Intel NUC 4" x 4" micro-PC - $299 shipped (1.8ghz i3, motherboard, case, PSU)

[Kaido]

no need for iris pro, as this will be purely a low powered plex transcoder

Testing the Haswell i7 BRIX next, we'll see how the CINEBENCH CPU score compares to the i5!

 

[deerslayer]

The i3 version is $255 on Amazon right now.

 

[imaheadcase]

Still waiting on the D54250WYKH, apparently a slight delay in shipping so be around middle of Feb for them to get more.

 

[Kaido]

It's bothering me that I can't get the CINEBENCH OpenGL test to run on the i5 BRIX Pro:

http://i.imgur.com/60BGnBS.jpg

It recognizes the Iris Pro graphics, I have the latest Windows & driver updates, have rebooted, messed around with the Intel Iris controls (application modes, performance settings, etc.) - no dice. I didn't see any callouts in testing in the reviews I read, either. I haven't experienced any crashes or had any issues with light 3D CAD viewing, it's just a strange quirk.

 

[Kaido]

Still waiting on the D54250WYKH, apparently a slight delay in shipping so be around middle of Feb for them to get more.

FWIW, the BRIX Pro from Gigabyte accepts standard 2.5" drives ($499 i5 & $649 i7).

 

[Kaido]

I think from this point on, I'll pretty much be sticking to the Haswell models. The extra USB port (4 total) and audio jack really make a big difference for workplace machines - plenty of USB ports for the keyboard, mouse, printer, etc. & not having to use a (thick) USB sound card to get analog audio (and thus suck up an extra port & overlap a second port!). Plus they run noticeably cooler, which is nice!

 

[Kaido]

I've had the i5 BRIX Pro running on max (Prime95) for a couple hours now with no hiccups. Not even medium-warm on top. Fan noise is similar to a distant hair dryer, like one that is on in another room - noticeable, but not bad-sounding on max. Again, I definitely wouldn't put this in a quiet office environment, unless maybe it could be VESA-mounted (with the included plate) under a desk or something where the fan noise could be muffled.

 

[imaheadcase]

FWIW, the BRIX Pro from Gigabyte accepts standard 2.5" drives ($499 i5 & $649 i7).

Yah but it a questionable design, and is noisy from the handful of people who got one.

Plus NUC is tried and true for media streamer.

 

[Aikouka]

I wonder if anyone will be creating a fanless case for the BRIX Pro or if it would have to be considerably bigger considering the higher thermals? My Streacom case is designed to handle up to ~85W, and the whole right side is one big heatsink. The NUC fanless cases are fairly small in comparison to that, but the NUC's laptop CPUs also use less wattage.

 

[EliteRetard]

Brix Pro are not laptop CPU's, desktop quad i5/i7.
Would be an excellent candidate for mineral oil.

I want to see one with a "special" PCI-E slot on the edge of the board...
Then offer a PCI-E case with a "special" powered adapter slot (with another PSU) that you could add any standard 75w GPU to. Potentially offering a larger unit with a 6pin power cord and a 150w power brick/PSU.

Should be really easy to make such a case, GPUs being standard and all. About 12"x5"x3" box with standard back plane mounts and PCI-E connector (on the inside). One large side and the side opposite the PCI-E slot will be a ventilated hex mesh or the like, which will work fine for blowers or open air coolers.

If you built the NUC like case to match the GPU case you could have them plug directly into each other. You could potentially lengthen the NUC case/board ~2" to accommodate the PCI-E like plug and a larger cooler for the desktop CPUs (since the cooler sucks right now).

With a "low power" desktop quad and 150w of GPU you could actually have a rather powerful unit much smaller than any current ITX option.

Actually I almost wonder if you could even incorporate a NUC into a GPU and include it in the large cooler (like a Nvidia blower unit). They make some powerful short cards at ~8" add another 4" for the NUC and you'd have a high end gaming rig that's ~12" x 4" x 4". I know they have 200-250w laptop power bricks and the like that could plug in the back along with the video out ports.

Emmm...that's all the daydreaming I got right now.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Actually I almost wonder if you could even incorporate a NUC into a GPU and include it in the large cooler (like a Nvidia blower unit). They make some powerful short cards at ~8" add another 4" for the NUC and you'd have a high end gaming rig that's ~12" x 4" x 4". I know they have 200-250w laptop power bricks and the like that could plug in the back along with the video out ports.

Emmm...that's all the daydreaming I got right now.

Future SteamBox design?

 

[cytoSiN]

Future SteamBox design?

That's actually not that crazy. Seems similar some of these.

 

[Kaido]

Yah but it a questionable design, and is noisy from the handful of people who got one.

Plus NUC is tried and true for media streamer.

Yup. On a desk, I'd say it's probably too noisy for regular use. As an HTPC, it would be fine since you're sitting a few feet away and have the sound on, or in a noisy shop floor or something. I ended up mounting the BRIX Pro on the VESA mount behind a 26" LCD monitor. I'm used to the noise since I used a 17" Sager laptop with a desktop i7 in it for a long time, but I think people are more noise-conscious these days.

I've had a pair of IVB i3 NUC's running for a good 12 months now with great results, so I'll grab one of the i7 BRIX Pro's and give that a long-term test along with the red i5 model I already have. Curious to see how they hold out over time. The Iris Pro does pretty dang well for a basic 3D CAD viewer, plus the extra horsepower on the CPU is nice! I can also throw in a 2.5" hard drive for local backup from the mSATA, which is helpful.

 

[imaheadcase]

Mmm any real reason to wait for the I5 version of the NUC with 2.5 ssd slot or just get the I3? From what I read the only difference is speedboost.

I would be streaming 1080p stuff over network with it. No interest in 4k or games.

 

[cytoSiN]

Mmm any real reason to wait for the I5 version of the NUC with 2.5 ssd slot or just get the I3? From what I read the only difference is speedboost.

I would be streaming 1080p stuff over network with it. No interest in 4k or games.

Then probably doesn't matter. If you already have a streaming solution though, you may want to wait just for the extra storage slot so you can localize whatever you're streaming if necessary. If that's not a concern, go for it now.

 

[imaheadcase]

Yah i got a server with all my media on it already. Just need a dedicated streamer. The 2.5 ssd i can put in a extra SSD for OS i got.

 

[Kaido]

Yah i got a server with all my media on it already. Just need a dedicated streamer. The 2.5 ssd i can put in a extra SSD for OS i got.

This looks interesting:

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4930#ov

Just launched today:

http://www.gigabyte.com/press-center/news-page.aspx?nid=1269

Gigabyte's "GB-BXA8G-8890" AMD-based BRIX. It appears to be called "BRIX Gaming" (versus the "BRIX Pro" on the Iris Pro line). In addition to sporting a 2.5" drive bay (and mSATA), it has an AMD Richland CPU (2.1-3.1ghz notebook chip) + 2GB Radeon R9 M275X GPU. If I were going to invest in a small PC box for my TV, I would want something that could handle Hyperspin, Dolphin, and some light Steam gaming. I haven't seen these available for sale in the US yet, so I don't know what the pricing will be. Seems like it would be a good deal for under $500 though.

It has a laptop CPU, which I'm guessing they did because they're using the 2GB R9 GPU. The BRIX Pro's use desktop chips with Iris Pro, so I think they had to choose where to thermally balance their performance. Really interested in seeing how this handles gaming & such. It looks like it was pre-announced as a Maingear "Spark" Steambox rebrand earlier this month:

http://www.legitreviews.com/maingear-announces-spark-steambox-pc-solution_132286

http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/06/maingear-spark/

http://techreport.com/news/25900/tiny-steam-machine-with-amd-guts-coming-from-maingear

For those not intimately familiar with AMD's mobile product family, the A8-5557M is a quad-core part with a 2.1GHz base speed, a 3.1GHz peak Turbo speed and a 35W thermal envelope, according to CPU-World. We haven't seen official specs for the Radeon R9 M275X. Considering the rest of the M2-series Radeons seem to be made up of re-badged 8000M-series offerings, however, the M275X may be no different. We're told it performs roughly on par with the desktop Radeon HD 7750, in any case.

So quad-core 2.1ghz CPU with 3.1ghz Turbo & a GPU roughly equivalent to a desktop Radeon HD 7750. Found a bit of info on the Dolphin Emulator forums & it doesn't look great:

https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thre...mely-bad-performance-in-dolphin-d3d11-backend

At work, I do a lot of small projects with things like CAD viewers & display kiosks, so I'd be interested to see how the Radeon performs in the real-world. Having a semi-decent graphics solution is "enough" for a lot of applications where basic integrated graphics don't cut it, but where you don't necessarily required a dedicated CAD card or gaming GPU.

 

[deerslayer]

I wouldn't mind having one of those AMD based brix.

 

[imaheadcase]

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-D34010WY...86601&sr=1-196

Preorders now for the I3 and I5 version..says available Feb 24th. Little later than Intel wanted I guess..$449 for I5 version. mmm

 

[Kaido]

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-D34010WY...86601&sr=1-196

Preorders now for the I3 and I5 version..says available Feb 24th. Little later than Intel wanted I guess..$449 for I5 version. mmm

2.5" HDD + HD5000, whoohoo!

 

[you2]

Correct me if I am mistaken but my rule of thumb comparing amd to intel is the following:
amd cpu is a bit slower
amd runs hotter
amd uses more power
amd is less expensive
amd gpu solutions tend to be faster (but integrated and stand-alone)

 

[rhx123]

Still can't seem to find any mention of any of the Brix Pro's here in the UK. Sucks.

 

[Kaido]

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-D34010WY...86601&sr=1-196

Preorders now for the I3 and I5 version..says available Feb 24th. Little later than Intel wanted I guess..$449 for I5 version. mmm

Looks like the i3 version is already available on Newegg: ($329)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856102057

 

[emenk]

Looks like the i3 version is already available on Newegg: ($329)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856102057

Softmart claims to have 15 of the i5 in stock. Supposedly they will get a bunch tomorrow. I have my doubts, but...

Several stores, including TigerDirect, are selling the i3, though.

 

[Kaido]

So currently I am liking the i5 Haswell BRIX a lot: ($390)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856164007

1. Nice, compact square shape
2. QUIET!
3. One full-sized HDMI port (no adapter needed like the Intel NUC)
4. Includes 802.11n + Bluetooth chip
5. Includes power brick & cable
6. HD4400 integrated graphics
7. i5 is hyperthreaded

Pretty much, I can take it out of the box, slap in the mSATA & 2 RAM sticks, and start installing Windows 7 Pro 64-bit SP1 off a USB stick. It lacks the HD5000 GPU of the Intel i5 NUC (as well as the IR receiver) and does not come with 802.11ac wireless, but I also don't have to buy a separate Wifi card or use two adapters for dual monitors either, so there are tradeoffs. The tool to convert your Windows 7 ISO to a USB stick is free here:

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/html/pbPage.Help_Win7_usbdvd_dwnTool

I use Imgburn to rip the original Windows installer DVD to ISO:

http://www.imgburn.com/

The latest drivers & BIOS files are available here:

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4741#dl

I like this black Mini-DP to HDMI adapter for $15: (if you need dual monitors with HDMI input)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812200740

This 1.35v 16GB RAM kit for $140:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148609

The Mushkin 240gb mSATA SSD for $195:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA2W00ZD1485

So that's $740 in hardware (dual-core i5 with hyperthreading, 16GB RAM, 450MB/s+ SSD, HD4400 GPU). Add in a pair of monitors & HDMI cables, operating system & other software, keyboard & mouse, speakers, etc. I typically go with 64-bit Windows 7 Professional for $140:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116992

And the Logitech MK320 wireless keyboard & mouse for $30. Make sure the MK320 comes with the Unity receiver; when I've ordered from Amazon, they sometimes send me the older version with the long stick receiver instead of the Unity micro-receiver. I like this setup a lot better than the more expensive MK710 series (lighter keyboard with better keys; the MK710's keys can get mushy).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823126188

If I'm doing dual monitors, I usually go with Planar's 997-5253-00 dual-monitor stand for $80. It can hold dual LCD monitors between 17" to 24" and up to 33 pounds each with either 75mm or 100mm VESA holes. It can tilt, rotate, and swivel, so you can pretty much orient the monitors however you want:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824995006

I usually go with a basic 21.5" 1080p LED monitor. Asus has a nice one for $135 that has HDMI input & built-in speakers (nice for an office environment) and use less than 30 watts: (dual monitors + a NUC = ~90 watts total)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236100

Logitech has some nice stereo speakers for under $20:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836121020

Or 2.1 (with a subwoofer) for $40:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836121019

Wiring can still get messy (I'm not a fan of having the only analog audio jack in the front), so if you minimize your wiring by getting a unified wireless keyboard & mouse and then sticking your printer on the network, you can keep it fairly clutter-free. I have successfully mounted the NUC to various things using the included adapter plate (i.e. side of a desk, on a wall, on the back of a VESA monitor, etc.) so you can hide it in a variety of ways if needed. Some heavy-duty sticky-back velcro works wonders attaching the power brick behind the desk.

If you need a disc drive, Samsung has a very nice model for $85 that runs off a single USB cord (no power brick or second USB port for power required). It can burn CD, DVD, and Bluray discs as well:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151259

A simple USB to mSATA adapter is available for $12 if you want to do clones, backups, etc.:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA2970ZN6383

I keep a USB adapter & the USB disc drive in my toolkit, along with a screwdriver set. Makes working on them pretty easy. I also keep a spare mSATA SSD & RAM kit (both tested) available as hot-swap parts for spares.