Gigabyte expands Brix mini PC lineup with four new machines featuring Thunderbolt 3 connectivity

[Shawn Knight]

Gigabyte has expanded its Brix family of small form factor PCs with the introduction of four new models split into two classes. What’s newsworthy here is the fact that the new machines all feature Thunderbolt 3 over USB Type-C connectivity.

The new systems, the GB-BSi5T-6200, GB-BSi5HT-6200, GB-BSi7T-6500 and GB-BSi7HT-6500, all include M.2 SSD and Thunderbolt 3 connectivity. The “HT” models also include support for 2.5-inch SATA devices should you also need it.

As the name suggests, the GB-BSi5T-6200 and GB-BSi5HT-6200 are powered by Intel’s sixth generation Core i5-6200U processor while the GB-BSi7T-6500 and GB-BSi7HT-6500 are equipped with a more powerful Core i7-6500U CPU.

The Brix PCs feature Intel HD Graphics 520, two DDR4 RAM slots, four USB 3.0 ports, a single USB 3.1 Type-C port, an HDMI 2.0 port, headphone and microphone jacks, a Gigabit Ethernet jack and a mini DisplayPort connector. There’s also dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 as well as a VESA mount for flexibility in terms of where to place the system.

As a barebones PC, buyers will of course be responsible for supplying their own memory, storage and operating system. No word yet on how much they’ll sell for.

Early adoption of a new standard is key to its success. As we’ve seen time and again, the fastest protocol currently available has no hope of becoming mainstream if companies are slow to implement it into their products. Fortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case here as USB Type-C is already finding its way into multiple devices.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/64464-gigabyte-expands-brix-mini-pc-lineup-four-new.html

 

[Theinsanegamer]

It better be cheaper than intel's nucs, considering these have fewer ports and only have hd520 gpus instead of hd540s.

 

[CortyDK]

If my Intel 3217iye NUC ever needs replacing, a Brix could be interesting. But for now, the Core i3-3217u and integrated graphics can easily handle my streaming requirements. Using HW-monitor, CPU use is rarely more than 5-6%, and GPU use rarely more than 8-10% even when playing 1080p x264 content from USB Harddrive.

 

[Capaill]

My next project idea: a tiny NUC or Brix PC with a powerful CPU, hooked up to a Razer Core using Thunderbolt 3. And also a laptop doing the same thing. With almost everything being reduced in size (cpu is small, RAM is now small, SSD storage comes on M2 cards) the only real obstacle to building a tiny gaming PC is the graphics card and the cooling it requires. And if you could share that graphics card between your PC and a laptop? And easily upgrade it? I like this new concept and I know Intel are pushing it with their latest NUCs. But the Core isn't out yet and I think there are compatibility problems with BIOS support on most computers.