Gigabyte BRIX Pro Detailed

[btarunr]

Picture this - an NUC-like desktop so powerful for its size, that it qualifies to be a Steam Machine by Valve. The new BRIX Pro from Gigabyte is its most powerful BRIX desktop. Measuring all of 114.4mm x 111.4mm x 62 mm, the BRIX Pro tucks in some powerful hardware. To begin with, it features an off-spec 100 x 105 mm motherboard, which seats an Intel Core i7-4770R quad-core processor. Based on the big 22 nm Haswell silicon, it features Intel's Iris Pro 5200 graphics, which runs 40 compute units, and an L4 cache.

The Core i7-4770R chip inside the BRIX Pro is wired to up to 16 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1600 memory. The only internal storage option is an mSATA 6 Gb/s slot. Network connectivity includes gigabit Ethernet, and Wi-Fi + Bluetooth using an optional mPCIe card. The rest of its connectivity includes a total of four USB 3.0 ports, mini-DisplayPort and HDMI display outputs, and 6-channel HD audio. Gigabyte didn't finalize pricing.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Easy Rhino]

Intel's Iris Pro 5200 graphics?? So it isn't so much a gaming machine as it is a multimedia box? In that case an i7 makes it far too overpowered. I am confused.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Intel's Iris Pro 5200 graphics?? So it isn't so much a gaming machine as it is a multimedia box? In that case an i7 makes it far too overpowered. I am confused.

the only chip intel makes for desktops with iris pro is the 4770r. there is literally no other option.

 

[Nordic]

Iris pro competes with amd's upper apus. Will game alright just not high settings on modern games.

 

[Easy Rhino]

Iris pro competes with amd's upper apus. Will game alright just not high settings on modern games.

Exactly what I am saying. If it isn't going to be a gaming machine then it will be primarily for multimedia. A multimedia box doesn't need an i7.

 

[Nordic]

Exactly what I am saying. If it isn't going to be a gaming machine then it will be primarily for multimedia. A multimedia box doesn't need an i7.

An I7 is overkill. I do love that steam boxes have such variety so that you can find one for any niche.

 

[EpicShweetness]

the only chip intel makes for desktops with iris pro is the 4770r. there is literally no other option.

For the price ($392 tray) and capability I would gladly trade that 65w TDP for a 100w TDP on a AMD processor for a third of the price

 

[Ryrynz]

The only internal storage option is an mSATA 6 Gb/s slot.

No it isn't.

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4888#sp

"Supports 2.5” Hard Drives (1 x 6Gbps SATA 3)"

the only chip intel makes for desktops with iris pro is the 4770r. there is literally no other option.

Err, the R series are not desktop chips, nothing in the Brix or Nuc series are desktop chips.. also there IS an i5 option in the exact same Brix Pro package being the Core i5-4570R (you miss out on hyperthreading -not important for gaming) and it's 500Mhz slower on the CPU side of things (700Mhz difference with turboboost) and 150Mhz slower on the GPU side.

Might wanna research things a bit more before you write, the both of you.

An I7 is overkill.

Overkill? You should say it's overkill for you, because that would be accurate. Are you even aware of the large performance difference in some scenarios enabling hyperthreading?

It's not overkill for me, if I remember rightly disabling it drops like 30% performance from a particular Avisynth script I run, again research things before making statements like this.

Plus as I said above, there is not only the hyperthreading differences but there's frequency differences too between the i5 and i7, considering we're talking a mainstream performance segment GPU wise some people will take all they can get.

It's likely this i7 Brix could deliver a solid 10% performance difference vs the i5 Brix in gaming alone, that's not overkill. Nothing is overkill when it comes to computing, it all comes down to how you use the power you have.