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.
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.
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 $190.
That is the whole point--you need dedicated graphics for gaming on ITX unless you're happy wih something like an AMD A8-7600 at 45W TDP, which is the best iGPU you can get with those thermals. But this brix box smokes a 7600. With dedicated graphics you're looking at a significantly larger case and higher wattage draw even if you go with Maxwell.
If you really want play you should no look at any low powered small form factor PC... they simply can't let you play in a decent way... no one in 2014 wants to play at something less than 1920 and they can't do it in 90% of games and you sure had a full hd tv to use with them. With that 900$ you can do a normal gamig machine and an AM1 mini-itx system for TV... both better in their work.
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 ....
yeah kind of silly... the only thing i was interested to hear... but then i expect this little box to sound like a hair-dryer... i just dont understand why it's not passively cooled @ twice the size...
Something about the gaming benchmark is a little strange, isn't it? Some result s look really strange - the M270/M275, even with GDDR5, should be considerably slower than a 870M.
Moreover, in other tests, the 870M gets arounf 50FPS on bioshock highest settings benchmark @ 1080p (notebookcheck 870M tests and 860M too - like the GTX 750 Ti)
Wow, for that kind of money considering its a custom build why didn't they do laptop style heat pipes from the CPU, to underneith where the GPU is, and then to a heatsink instead where the little screamer fans are?? And then have a quiet 12cm fan on the top of it or under it?
Considering it's supposed to be VESA mounted the screen would defend the low hum of a 12cm fan...
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!
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 :)
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.
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.
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.
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.
The sooner Gigabyte bites the bullet and does a gaming brix with watercooling the better. Until they do that, the thermal constraints make it a little pointless IMHO
Just invest $50 more on R&Ding better cooling on a $1000 pc, Gigabyte. Bigger fans? Bigger chassis? A tiny water cooling module? How awesome would that be.
Another waste of money from the Brix line; anything in this form factor that requires cooling is a dead end on thermal and acoustic performance. But the really weird thing is that it might not be so bad if they'd just build their own cooling system; put the CPU at the top facing down, and the GPU at the bottom facing up, sandwiching a nice big heat-sink with a built-in blower fan and you might just improve things, but two tiny fans shoved into a position they can't possibly cool properly from is not the answer.
It's silly really, as machines only slightly bigger are far more compelling. The Alienware Alpha for example is still extremely small, but ought to have similar, or even better, performance for a lot less money.
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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 ....flyingpants1 - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Nooooope, they should have tested noise levels.bernstein - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
yeah kind of silly... the only thing i was interested to hear... but then i expect this little box to sound like a hair-dryer... i just dont understand why it's not passively cooled @ twice the size...The_Assimilator - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
I was hoping for some shots of the CPU and GPU. :(SleepyFE - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
I am also interested to see where the GPU sits.ganeshts - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
It is in one of the gallery pictures on the first pageGunbuster - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
Seems like lazy engineering. Why on earth would they use two of those little high RPM demon fans?Could have made a larger slower and quieter fan across the top or bottom of the case and used some type of shroud to direct the airflow...
junky77 - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
Something about the gaming benchmark is a little strange, isn't it?Some result s look really strange - the M270/M275, even with GDDR5, should be considerably slower than a 870M.
Moreover, in other tests, the 870M gets arounf 50FPS on bioshock highest settings benchmark @ 1080p (notebookcheck 870M tests and 860M too - like the GTX 750 Ti)
Maybe some heavy throttling took place?
That's true in other cases too.
Pissedoffyouth - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
Wow, for that kind of money considering its a custom build why didn't they do laptop style heat pipes from the CPU, to underneith where the GPU is, and then to a heatsink instead where the little screamer fans are?? And then have a quiet 12cm fan on the top of it or under it?Considering it's supposed to be VESA mounted the screen would defend the low hum of a 12cm fan...
Tikcus9666 - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
An laptop AMD FX 7600P APU,35W would surely be a better fit for a Box like this or even a 65W desktop A8 7600 (can be configured to 45W)no GPU needed (for almost 1080p gaming), and a fraction of the cost, however you wouldn't be able to fry an egg on it,
PixyMisa - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
They have a model with an A8-5545M, and one with an A8-5557M and a Radeon R9 M275X.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.
daddacool - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
The sooner Gigabyte bites the bullet and does a gaming brix with watercooling the better. Until they do that, the thermal constraints make it a little pointless IMHOhojnikb - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
where the hell would they put watercooling ?dj_aris - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Just invest $50 more on R&Ding better cooling on a $1000 pc, Gigabyte. Bigger fans? Bigger chassis? A tiny water cooling module? How awesome would that be.DiseasedPidgeon - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
The reason they've made this small is for a living room unit. I prefer the solution provided by the G-Pack. http://piixl.comHaravikk - Monday, October 6, 2014 - link
Another waste of money from the Brix line; anything in this form factor that requires cooling is a dead end on thermal and acoustic performance. But the really weird thing is that it might not be so bad if they'd just build their own cooling system; put the CPU at the top facing down, and the GPU at the bottom facing up, sandwiching a nice big heat-sink with a built-in blower fan and you might just improve things, but two tiny fans shoved into a position they can't possibly cool properly from is not the answer.It's silly really, as machines only slightly bigger are far more compelling. The Alienware Alpha for example is still extremely small, but ought to have similar, or even better, performance for a lot less money.