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Bought me a shiny red Brix, AMD A8 quad style!

VirtualLarry

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
56-164-027-TS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856164027

Haven't received it yet, will update once I get it running. Looking forward to a new toy to play with. After the NanoPC (with C-70 APU), and the MeegoPad T02 Compute Stick with a heavily-throttling Z3735F CPU, I'm hoping that this Brix unit will have a bit more CPU horsepower.
 
I picked one up from NE a few weeks ago on sale. Seems pretty sturdy but I've not done much with it yet. Figured I'd try Mint on it first.
 
Let us know how it turns out! I think the AMD model is the only BRIX/NUC I haven't gotten my hands on yet. Curious about the performance!
 
Not bad the A8 5557M isn't far behind the i5 4200U in terms of performance and has a better GPU, too bad something like that will never go that cheap in Canada. lol
 
I've read mixed reviews on this little beauty! So-so CPU performance and a few heat issues... but one of the best super-mini-gamers for the money.

Looking forward to your opinions!

Edit: THAT PRICE!! Holy smokes you 'mericans get amazing deals! 🙁
 
XavierMace said:
Pretty soon Larry, you're going to be buying real computers. 😛
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Harharhar. Riiiight.

Anyways, I like this Brix. Pretty nice little unit.

Several times, while doing Windows Updates, the mouse froze up for a split-second. Which never really happened to me with a desktop.

So I don't know if it is because the Brix is under-powered, or if the brand-new Samsung 850 EVO 120GB is flaky.
 
I wouldn't think it would be underpowered for doing updates. how is the heat? what did you load on it? have you tried Netflix/youtube on it?
 
I remember getting this system during last year's BF sales (120gig ssd/2gb ram/win 8.1 for $99). It does it's purpose as a HTPC. At first, I had issues with netflix/youtube but it was resolved when I switched out the HDMI cable.

You may need to enable turbo mode in the BIOS if you feel the system is sluggish and the fan noise is noticeable.
 
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I think its the fan noise that gets me the most. At boot in the bios they're running at 2000+ rpm. I've only booted it up with Mint so far though. The bios is pretty basic, I couldn't find a setting that would slow down the boot so I could actually see a bios splash/load screen.

Mint 17.1 worked well in live mode and persistent usb drive mode. No immediate problems with drivers or networking.
 
Thanks Larry and others for info and feedback on this barebones. Looking at something like this for Kodi box, music w/google music manager, arcade emulation, very light Steam gaming, light office apps and so forth. Like the 16 GM Ram on Brix as Cube max out at 8. Not current on overall performance differences, limitations between this and the MSI Cube

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7090&cm_re=CUBI-005BUS-_-56-167-090-_-Product

This a budget driven project. Want one but don't need it thing.Would go with 8 GB ram and msata HD at first. Would assume graphics are better on the Brix but for the core needs the Cube seems up to the tasks. Does the Brix use the 50 mm Msata like the Cube? Not very familiar with either CPU in mobile form. What would I really be getting with this Intel Pentium 3805U (Broadwell Embedded), 1.9 GHz vs the AMD Richland? Of course how low I could grab one on sale will be a big factor. Would be doing a Win 7 Pro upgrade to Win 10 or Mint. Thanks in advance.
 
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I'm looking at the possibility of building a system for my sister for Christmas. Something like this would be pretty ideal for lighter games like Minecraft and Sims 4.
 
I bought one and it came in today, main reason for buying it is 1. the $135 price, 2. had a spare 256mb msata drive. bought a single 8gb stick for it, total cost into it is $170, I am definitely impressed with its performance and its size!
 
Fallout 4 works pretty well on it. 30 fps using medium settings at 1366x768. The fans just blast off though.
 
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I don't really game at all, Netflix/youtube, internet surfing, office work, checking emails I haven't noticed the fan at all. for those who game and it runs a lot, have you tried taking off the heatsink and putting different thermal paste on it?
 
Pros: Size, CPU Power, Ports, Easy to work on

Cons: I sent mine back because the fans constantly rev up. The CPU reading was at 150C which is probably not possible. Possibly bad sensors. I tried re-pasting APU and it made no difference. Upon taking this apart we discovered a discrete video card in the bottom that had the GPU markings scratched off and the card was completely disabled. I think these were originally the BRIX Gaming machines but probably had defective card so they were just disabled and sold as another product. I feel cheated.
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Now, I haven't taken mine completely apart, only as much as necessary to put the SSD and RAM in. But that's very interesting, if these units have a non-functional dGPU chip on there as well.

I guess this model is really like a factory "B stock" unit? That kind of stretches the definition of "binning" a bit. Kind of like selling a car with two defective wheels as a motorcycle?
 
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