Testing Thread: Gigabyte BRIX Mini PC kit - Core i3 Mobile

[toleda]

re: noise
I chose the i3, since I gather the power consumption
is much lower, and performance/watt ratio is excellent.

Clarification; the 3 BRIX processors are 2 core 4 thread and 17W, no turbo on i3, performance/watt is better with the i7.
To your point, performance/cost is best with the i3

BRIX
CPU/Passmark*/US$/=
i3-3227U 2588 299 8.65
i5-3337U 3182 379 8.36
i7-3537U 3874 489 7.98
Note: add memory, msata, wifi, bt, hd; no tb

MacMini (macmini6,1)
CPU/Passmark*/US$/=
i5-3210M 3818 600 6.36 (35W)
i7-3720QM 8367 800 10.6 (45W)
Note: includes hd, tb; no msata or power brick

*PassMark - CPU Benchmarks - List of Benchmarked CPUs

 

[broupe]

Clarification; the 3 BRIX processors are 2 core 4 thread and 17W, no turbo on i3, performance/watt is better with the i7.
To your point, performance/cost is best with the i3

thanks for clearing that up,

 

[zealious]

SO have you droped in a airport card yet?

 

[broupe]

SO have you droped in a airport card yet?

I tried the Atheros AR5B195 that works perfect in my ProBook ML hack,
but I couldn't make it work in Mountain Lion on the Brix;
maybe someone can help out ..?

or maybe the Broadcom BCM94322HM8L is a better option for ML?

 

[spence4]

Hi Tony,

I have a NUC and like that there is not only a front panel header on the board, but also a USB header that gives the option for two more USB connections. Is there any chance you could show us the underside of the BRIX? I have searched the web for an image but could not find one. Basically, I would like to know if I should be looking at a BRIX for a second mini PC or if I should just get another NUC. Thanks.

Spence

 

[broupe]

Hi Tony,

I have a NUC and like that there is not only a front panel header on the board, but also a USB header that gives the option for two more USB connections. Is there any chance you could show us the underside of the BRIX? I have searched the web for an image but could not find one. Basically, I would like to know if I should be looking at a BRIX for a second mini PC or if I should just get another NUC. Thanks.

Spence

There is an unused connector connector close to the front USB3 connector, maybe someone can identify?

​

 

[tonymacx86]

I haven't taken the BRIX totally apart yet, so I don't have a pic of the CPU side of the board. I'll see if I can find out what that port is.

 

[dbc]

Hi Tony,

great post. I have just adquired an Gigabyte Brix i5 version.

Which mSATA would you recomend ? I am considering Kignston mSATA 120GB. Am I gonig to have problems with TRIM enabling ? Thanks

 

[Inmike09]

Hey Tony!

Thanks again for providing such an amazing resource for all us. I made the choice to get the exact model you purchased with some slight variations in the setup. I'm going with 8 GB OCZ DDR3-1333 RAM, 128 GB M4 mSata, and a dual-band 300 mbps Broadcom mini PCIe card. I really wanted to go with one of the new AC cards from the new MacBook Airs, but I can't because of the mini PCIe size limitation in the Brix. Do you have any plans of modding the motherboard to accomodate such a card along with the mSata SSD? Or do you even recommend trying such a mod?

I appreciate your advice.

Thanks!

Hi Tony,

great post. I have just adquired an Gigabyte Brix i5 version.

Which mSATA would you recomend ? I am considering Kignston mSATA 120GB. Am I gonig to have problems with TRIM enabling ? Thanks

Great question. I found that any SSD I purchase and use in my hackintosh can have Trim enabled. There is a package provided in Multibeast that will enable Trim for most if not all SSDs. I guess Tony or Groths may have a more definite answer, but you should be good with the Kingston SSD.

Good luck!

 

[DonutHands]

Once the Bios stuff gets sorted completely and if a thunderbolt version is released i think i know what my new HTPC will be. Would be super cool if someone could find a wifi/bluetooth combo card that would work in this thing.