Gigabyte BRIX Gaming UHD Mini-PC Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. Gigabyte BRIX Gaming UHD4. Testing Methodology and Configuration5. SiSoft Sandra6. CinebenchR157. Handbrake Video Encoding8. Storage Bandwidth Testing9. 3DMark1110. 3DMark11. Grid Autosport12. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor13. Grand Theft Auto V14. Doom (2016)15. 4K Gaming Capability16. Thermal Dynamics17. Acoustics Performance18. Power Consumption19. Closing Thoughts20. View All Pages

I have been impressed with the Gigabyte BRIX Gaming UHD throughout my testing.

For starters, it is an attractive – and truly tiny – piece of kit. Of course, it is not as small as the Intel NUC, or other models of the Gigabyte BRIX range for that matter. That being said, the Intel NUC does not have a desktop GTX 950 inside it. To fit such hardware in a chassis with a volume of 2.6 litres is very impressive.

That level of hardware shows its class across our benchmark suite, too. If you read our section benchmarking games, you will know that the BRIX UHD is not capable of 4K gaming with Very High and Ultra image quality settings in demanding titles, though. That was always going to be out of the question with a GTX 950.

1080p gaming is what the BRIX UHD can do, though, and it does it just fine. If you are after a small, HDTV gaming machine – Steam Machine-esque – then the BRIX UHD could do the job very nicely.

While it has yet to hit the shops, we have been told by Gigabyte that it has an MSRP of £849.99. I have mixed feelings about this price. On the one hand, you pay for the small form factor, and laptops with similar hardware are available for not much more. However, you have to factor in the cost of storage and memory – not to mention peripherals. A 500GB PCIe SSD, for example, is going to add an extra £200+ straight away to that price, so the cost can quickly add up.

Still, the Gigabyte BRIX Gaming UHD can do a very good job, despite its minuscule proportions. When it is released, you will be able to pick one up for £849.99.

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Pros

• Very small chassis.
• Powerful hardware despite the size constraints.
• Solid gaming experience at 1080p.
• GTX 950 draws little power.

Cons

• Cost adds up when you factor in storage and memory.
• GTX 950 is last gen Maxwell architecture.

KitGuru says: The BRIX Gaming UHD from Gigabyte is a good piece of kit, despite the semi-misleading name. If it were £100 cheaper, it would be a perfect HDTV-gaming solution. As it is, it falls just short of our highest award.

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