Gigabyte BRIX Gaming UHD Mini-PC Review

Rating: 8.0.

Gigabyte's BRIX line of barebones PCs are typically small and low-powered – at least, when compared with a mini-ITX desktop system, for example. However, the new BRIX Gaming UHD aims to change all of that. Gone are the integrated graphics and low-power processors, and in their place we find a desktop-grade 4GB GTX 950 and quad-core i7-6700HQ with Hyper-Threading. With that level of hardware in such a small package, it will be interesting to see how the BRIX Gaming UHD performs.

Of course, Gigabyte have been a bit sneaky with their marketing of the BRIX Gaming UHD. We have reviewed the GTX 950 and it is a decent card for HD gaming, but it is by no means a 4K-ready gaming GPU if you want to play modern AAA titles. It is capable of outputting to four 4K displays, yes – but it cannot run the latest games comfortably at that resolution. Think of it as a PC equivalent to the PS4 Pro – 4K-capable and potentially adequate for less-demanding titles, but possibly not an ideal solution for the more GPU-intensive games. Still, we put the BRIX UHD through its paces and see how it performs.

Specifications

• Dimension: 2.6L (220 mm x 110 mm x 110 mm)
• Motherboard Size: 100 x 150 mm
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ, 2.6GHz / 3.50 GHz
• Chipset: Intel® HM170 Chipset
• Memory: 2 x SO-DIMM DDR4 slots 2133 MHz, max. 32GB
• LAN: Gigabit LAN (Intel i219LM)
• Audio: Realtek ALC255
• Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX950, supports NVIDIA Discrete Technology (featuring Quad displays: mini DP x3, HDMI x1 Output)
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950
• Graphic memory: Graphic DDR5 4GB
• Wifi Card: Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC Intel 8260
• HDMI Resolution (Max.): 3840×2160 @ 60 Hz
• Mini DP Resolution (Max.): 3840×2160 @ 60 Hz
• Expansion Slots: 1 x M.2 slot (2280_storage) PCIe /SATA, 1 x M.2 slot (2280_storage) PCIe (CPU directly), 1 x PCIe M.2 NGFF 2230 A-E key slot occupied by the WiFi+BT card
• Rear I/O: 1 x HDMI, 3 x Mini DisplayPort, 3 x USB 3.0, 1 x RJ45, 1 x DC-In, 1 x Kensington lock slot, 1 x Head phone Jack, 1 x Microphone Jack, 2 x USB 3.1 (1 x USB type C)
• USB 3.1: Asmedia
• Storage: Supports 2 x 2.5” HDD/SSD, 7.0/9.5 mm thick (2 x 6 Gbps SATA3)
• Power Supply: Input: AC 100-240V Output: DC 19.5V 9.23A

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