Thoughts on The Gigabyte BRIX Pro? Or Should Build a Mac Mini Deluxe!

[blueimages]

Hey Everyone

So this is my 2nd post, my last post was me asking for advice on building a Maxed out hackintosh compared to Mac Pro and iMac. Yet however over time being busy with work with photography and such i realised i may not need all those things i asked before. So i've decided i may just need a Small Desktop computer that can handle mainly photography, graphic design and a touch of video editing. Just got back into researching into hackintosh ideas and such and i found a post about the Gigabyte Brix Pro. Just wondering thoughts on it for my use? i do understand i need to make some modifications if i want bluetooth and wifi. other thoughts/ideas are a maxed out mac mini and a Custo-mac Mini Build (where i would want to use either of the BitFenix Prodigy S/M Cases due to i like the look of them)
.

Link me Golden Mac Mini Builds or any other inspirations as necessary.

Thanks heaps for your time and help.

 

[WonkeyDonkey]

Hey Everyone

So this is my 2nd post, my last post was me asking for advice on building a Maxed out hackintosh compared to Mac Pro and iMac. Yet however over time being busy with work with photography and such i realised i may not need all those things i asked before. So i've decided i may just need a Small Desktop computer that can handle mainly photography, graphic design and a touch of video editing. Just got back into researching into hackintosh ideas and such and i found a post about the Gigabyte Brix Pro. Just wondering thoughts on it for my use? i do understand i need to make some modifications if i want bluetooth and wifi. other thoughts/ideas are a maxed out mac mini and a Custo-mac Mini Build (where i would want to use either of the BitFenix Prodigy S/M Cases due to i like the look of them)
.

Link me Golden Mac Mini Builds or any other inspirations as necessary.

Thanks heaps for your time and help.

The Brix Pro pretty much work these days, but there have been issues with the fans and cooling system. You can read about those both here on tmx86 and also by looking at the review sites. The one with the 4770R CPU with Iris Pro graphics looks sweet, but the fans are just awful. The next model down (4570) isnt as bad but has a lower standard of inbuilt graphics; these have some fan issues too though not as bad as the 4770R model.

A customac build would give you much more control over the hardware and would be far cooler, quieter and more powerful.

Consult the April buyers guide for a starting point.

There are plenty of good solid user builds and golden builds for you to scout. Do your own searches in those sections to find inspiration

 

[trs96]

Hey Everyone

So this is my 2nd post, my last post was me asking for advice on building a Maxed out hackintosh compared to Mac Pro and iMac. Yet however over time being busy with work with photography and such i realised i may not need all those things i asked before. So i've decided i may just need a Small Desktop computer that can handle mainly photography, graphic design and a touch of video editing. Just got back into researching into hackintosh ideas and such and i found a post about the Gigabyte Brix Pro. Just wondering thoughts on it for my use? i do understand i need to make some modifications if i want bluetooth and wifi. other thoughts/ideas are a maxed out mac mini and a Custo-mac Mini Build (where i would want to use either of the BitFenix Prodigy S/M Cases due to i like the look of them)
.

Link me Golden Mac Mini Builds or any other inspirations as necessary.

Thanks heaps for your time and help.

This build with a Bitfenix case and a good modular PSU would probably work well for you.
http://www.tonymacx86.com/golden-bu...re-i3-4340-intel-hd-4600-a-18.html#post668586

You can easily substitute the I7-4770K and a better air cooler if you need more cpu power.
I would go with this over one of the Brix Pros. More work to build it but is worth it in the
long run.

 

[blueimages]

So i have decided on this as my build with some research. Thoughts?

Case: BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Case - White

Motherboard:

GA-Z87N-WIFI

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K

RAM: ​

Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB

Drives: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD (Boot Up) and Seagate ST3000DM001 3TB Barracuda HDD (Storage)

Cooling: Seagate ST3000DM001 3TB Barracuda

Power Supply: Corsair CS550M

Graphics: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 OC 2GB Video Card

Remember i'm using this for Photo-editing (Lightroom and Photoshop) a LITTLE bit of Video (Premier and Aftereffects) and a touch of graphics design (Illustrator).

Any other/better ideas for this would be great!

thanks heaps.

 

[vision33r]

While the Brix Pro is nice, the upgrade potential is low. I would go with a mini-ITX box over these BRIX because you can easily upgrade and swap parts over time. Brix Pro currently runs too hot and loud when demanding apps are running.

With a Mini-ITX box you can install a better video card such as a short GTX 760 and put in 32GB of memory while the limit on the BRIX Pro is 16GB I believe, 32GB SODIMM is very expensive.

If you really want a small box, the Mac Mini is a better solution because it runs cooler, easier to update because it is Apple, and no AC Adapter, and you get working Thunderbolt and good bluetooth and wireless.

There's too many issues with the Brix Pro at the price it's hard to justify. If it only cost $300 then it's worth it but not at $500-600.

 

[DrEskimo]

While the Brix Pro is nice, the upgrade potential is low. I would go with a mini-ITX box over these BRIX because you can easily upgrade and swap parts over time. Brix Pro currently runs too hot and loud when demanding apps are running.

With a Mini-ITX box you can install a better video card such as a short GTX 760 and put in 32GB of memory while the limit on the BRIX Pro is 16GB I believe, 32GB SODIMM is very expensive.

If you really want a small box, the Mac Mini is a better solution because it runs cooler, easier to update because it is Apple, and no AC Adapter, and you get working Thunderbolt and good bluetooth and wireless.

There's too many issues with the Brix Pro at the price it's hard to justify. If it only cost $300 then it's worth it but not at $500-600.

Yea I agree.

Think its a good choice to go for the Prodigy. I got the R4 and while I love it, there is something really appealing about building a small form PC. Maybe that will be the next project!

Couple of points with your new proposed build blueimages.

1. I would swap the Corsair RAM for either Crucial or G Skill.

2. Might be worth upping the PSU to 650 watt to give you some decent over head with the 760 and 4770k.

Oh, and I'm sure its a typo but you can't cool the CPU with a 3TB HDD