Gigabyte BRIX i7A-7500 (Kaby Lake) Barebones Review

Cinebench R15

To first test the i7-7500U processor, I ran Cinebench R15.

I must say I am pleasantly surprised with this result. While 348 cb in Cinebench R15 is not going to blow anyone's mind, this level of performance from a low-power, dual-core CPU is impressive. As you can see, this score is only just behind the desktop-grade i3-4160.

Handbrake

Next, I ran Handbrake, where I ask the CPU to encode a 1.8GB full-HD video file, outputting it to the specifications as determined by the in-built ‘iPhone preset’.

It is a similar story here. The i7-7500U completed the encode with a time of 5:01 minutes, which is towards the bottom of the chart. However, for a CPU with a TDP of just 15W, I would go as far as to say this a great result. Again, it is only just behind the i3-4160.

SiSoft Sandra arithmetic

The last test for the CPU, I ran Sisoft Sandra's arithmetic test – a synthetic benchmark.

While the BRIX posts the lowest scores so far, it is a fraction away from beating the i3-4160. To have essentially desktop-grade, dual-core performance in such a small package is mightily impressive.

Become a Patron!