GIGABYTE BRIX Gaming BXi5G-760 mini-PC Review
by Ganesh T S on September 15, 2014 2:30 PM ESTNetworking & Storage Performance
We have recently started devoting a separate section to analyze the storage and networking credentials of the units under review. On the storage side, one option would be repetition of our strenuous SSD review tests on the drive(s) in the PC. Fortunately, to avoid that overkill, PCMark 8 has a storage bench where certain common workloads such as loading games and document processing are replayed on the target drive. Results are presented in two forms, one being a benchmark number and the other, a bandwidth figure. We ran the PCMark 8 storage bench on selected PCs and the results are presented below.
The presence of a mSATA SSD greatly increases the usability of the unit if the workloads have major dependence on storage performance. Obviously, these scores depend on the drives used by the end user to complete the system configuration.
On the networking side, we restricted ourselves to the evaluation of the WLAN component. Our standard test router is the Netgear R7000 Nighthawk configured with both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks. The router is placed approximately 20 ft. away, separated by a drywall (as in a typical US building). A wired client (Zotac ID89-Plus) is connected to the R7000 and serves as one endpoint for iPerf evaluation. The PC under test is made to connect to either the 5 GHz (preferred) or 2.4 GHz SSID and iPerf tests are conducted for both TCP and UDP transfers. It is ensured that the PC under test is the only wireless client for the Netgear R7000. We evaluate total throughput for up to 32 simultaneous TCP connections using iPerf and present the highest number in the graph below.
In the UDP case, we try to transfer data at the highest rate possible for which we get less than 1% packet loss.
The Wi-Fi module in both the BRIX Pro and the BXi5G-760 are the same, but the latter shows better benchmark numbers. This is possibly due to the difference in the arrangement of the antenna, as well as difference in the drivers that were used for evaluation. The major drawback for the BXi5G-760 is the presence of a 1x1 802.11ac card instead of a 2x2 that some of the other mini-PCs employ. This means that the WLAN rates are not as good as those of the 2x2-equipped VisionX 420D.
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kgh00007 - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
Nice review, I hope you guys get in the Alienware Alpha for review. I think that's going to make a really nice HTPC depending on what GPU is announced for it!WatcherCK - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
Or as another possibility for a heating solution would be to hack on an external radiator ala R295x2, you will loose some of the convenience of the form factor with the addition of an external cooler but given the thermal load of the components it would be more than adequate for cooling this wee box :)SuperVeloce - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
6GB gddr5 ? are they for real?hojnikb - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
They are probobly targeting novice users that dont know better.And 6GB of graphics memory sound real nice.
TheinsanegamerN - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
With the heat and throttling problems this BRIX has, how long until it BRIX itself (ba dum tiss).Seriously though, why not use a slightly bigger enclosure along with a geforce 860m? that would have been cheaper, cooler, and quieter.
Laststop311 - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Rather build a micro atx tower with a MSI gaming twin frozr cooler GTX 770 and i5-4690k tower 70 + psu 60 + 150 mobo + 100 ram + gtx 770 320 + i5-4690k 250 + 120GB crucial m500 70 + Noctua u14s heatsink +75 + 3x noctua fans to replace case fans 60 = 1135 so for the measly sum of 160 extra dollars you can build a MUCH more powerful PC that is much quieter. The msi gpu is one of the quietest twin frozr is excellent the u14s noctua heatsink is actually quieter than water cooling and even surpasses the 120mm close loops and is about equal to the 240mm closed loops in performance. Since all the case fans are noctua and there is no hard drive the only noise you are going to hear is power supply noise and gpu noise and the power supply fan only kicks on when under heavy load, Such performance such silence. Sure the size is bigger but a micro atx tower isn't THAT bad and I'm not hurting for space.Laststop311 - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
1155 it equals forgot to update that valueBob Todd - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
1) In general I agree. I'd just build something much more powerful that was larger.2) Tiny builds have always had a significantly worse power/price ratio, so the "I'd just build X that is Y times the size" could be a template response to any of these SFF machines.
There is at least some back of the napkin math that shows these companies that there is enough of a market for these types of machines at these types of price points that they will be beneficial to their bottom line. Personally I think a cheap NUC form factor box with an A10-7800 @ 45W would be more interesting. Sure it could only do 720p gaming with low settings, but it could be comparatively cheap. But if I'm going to spend "desktop money" on one of these machines, I'd rather do a nice mITX build in a case with enough room for a full size graphics card. I guess that was a long winded way to say that your post was so obvious it doesn't add value...but that I agree.
SirPerro - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
"Small gaming PC" concept is stupidPeople looking for a gaming PC are not Apple fans willing to pay more for something stilish
Make this thing twice the size and it will be simply better.
dmacfour - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
I completely disagree.People looking for gaming PC's range from home builders to noobs that'll pay for a pre-built computers with flashy LED lights, windows, sparkly paint, and unnecessary aftermarket coolers.
They'll absolutely pay more for style. It's just a different kind of style.