Gigabyte Projector i3 Brix Crazy Deal

[Informant X]

So I just got this for my 3rd HTPC and might even get one to replace one of my other PC's. It's the entire PC in this deal for 290. I got it two days ago it was 275. I checked it this morning and the deal was off and it was 350 with no ram/HD. Guess they reactivated it again

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856164010

Even has a projector which actually looks pretty darn good!

 

[dodger2020]

It's a shame they didn't make the resolution higher. The 864x480 resolution kills this for me. Had it been at least 720p, I probably would have bit on this one to try it out.

 

[Informant X]

IMHO who even cares about the projector, the PC itself is worth the deal. But honestly having seen it, it's actually pretty darn good looking. (The projector)

 

[Kaido]

It's a shame they didn't make the resolution higher. The 864x480 resolution kills this for me. Had it been at least 720p, I probably would have bit on this one to try it out.

TBH it's not as bad as it sounds - the built-in scaling stuff actually looks pretty good. My only concern is the laughable 75 lumens...you'd probably get like 40" in a dark room max

 

[Kaido]

IMHO who even cares about the projector, the PC itself is worth the deal. But honestly having seen it, it's actually pretty darn good looking. (The projector)

Yeah, seriously - with 4 gigs of RAM & a 64gb SSD? That's only $90 more than the current crop of integrated Baytrail-T mini computers, PLUS an i3. Good deal!

Where did you see the projector at in person? Trying to judge from Youtube videos is difficult since no one has a really good review of the projector portion out. This would make a sweet portable video & game player...

 

[Informant X]

I just got mine yesterday so I've seen it in person. So for what it is, it does look pretty good. I was certain impressed. Cute little added feature to have. (No that I needed it but it might get some use out of it from time to time) I Just wanted it for the HTPC aspect and as small as possible.

 

[MarkLuvsCS]

I got mine in last week and I am definitely impressed. That combo deal was a bit too sweet to pass up a full fledged system for $290. The resolution is 16:9 and if u check out most microprojectors on newegg it's a incredibly common resolution (and they run ~$200+).

I put Windows 7 64bit on mine and installed an Intel 7265 AC + bluetooth to replace the one that came with it. 40gb free with windows 7 installed really isn't bad at all either. I used the projector just briefly on the dinner table with the lights on overhead and I was surprised with it's brightness and quality. I only had it a few ft. away from the wall but it looked pretty sharp. Honestly in a pretty dark room I bet you could watch movies with ease. Don't forget it also has a small built in speaker with vents on the sides. Overall this machine has worked well and has been incredibly, pleasantly surprising.

 

[cbn]

This would make a sweet portable video & game player...

:thumbsup:

Hopefully they perfect this feature even more with coming models.

 

[cbn]

Has anyone experienced any cooling problems while using the projector and doing processor intensive work at the same time?

 

[Lil'John]

Thanks for posting this.

It cost less than the equivalent NUC(D34010WYK1) I bought last week Hope I can find a family member who wants it before the Brix Projector comesD:

 

[Kaido]

I just got mine yesterday so I've seen it in person. So for what it is, it does look pretty good. I was certain impressed. Cute little added feature to have. (No that I needed it but it might get some use out of it from time to time) I Just wanted it for the HTPC aspect and as small as possible.

Thanks - I've seen mixed things on low-lumen projectors. Some of the new tiny 100-lumen models I've seen are amazing, and other 300+ lumen models are really terrible, so 75 lumens gives me some pause. Glad to hear you like it!

 

[DragonBorn]

Great deal but sadly too low resolution... :/

 

[SunRey]

Thank You!

 

[aman74]

Yeah, seriously - with 4 gigs of RAM & a 64gb SSD? That's only $90 more than the current crop of integrated Baytrail-T mini computers, PLUS an i3. Good deal!

Where did you see the projector at in person? Trying to judge from Youtube videos is difficult since no one has a really good review of the projector portion out. This would make a sweet portable video & game player...

Interesting. So the RAM and SSD come automatically? I see them listed as free gifts, but underneath they are listed with their prices as potential add-ons in the "frequently bought with" section. I've never done one of these free gift deals so didn't know if it was automatic.

 

[Lil'John]

Great deal but sadly too low resolution... :/

For a cheap movie projector, I think this will work great. Anything more serious and I think it won't be worth too much.

Interesting. So the RAM and SSD come automatically? I see them listed as free gifts, but underneath they are listed with their prices as potential add-ons in the "frequently bought with" section. I've never done one of these free gift deals so didn't know if it was automatic.

When added, a -$70 was applied. Total shipped to me was a little over $300.

That is a very nice price compared to the NUC(D34010WYK1) that I got a little bit earlier. Granted, I got more memory(8GB) and SSD(240GB) on my NUC but both were wasted on an OpenELEC install

 

[aman74]

For a cheap movie projector, I think this will work great. Anything more serious and I think it won't be worth too much.



When added, a -$70 was applied. Total shipped to me was a little over $300.

That is a very nice price compared to the NUC(D34010WYK1) that I got a little bit earlier. Granted, I got more memory(8GB) and SSD(240GB) on my NUC but both were wasted on an OpenELEC install

Weird, I just looked again and it does say they should be free and free shipping is available, so should be 289.99, unless you paid for faster shipping.

I initially didn't see the writing in green under the listing title. I haven't shopped computers in a long time or Newegg in general, so forget to look in certain spots like under the listing and under the prices when they show the rebates there, etc...

 

[Informant X]

So far I have had no thermal issues with the projector running and watching multiple 1080P flash streams. Also yea the ram/ssd are free.

 

[Lil'John]

Weird, I just looked again and it does say they should be free and free shipping is available, so should be 289.99, unless you paid for faster shipping.<snip>

Sadly California sales tax:'(

Free shipping includes making the chips and assembling it It is coming from INDIANAPOLIS, IN and going very slow.

 

[Lil'John]

I just got it last night and did some quick tinkering with it.

I installed OpenELEC for playing movies so some of what I may have found may be quirks in the OS or the hardware.

I projected onto a white window shade in my office with a light on. At 4-5 feet away from the shade, it filled ~34" diagonally. Overall quality wasn't too bad especially with ~40watt light on. Movie was recognizable but maybe could have had better contrast/blacks. Acceptable quality for a "buy a computer get a free pico projector".

Sound was a bit of an issue. It had a plug to cover the optical out on the front panel. If the plug is fully seated, the Brix internal speakers didn't work. If the plug was not fully seated, the speakers worked. The volume was loud enough to play over the CPU/projector fan. With nothing coming out of the speakers, the CPU/projector fan was loud enough to hear. OTOH, my head was under 3 foot from it so it may not be too bad.

Hardwired to the network was fine. I didn't test the wireless. One issue I ran into was not being able to see the window's folder on another machine. Probably OpenELEC issue :|

I would have to say this is a better deal than the equivalent NUC(D34010WYK1)

 

[ravana]

For anyone that missed this deal & has a Fry's close by, they are having a sale on their Brix & NUCs.

Brix (except the first 2 on that page)

i5 NUC - $269 (CCC - $335)
i3 NUC - $189 (CCC - $279)