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Gigabyte shows off tiny, adorable Brix gaming PC
Steam Box dreamers take note, our buddies at Engadget recently went hands on with Gigabyte's Brix gaming PC. Gigabyte's Brix line, if you haven't heard, crams a whole PC into a case roughly the size of a nice tiramisu (i.e. a cube about 4.5 inches wide). The diminutive machine packs Intel's new Haswell processor and, more importantly, Iris Pro integrated graphics. Connectivity includes 4 USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, Ethernet, Bluetooth 4.0, built-in WiFi and a headphone jack. Engadget tried out Grid 2, which played smoothly in 1080p. The lil' 'puter isn't going to outperform a system with a dedicated GPU, but it sounds impressive nonetheless. The PC has no release date just yet, but it's expected to sell for $500. That comes with a hefty caveat, however: you'll have to provide your own RAM, 2.5-inch hard drive and operating system.
Daily Roundup: Distro Issue 107, iPhone 5c pre-orders, Gold-colored HTC One, and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Gigabyte shows off tiny BRIX gaming PC with Haswell and Iris Pro graphics (hands-on)
While we had an inkling that Gigabyte would be fitting its latest miniature BRIX PCs with Haswell processors, we were pleasantly surprised to learn it had also built a tiny gaming computer with Iris Pro graphics on board. Indeed, the BRIX pocket gaming PC has similar internals to the recently announced Gigabyte BRIX II -- it has an HDMI port, Ethernet, four USB 3.0 slots, Bluetooth 4.0, a Mini display port, built-in WiFi and a headset jack -- but with the added benefit of Intel's latest integrated graphics and the choice of red, yellow or black aluminum housing. We had a chance to play around with a prototype model at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, and we have to say we're impressed. We played a short round of Grid 2 and the race car looked amazing as it roared across a large 1080p TV. While the performance appeared robust enough in our brief hands-on, an Intel rep did warn us it probably won't replace a system with a dedicated high-end GPU (Ed. Note: We've heard from Intel that while Iris Pro won't replace a high-end GPU, it'll match up well with low to mid-range graphics cards). The box itself is an adorable little thing that we felt was compact and light enough to bring to our next gaming party without taking up too much space in the trunk.
Gigabyte shows four prototype BRIX mini PCs, including models with projectors and wireless charging
Gigabyte said that we'd have at least a few BRIX mini PCs to choose from. At Computex, however, it's showing four new prototypes that could lead to a much larger catalog. Two of them are run-of-the-mill designs with AMD Kabini and Intel Haswell processors -- nice enough, but more evolution than revolution. The other two are decidedly more exotic, though. One includes a wireless charging pad to charge a smartphone in a pinch, while the other carries a pico projector for on-the-spot presentations. Although Gigabyte hasn't mentioned whether or not these BRIX models will reach production, we'd wager that the conservative systems are more likely to reach our desks.
Gigabyte introduces BRIX, a customizable mini PC powered by Ivy Bridge CPUs
The mini PC market isn't exactly a crowded one, but it's never a bad thing to have options. Well, if you're into the idea of adding an ultra-compact to your setup, Gigabyte's just announced its highly customizable BRIX. The palm-sized PC appears to be the very same one we saw back at this year's CES, but it's now taken on a more polished, ready-to-hit-shelves look. Gigabyte's providing interested parties the ability to load this itty-bitty thing with a vast selection of Ivy Bridge chips (Core i3, i5 and i7), plus their own SSD / RAM combo and operating system of choice. Ports-wise, there are two USB 3.0 sockets, HDMI and a Mini DisplayPort -- Gigabyte notes it can power up to two displays simultaneously. Naturally, the cost depends on the specs you choose, and the company only goes as far as to say that the BRIX covers "a range" of price points.%Gallery-189343%
Gigabyte shows off an extra-tiny desktop PC with a Core i7, April release date
There was a surprise waiting alongside Gigabyte's Windows 8 tablet duo at CES: an exceptionally small desktop. The as yet unnamed mini PC is a minor marvel of engineering that's much smaller than a Mac mini at an 0.3-liter volume (10 fluid ounces), but still manages to cram in a Core i3, i5 or i7 processor. We're also looking at up to 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for heavy duty tasks. Expansion is about the only sacrifice, as there's just two USB ports, Ethernet and a rather curious choice of two HDMI ports on the pre-production model we saw. Gigabyte didn't have the system ready to test, but it should ship worldwide in April, with a price to be set later.
Brix concept phone wows, expands into large screen display
Designer Seokwon Hong's Brix mobile phone concept looks to be the stuff of dreams, but we'd welcome it today with arms wide open. This innovative idea sees a mobile with a screen covering all of the front real estate feature the ability to connect with other Brix, the two then become one as the screens merge content. The idea behind it while simple, offers up endless fun scenarios for use: from gaming nights with friends -- you'll need a lot of Brix-toting friends, of course, and it'll have to support some type of input -- to family events for pic sharing, and the like. When devices are connected a temporary shared content folder is created until your break them apart, alternatively one device can be set as the control or hub device. We've seen countless concept devices, but this is one of the first to really stand out with excellent real-world possibilities. Job very well done! We're lining up for review samples -- we think a minimum of ten should be good -- today.[Via Sci FI Tech]
