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Review: Gigabyte Brix S (GB-BXi5H-5200)

by Parm Mann on 11 March 2015, 08:00

Tags: Gigabyte (TPE:2376)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qacpq4

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Conclusion

Now equipped with a fifth-generation Core i5-5200U processor, the diminutive system is able to tout reasonable gains in performance with no increase in power consumption.

The Brix S GB-BXi5H-5200 is an evolutionary addition to Gigabyte's range of compact mini PCs. Now equipped with a fifth-generation Core i5-5200U processor, the diminutive system is able to tout reasonable gains in performance with no increase in power consumption.

However, at £630 as reviewed (or £315 for a barebone unit), the Brix S is no closer to being an impulse purchase, and the bulk of that cost continues to be attributed to the Intel processor. A single Core i5-5200U carries a recommended customer price of $281, making it no cheaper than the previous-generation equivalent, and it's Intel's pricing that we feel is holding back the mini PC market.

Gigabyte's implementation is good - the system runs suitably cool despite its size - and though not silent, the Brix S is noticeably quieter than earlier units. This is in many ways the ideal secondary PC, and it would fit particularly well in a living-room environment, if you can stomach the cost.

The Good
  
The Bad
Capable everyday performance
Good connectivity options
Low power consumption
Dual storage bays
Tiny footprint
  
Pricey for a mini PC
Still not silent



Gigabyte Brix S
(GB-BXi5H-5200)

HEXUS.where2buy

The reviewed Gigabyte Brix S mini PC is available to purchase from Ambros. A barebone unit is available from Ebuyer.com.

HEXUS.right2reply

At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.


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HEXUS Forums :: 4 Comments

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Posted by davesom555 - Wed 11 Mar 2015 09:31
Why mSata, not M.2? Would that have not also saved space, perhaps allowing two in the box?
Posted by cptwhite_uk - Wed 11 Mar 2015 10:44
Had a Brix in my living room for a while now (14 months), superb for media playback and only needs has a Celeron 1037U processor. Cost me £200 to build including RAM and 128Gb SSD

See my old thread here:
http://forums.hexus.net/pc-hardware-components/311541-gigabyte-brix-gb-xm14-1037-build-pictures-thoughts.html

Why you'd pay £600 for a machine performing the same function is beyond me.
Posted by Dooms - Wed 11 Mar 2015 11:00
cptwhite_uk
Why you'd pay £600 for a machine performing the same function is beyond me.

I agree. You are either paying a third the price for a mini PC that will do HTPC/Office work fine or at £600+ you are looking at the new steam machines if you want more power.

These Brix are in the high end price without offering the function :/
Posted by whatif - Mon 16 Mar 2015 09:07
Dooms
cptwhite_uk
Why you'd pay £600 for a machine performing the same function is beyond me.

I agree. You are either paying a third the price for a mini PC that will do HTPC/Office work fine or at £600+ you are looking at the new steam machines if you want more power.

These Brix are in the high end price without offering the function :/

Totally agree with it being not very good value versus function.
I have a i3 4010 intel NUC (16GB Ram and 256GB msata) all bought from the US when Aussie dollar was a lot better than US dollar and it is a great HTPC and PVR plus used for a few other functions (examples - general internet browsing, photo and video editing). Put it together for about $340 Australian (£180). It is great as a low power consumption PC compared to my desktop gaming system.
Converting £630 to Australian works out at $1218, that is a very expensive system for what it does. My gaming system cost just $2078 with some very lucky, shrewd and right place at the right time purchases (2x R9 290X, z87 motherboard, i7 4770K overclocked, 1300w gold PSU, Samsung 512GB 850 pro and PM951 256GB satay got games to load off this through to my ramdisk, Cooler Master HAF-X 942 chassis, 32GB Corsair Vengeance 1866MHz ram, , twin fan CPU water cooler, plus the incidentals - 5 more fans and a fan controller, complete set of Demcifilter dust filters, replaced thermal pads on the video cards with new Fujipoly Extreme pads, new CPU thermal paste, intel PCI 7260 wifi and bluetooth).
So all that for less than $1000 extra and I can play games at high settings, it just sucks a bit more power.
OK, my desktop is not the latest motherboard and 5th generation processor, but is the Brix worth more than 50% the cost?
Now if it had a dedicated GPU (nothing to fancy but able to play games) and a larger fan for the same price?!?!?!?