GIGABYTE Updates BRIX: Now with Haswell
by Ian Cutress on September 7, 2013 7:50 AM EST
Back at Computex in June, GIGABYTE gave us a quick glimpse at future updates to their BRIX, their small form factor NUC type replacement. Today we get the full launch with three different mobile CPUs, all dual core CPUs with hyperthreading, along with full USB 3.0 support, a front SPDIF jack, HDMI, mDP, WiFi/BT4.0 module, and gigabit Ethernet in an aluminum chassis measuring 107.6mm x 114.4mm x 29.9mm with a Kensington Lock slot.
The three models listed in the PR (and another one on the website) have the following:
| BRIX Model | GB-BXi7-4500 | GB-BXi5-4200 | GB-BXi3-4010 | GB-BXCE-2955 |
| Intel Processor | Intel® Core™ | Intel® Core™ | Intel® Core™ | Intel® Celeron |
| i7-4500U | i5-4200U | i3-4010U | 2955U | |
| IGP | Intel HD 4400 | Intel HD 4400 | Intel HD 4400 | Intel HD |
| Cores | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Threads | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Clock Frequency | 1.8GHz – 3.0GHz | 1.6 GHz – 2.6GHz | 1.7 GHz | 1.4 GHz |
| Audio Codec | Realtek ALC269 | Realtek ALC269 | Realtek ALC269 | Realtek ALC269 |
| Expansion | 1x mSATA | 1x mSATA | 1x mSATA | 1x mSATA |
| 1x mPCIe (WiFi) | 1x mPCIe (WiFi) | 1x mPCIe (WiFi) | 1x mPCIe (WiFi) | |
| Memory | 2 x SO-DIMM | 2 x SO-DIMM | 2 x SO-DIMM | 2 x SO-DIMM |
| DDR3 1.35 V | DDR3 1.35 V | DDR3 1.35 V | DDR3 1.35 V | |
| LAN | Realtek RTL8111G | Realtek RTL8111G | Realtek RTL8111G | Realtek RTL8111G |
Users will need to add in a pair of DDR3 SO-DIMM modules (thus up to 8 GB) and an mSATA drive. All BRIX have VESA support for 75mm square and 100mm square brackets.
Back at Computex we were able to take a picture of the insides of the Ivy Bridge BRIX (below), and the Haswell model should provide an iterative update on the design.
No word on pricing or availability, however the previous Ivy-Bridge based BRIX models are around $300 as a barebones.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
26 Comments
View All Comments
djscrew - Saturday, September 7, 2013 - link
the future of the office computeTaft12 - Saturday, September 7, 2013 - link
Uhh, that's laptops.djscrew - Saturday, September 7, 2013 - link
for the typical office where tasks are simple email and ms office style work, laptops are an unnecessary expenseCollarOfDuty - Saturday, September 7, 2013 - link
I'd have to agree on that one, laptops that aren't going to be moved around or take out of the office don't make any sense for most business, but something like this does.I'm hoping personally for a bay trail version of this for $150-200 bare bones.
Laststop311 - Monday, September 9, 2013 - link
If only they would of used the haswell chip with iris 5100 gpu. Would be a lot more interesting.eanazag - Monday, September 9, 2013 - link
I was thinking the same thing.Rocket321 - Monday, September 9, 2013 - link
^^this. Intel, stop being so stingy with the crystalwell chips!eamon - Saturday, September 7, 2013 - link
Well, this might be a lot cheaper and probably faster than a comparable laptop. Not to mention more ergonomic.Gigaplex - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
Why would it be faster? It's using the same components laptops use.2kfire - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
It ought to be faster since it won't have the same thermal/power constraints as a laptop.Even though the same components are being used, I would assume (could be wrong though) that the cooling system would be much better, which would reduce/eliminate throttling. Also, since you don't have to worry about battery life, you can tune the power options for better performance.
IMO :-)