Back in February, Gigabyte launched new Core i3, i5, and i7 versions of its ultra-compact Brix PC, all of which took advantage of Intel’s 10th generation processors. Now three more Brix PCs are being added to the list, only this time they use 10nm Pentium and Celeron chips.
Gigabyte decided to use two Celeron chips and a Pentium Silver for these low power mini PCs. They measure just 46.8 by 112.6 by 119.4mm, making them slightly smaller than the Core models already introduced. Even so, you’re getting support for up to 16GB of 2,933MHz memory and a choice of SATA M.2 and 2.5-inch storage options.
The highest performing of the three models is the GB-BMPD-6005, which uses a 10W Pentium N6005 chip running at 2GHz. The GB-BMCE-5105 instead uses a 10W Celeron N5105 chip also running at 2GHz, and the GB-BMCE-4500C uses a 6W Celeron N4500 running at 1.1GHz. The obvious question is why would anyone choose the 4500C over the other two models? Because, of the three, it’s the only one that uses a fanless design and therefore should run completely silent.
Gigabyte is aiming these new models at a wide range of users including for home, school, and office, but also for digital signage, kiosks, and for medical care purposes. As for performance, Gigabyte is boasting between a 38-60% gain over previous Pentium Silver and Celeron processors, with graphics also getting a boost thanks to the updated Intel UHD Graphics 605.
On the front of the case you’ll find two USB 3.1 ports, one of which is Type-C, as well as headphone and microphone jacks. On the back are two more USB 3.1 ports, a Gigabit Etrhernet port, Mini DisplayPort 2a, and a HDMI 2.0a port. Wireless connectivity comes in the form of 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.2. As is typical with Brix PCs, Gigabyte includes a VESA bracket for mounting them on the back of a monitor. In fact, it looks as though the cooling will work best when mounted vertically.
Pricing and availability has yet to be confirmed, but these are the budget Brix options and therefore should be affordable, especially considering you’ll need to add your own memory and storage.
