Hold up, Hold up. We know this is essentially a desktop machine and, yes, it has a Broadwell i5 processor in there, but this doesn’t mean that Intel’s newest CPU generation has actually made its way out of the low-power, mobile mindset. Gigabyte’s latest BRIX S is rocking a new fifth-generation Core processor, but this is from the mobile U-series that Intel launched at January’s CES.
The Core i5-5200U is a dual-core Broadwell chip with a TDP of just 15W, making it a great chip to fit inside a mini PC like Gigabyte’s BRIX S. Despite that lowly TDP, you’re still getting an impressive amount of performance from this wee chip – it may be dual-core but thanks to the magic of Hyperthreading you do get that split out into four threads of processing power. It’s not going to be winning any medals for top frequency, but at a steady 2.5GHz, the 5200U manages a decent rate of knots considering its low-power status. The processor is rated to Turbo up to 2.7GHz, but testing just the singlethreaded performance didn’t help us raise those extra 200MHz of Turbo power.
Not that it matters – this isn’t some workstation monster. You’re not going to expect the BRIX S to breeze through heavy rendering, extreme mathematics or calculate the answer to the ultimate question. This is a tiny, fully fledged x86 PC that you could lose down the back of your TV if it wasn’t bolted down. It’s probably for that exact reason Gigabyte has included a VESA mounting bracket in the package; there’s little more annoying than having your PC disappear down a crack in your furniture or spotting your cat carrying it off to bury in their litter tray.
What does Broadwell in this guise get us then? After all, the previous i5-powered BRIX was rocking a Haswell 4200U CPU with the same chilled-out 15W TDP. Unsurprisingly for a die-shrinking Intel Tick, not a huge amount has actually changed with the processor itself in the switch from Haswell to Broadwell. The CPU architecture remains as with Haswell, except with the teeniest transistors now being cut down into a 14nm lithography. That shrink allows the i5-5200U to maintain the same TDP but with a dramatically improved base clockspeed. This i5 runs at 2.2GHz as standard while the ol’ Haswell chip has a far more sedate 1.6GHz base.
But, as this is ostensibly a Tick+ in Intel parlance, the graphics side of the equation has had rather more attention. Intel has improved the geometry and tessellation hardware in Broadwell’s HD Graphics and the HD 5500 revision in the BRIX S gets you an extra four execution units (EUs). What all that means is you’re almost getting Haswell Iris Pro levels of gaming performance from this low-power part and that’s a CPU with 40 EUs. We can’t wait to see what Broadwell Iris Pro can do with 48 of these new EUs.
Admittedly that gaming prowess was when this barebones BRIX S was kitted out with 16GB of DDR3L running at 1,600MHz, but it’s still a pretty impressive feat for this li’l box of delights. Dial things down in the graphics settings and drop to 720p and you’ll be capable of some decent gaming on this box. It will also nail Steam’s In-Home Streaming, though even the older, more basic BRIX could do that.
The issue though is that it’s still hugely expensive to put a decent BRIX S machine together. This barebones setup is some £310 – that gets you the wee chassis, fitted out with the motherboard and chip soldered onto it. You also get the wireless card attached, four USB 3.0 ports and a Gigabit Ethernet connection too. But you’ll have to source your storage, memory and OS yourself – the high-end spec of our review unit would have pushed the price up to around £700.
That makes the BRIX S a tough one to recommend. The form factor is a delight and the 15W TDP means the diminutive cooling array can remain almost silent even when it’s running at full tilt. The new Broadwell CPU also means that it never feels like anything other than a proper desktop PC in use – it’s quick, slick and responsive. But when you’re paying the sort of price that would net you a laptop with the same CPU and spec, it starts to make the BRIX look a little short on versatility by comparison. – Dave James
Specifications
SKU GB-BXi5H-5200
CPU Intel Core i5-5200U @ 2.5GHz
Memory Up to 16GB DDR3L SO-DIMM
Storage 1x 2.5-inch, 1x mSATA
Network 802.11 ac WiFi card, Gigabit LAN
Video 1x HDMI, 1x mini DP
I/O 4x USB 3.0, 1x 3.5mm headphone/mic
Dimensions 46.8 x 107.6 x 114.4mm