Gigabyte BRIX Extreme Mini PC Packs A Punch With Up To A 12-Core Intel Alder Lake CPU
Gigabyte today announced the BRIX Extreme, calling it the "most powerful mini PC in the world." That's probably dialing up the marketing hype a notch above where it should be, but bold claim aside, these new BRIX Extreme systems look both attractive (from the renders we've seen) and capable (from the spec sheet and list of features).
You can think of these as Gigabyte's take on Intel's smaller Next Unit of Computing (NUC) boxes, not to be confused with the bigger and burlier NUC Extreme ones (like the NUC 11 Extreme we reviewed). Those latter versions are in the small form factor (SFF) mold, with a modular design that supports adding a full-size graphics card to the system. That's not what these are.
Instead, these truly mini PCs pack an impressive punch in a diminutive chassis. Gigabyte's offering both "slim" and "tall" versions, neither of which are particularly big. They can be configured with up to a 12-core Intel Alder Lake processor with four performance cores and eight efficiency cores, and Iris Xe graphics (96 EUs).
This is paired with dual-channel DDR4 memory and a PCIe Gen 4 SSD. Other features include Wi-Fi 6E, 2.5G LAN for wired connections, Thunderbolt connectivity, a spattering of USB ports, a hydro-cooling system, and HDMI 2.1 connectivity. Those who opt for the tall version can also install a 2.5-inch SSD/HDD if they wish.
"The new BRIX mini-PC natively supports four 4K/60P display outputs via 2 x HDMI, 1 x USB-C DisplayPort, and 1 x mini-DP for the best in monitor compatibility. Furthermore, the new BRIX is equipped with the newest HDMI 2.1 technology. With new HDMI 2.1 standards, BRIX will deliver up to 8K resolution to your display or TV to enlarge your imagination with stunning image quality," Gigabyte says.
Finally, Gigabyte claims its BRIX mini PCs are super quiet, running at sound levels below 20 dBA, and under 30 dBA during heavy workloads in many cases.
The 2022 BRIX Extreme lineup will release in the second quarter of this year. No word yet on pricing.
