GIGABYTE BRIX Gaming BXi5G-760 mini-PC Review
by Ganesh T S on September 15, 2014 2:30 PM ESTGaming Benchmarks
The gaming credentials of the GTX 760 are quite impressive, but it is simply impossible for such a GPU to be put in a mini-PC with the BRIX form factor. A detailed analysis of the various features of the GTX 760 reveal that the GPU is nothing but a rebranded GTX 870M. In order to sell itself in the desktop market, the mobile-targeted GK104 part has been rechristened as the GTX 760 targeting small form factor machines. The GTX 870M is pretty good, finding a place in high-end gaming laptops such as the Razer Blade. In this section, we will see how it performs when provided with a little bit of additional thermal headroom.
For the purpose of benchmarking, we chose five different games (Company of Heroes 2, Sleeping Dogs, Tomb Raider, Bioshock Infinite and DiRT Showdown) at three different quality levels. As someone focusing on HTPCs and multimedia aspects, I rarely get to process gaming benchmarks, even while evaluating GPUs. One of the aspects that I feared was spending lot of time in installing the same games again and again on different PCs under the review scanner. The solution was to go the Steam route. Unfortunately, Steam also likes to keep the game files updated. A quick online search revealed that Steam could make use of an external drive for storing the game executables and downloadable content. With the Steam drive on-the-go use-case being read-heavy, the Corsair Flash Voyager GS USB 3.0 128GB Flash Drive (with read speeds of up to 275 MBps) was ideal for use as a portable Steam drive.
Benchmark Numbers
Company of Heroes 2
Sleeping Dogs
Tomb Raider
Bioshock Infinite
DiRT Showdown
It goes without saying that the tussle is between the AMD Radeon equipped VisionX 420D and the BXi5G-760. The BXi5G-760 handily wins most benchmarks, with the Sleeping Dogs and DiRT Showdown games showing a much closer fight. In the big scheme of things, the BXi5G-760 manages to emerge in pole position when talking about the gaming capabilities.
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Madpacket - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
So an entire review on a gaming PC without mentioning how loud this thing gets while gaming? Really?Sm0kes - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
Yeah, kind of odd that the most obvious question is performance vs. thermal limitations was completely missed.Check out Linus Tech Tip's video review of the unit. He goes into some detail on the noise (read: not good) and thermal throttling.
imaheadcase - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
It should be pretty obvious to come to a conclusion on that without them telling you. Look at power numbers. They even say to look elsewhere if you are looking for better acoustics.wintermute000 - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
Mystified why they don't make these gaming NUCs a little bit bigger. Then they could put bigger, slower fans in there + more airflow. Its not like making this thing an inch wider/longer would bother anyone looking for serious gaming grunt, still would be a relatively small unit.drainplugofideas - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
I totally agree.flyingpants1 - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Actually, there's no point. All you need is a mini-ITX motherboard and a GTX760 Mini installed normally, and a Silverstone SFX 450W PSU. Fits PERFECTLY in a 6.7"x6.7"x4.8" box. And it costs wayyy less than this thing, even with an i5-4690 and M.2 SSD 256GB.There's no point whatsoever to this whole NUC thing. We already have an SFF standard, it's called mini-ITX. NUC is just more BS to pad Intel's bottom line. If you don't need dedicated graphics, buy mini-ITX with 120W power brick, whole system for under $190.
johnny_boy - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
That is the whole point--you need dedicated graphics for gaming on ITX unless you're happy wih something like an AMD A8-7600 at 45W TDP, which is the best iGPU you can get with those thermals. But this brix box smokes a 7600. With dedicated graphics you're looking at a significantly larger case and higher wattage draw even if you go with Maxwell.figus77 - Friday, September 19, 2014 - link
If you really want play you should no look at any low powered small form factor PC... they simply can't let you play in a decent way... no one in 2014 wants to play at something less than 1920 and they can't do it in 90% of games and you sure had a full hd tv to use with them. With that 900$ you can do a normal gamig machine and an AM1 mini-itx system for TV... both better in their work.Popskalius - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
Actually, I have no desire to game at anything higher than 720p... but I've also never gamed at 1080p or higher so take that could mean something.fteoath64 - Friday, October 3, 2014 - link
Even do water cooling with integrated radiator fins on one side protected by some course stainless steel mess. Sure make it a couple inches wider. It would by more stackable above a HT unit or something ....