Gigabyte's Brix mini PC packs a lot of power in a tiny box

Shawn Knight

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Gigabyte recently released details on a small form factor system that first surfaced last month. The Brix mini PC meaures just 1.2” x 4.2” x 4.5” and ships with your choice of ultrabook-class Intel Ivy Bridge processor alongside plenty of connectivity options.

The system will be sold as a barebones setup without memory, storage or an operating system. What is included, however, is the aforementioned Ivy Bridge processor, Wi-Fi, Gigabyte Ethernet, HDMI, USB 3.0 and mini DisplayPort. There’s room inside for a single mSATA drive as well as two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots.

We’re told that Gigabyte will offer four different models of the Brix yet as of writing, there are only three variants available on the company’s website. The GB-XM1-3537 is paired with a Core i7-3537U CPU, the GB-XM11-3337 will come with Intel’s i5-3337U chip while the GB-XM12-3227 will ship with a lower-end i3-3227U processor.

A fourth configuration - GB-XM14-1037 – will be powered by a Celeron 1037U chip. Processors used in each of the four models are dual-core parts with a TDP of 17 watts but the three that use Core processors will have a total of four virtual cores thanks to Hyper-threading. What’s more, only the i5 and i7 models will support Turbo Boost technology. All configurations will come bundled with a VESA bracket so it can be mounted behind a monitor or HDTV if desired.

No word yet on when the new line is expected to go on sale or for how much. Similar (but less powerful) systems from Intel range from $165 to $330 so somewhere in this field would be a safe bet.

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