In the past few hours, the Taipei brand has announced the update of its high-end miniPC, the BRIX Extreme, which now supports the already known AMD configurations, including the new ones with Intel 12th gen, Alder Lake.
Following the launch of the models with AMD’s Ryzen 5000U, which remain in the list, the Taiwanese brand Gigabyte has formalized a new compact mini-computer, in the Intel NUC style, represented by the Gigabyte BRIX Extreme which, via VESA attack, can also disappear at view, being mounted behind a monitor: according to the company it will arrive on the market in the coming weeks (second quarter of 2022) with more details (and prices) on the configurations offered in the various markets.
To date, the Gigabyte BRIX Extreme compact computer is known to have a 13.9 x 13.4 x 4.4 cm frame: this is assumed for the SLIM version while, by opting for the taller TALL version, you get about 5.06 cm high, enough to insert an additional 2.5-inch hard drive (solid state or mechanical) at the bottom. Between the front and the back there is a 3.5 mm jack for headphones, an RJ45 for Ethernet Gigabit at 2.5 Gbps, 7 USB ports (a couple of which Type-C with Thunderbolt).
Considering the presence of a mini DisplayPort and two HDMI, taking into account the video output (DP) on one of the Type-Cs, the system, in addition to being able to support a single 8K via HDMI 2.1, can simultaneously manage 4 screens in 4K @ 60Hz. Still in terms of interfaces, Gigabyte promises to sell an expansion kit, which will bring more storage space thanks to the additional M.2 2280 slot, together with a serial port and another Gigabit Ethernet LAN while, in connectivity quota, the modem for Wi-Fi 6E is to be attributed by default.
The system will always be silent: in idle mode it will stop at 15 decibels, which will still remain below 30 under heavy workloads. Even by engaging the boost mode, that is with TDP up to 45 W, the 35 decibels will not be exceeded. Even the thermal disposal will not be outdone, although the hydro-cooling system focuses more on a fan alongside a large radiator.
Able to guarantee performance increases of 24% in terms of processor, and 10% in terms of graphics, 12th generation Intel processors will come into play, with options i3 (6 cores and 8 threads), i5 and i7 (in the latter case yes speaks of 12 cores and 16 threads, with maximum clock frequency at 4.7 GHz, outlining a picture that would stand out perfectly on a Core i7-1260P): the integrated GPU, in the best configurations, will offer the contribution of the Iris Xe Graphics G7 cards with 96 execute units adequate to support DirectX 12 Ultimate libraries. The RAM (DDR4 at 3200 MHz), via two SODIMM slots, will be of the dual channel type while, as regards storage, an SSD with a PCIe 4.0 interface will be stationed via the M.2 2280 slot.