 300MHz clockspeed. I'm not sure on the graphics front, but it looks like they both have the same HD 4400 graphics though the Intel ARK site list the i3 as having HD 4400 and the Celeron as having "HD Graphics" in a rather vague fashion. The GPUS both have the same base and turbo clockspeeds though…
Mostly curious about GPU –
Mostly curious about GPU – semiaccurate reported before that the old celeron brix would have less than 20% of the GPU performance of the ivy bridge i3 model: http://semiaccurate.com/2013/02/06/intel-takes-swift-action-to-correct-nuc-problems/
Apparently there is a distinction between the HD 4400 and the HD Graphics.
Yeah, I do find the wording
Yeah, I do find the wording curious as Intel would have put HD 4400 if it was that exact chip. Irritating that they don't specify what it actually is though :/
I like the ultra small form
I like the ultra small form factors. the ooze cool.
HTPC ! Ceton makes a USB
HTPC ! Ceton makes a USB version of it`s cable card tuners.
Ive been wanting to purchase
Ive been wanting to purchase the i5 model, but I can not find them available anywhere. Anyone have any idea when they are do out?
Salesmart in Australia has
Salesmart in Australia has them listed along with the intel nuc ones.