Gigabyte Brix S BXi7H-5500 Broadwell Mini PC Review
Power Consumption and Noise
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The Brix S at idle, consuming just a bit under 2w.
This is under 100% load using AIDA64, as we see the CPU consuming 11.5w and the CPU fan spinning at 4,299rpm.
If there's one category where these Broadwell systems shine, its this one. Though these Ultra Compact PCs are generally quite efficient, this machine in particular really shows what the Broadwell architecture is capable of by performing quite well in most desktop tasks yet barely consuming any power. This allows it to be nearly silent at all times, despite the fact that it has active cooling. We literally could not hear it ever, unless we put it under 100% load, whereby unless its under full-load, and even then it's barely audible. Kudos to Gigabyte for designing such an effective cooling solution, as it's one the most quiet we have ever experienced.
We're especially pleased that this model of Brix is much, much quieter than the previous unit. This PC is so quiet it would be very easy to drop behind a monitor, or tuck inside a media center.
