Gigabyte Brix S BXi7H-5500 Broadwell Mini PC Review
Test Setup, SANDRA and Cinebench
We decided to compare the Gigabyte Brix S BXi7H-5500 to both the Broadwell-based Intel NUC5i5RYK as well as the previous Brix we tested, the Gigabyte BRIX Pro. We also threw in the closest set of desktop reference numbers we had on
hand from our recent AMD Kaveri performance review. It's not exactly apples-to-apples,
these are all different platforms after all, but it's close.
CPU and Multimedia Tests
Memory Bandwidth and Cache
Cinebench
R11.5 is a 3D rendering performance test based on Cinema 4D from Maxon.
Cinema 4D is a 3D rendering and animation suite used by animation
houses and producers like Sony Animation and many others. It's very
demanding of processor resources and is an excellent gauge of pure
computational throughput.
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| System 1: AMD A10-6800K (4.1GHz - Quad-Core) AMD A8-6500T (3.5GHz - Quad-Core) AMD A8-7600 (3.8GHz/3.3GHz Quad-Core) Asus A88X-Pro (AMD A88 Chipset) 2x8GB AMD DDR3-2133 (@1866 with 6700) On-Processor Graphics On-Board Ethernet On-board Audio Samsung SSD 840 Pro Windows 8.1 x64 | System 2: Intel Core i5-4670K (3.8GHz - Quad-Core) Intel Core i3-4330 (3.5GHz - Dual-Core + HT) Gigabyte Z87X-UD7 TH (Z87 Express Chipset) 2x8GB AMD DDR3-2133 (@1600 with Haswell) Intel HD 4600 On-Board Ethernet On-board Audio Samsung SSD 840 Pro Windows 8.1 x64 | System 3: Intel Core i5-5250U (1.6GHz Dual-Core) Intel Motherboard 2X4GB Kingston HyperX DDR3-1600 Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 On-Board Ethernet On-Board Audio Intel 530 240GB mSATA SSD Windows 8.1 X64 |
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We
started our testing with SiSoftware's SANDRA, the System ANalyzer,
Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant. We ran four of the built-in
subsystem tests (CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Memory Bandwidth, Cache).
CPU and Multimedia Tests
Memory Bandwidth and Cache
While perusing these results keep in mind that at the heart of this tiny beast lies the Broadwell Core i7-5500U, which is a ULV processor, or Ultra Low Voltage chip. These type of CPUs are typically found in ultrabooks due to their ability to consume a teeny, tiny bit of power, so even though this machine has a "desktop" form factor, it's using mobile parts. This particular chip sucks down just 15w, which is extremely low for a desktop machine. Given its conservative design and specs, it's not going to be breaking any records here. That said, this particular version of Broadwell is a tad bit faster than the one we tested in Intel's NUC, beating it in both processor multi-media tests and processor arithmetic.
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The Brix S's low voltage CPU puts up some middling numbers when it comes down to sheer number-crunching ability, but keep in mind this is a 15w part, so let's be realistic here. In the OpenGL test we also see it being outgunned by the Iris Pro graphics of its predecessor, but that it is quite a bit faster than the older HD 4600. All in all this chip lands directly in the middle of the pack, as expected.
