So in the end, the Gigabyte brix based on the AMD A8-5557m (4 core, 2 moduals) was to loud for my taste. At idle it was very audible, and while messing with the windows power settings to keep it underclocked help keeped it from ramping up (where it gets really loud), I lose out on much needed cpu power which becomes noticeable in youtubes 1080p content.
I had been keeping an eye on the GB-BSi3H-6100 based off the i3-6100U, not only more power then I need (HTPC movie player) but I have experience with ULV processors and love them for their low power needs and low heat results. However $280 was a little more then I want to spend (I got the brix for $150, which is pretty killer at that price vs power). During one of my digs through new egg I uncovered an older MSI cubi based off the last generation i3-5005U. Same passmark as the AMD which would be fine, but I am sure it actually performs better in overall task just because its an intel i3. At best however I was sure the ulv processor would give me the power AND noise levels I want.
So it came a couple days ago and I was going to switch the 7260 intel mPCIE card I had gotten for the AMD cause it kicked ass, and I didn't want to risk farting around with another cheapie card. Well I was met with a little disappointment, the Cubi went with a smaller M.2 formfactor for the intel 3165 card. the card is very simular to the 7260 but is only 1x1. I decided to keep the card that came with it (I later found out the second slot was a full mPCIe port, not just Sata, so I could have used it if I wanted too and nix ever using a sata board) and thankfully it has worked great. I get full internet speeds and I didn't find any response issue when seeking in my local videos. I love intel cards. ^^
What I don't love is how cubi sends the unit. I ran into several issues and many hours troubleshooting things which boiled down to 2 issues. #1 the Cubi by default has the non SSD bottom installed. This is fine, swapping bottoms is no problem, but they also leave the SSD cable in a bag for the user to install. This turned out to be a pain in the ass because it is difficult to see which direction the cable needs to face, and you need to put a fair amount of pressure on the plug to socket it down, enough that you could damage it if you were not lined up right. Now either the cable came damaged, or it got damaged during the attaching process, but I now had a problem where there was a 50/50 chance the hard drive could not be detected/used properly during each bootup.
I seem to have found an orientation (the hd isn't secured atm, to relieve pressure from the SSD header) where its always working now, will need to send out a ticket to see if I can get a new cable sent though.
My second issue came with the fact that the bios is setup for an OS that is NOT windows 8/10. Took me some time to figure out that after the above issues, the SSD not being allowed to be the system drive for windows stemmed from secure boot (hidden under the novel "Windows 8 options" in the bios) being disabled.
BTW none of the above is covered in the manuals. The manuals assume you baught a prebuilt windows system, and covers NOTHING about the bios, or how to install your hardware into the unit. So after burning my evening after work I was finally getting places with the unit. Funny enough, despite all the issues with it, it as doing the one thing I got it for, being quiet! despite all the time spent on the install screens and installing data it remind whisper quiet. The fan is always on, but it is below the sound level of breathing.
Today I ran some benchmarks on it to do a little comparison with my brix, and see how loud it can get under full loads. Amazingly it did seem to outperform the brix just a little in games (low settings in FFIX and Guildwars 2 were quite playable) and the fan STILL didn't need to go much faster. During iGPU use on the AMD apu, the fan noise was unbearable.
So my quick notes on its good and bads;
+ Couldn't ask for a quieter fan.
+ Box is pretty damn small, smaller then my Brix.
+ CPU is more than enough for casual use. Not really enough power for gaming but if you were stuck with just this box, you have options.
+ intel 3160 wifi card has the bells and whistles of 7260 big brother, but cheaps out only being 1x1.
- Kit offers poor documentation. JFYI the jumper on the motherboard IS a cmos clear.
- If you want to ugrade the wifi, you will need the M.2 version of the card if you don't want to block off your ability to use an SSD mPCIe.
- bios is super basic, and updating it REQUIRES you build a boot disk. To rub salt into the wounds, the instructions for building this is ONLY in a power point presentation file, and in order for the boot disk to work you need to go back into the bios and turn off secure boot.
I had been keeping an eye on the GB-BSi3H-6100 based off the i3-6100U, not only more power then I need (HTPC movie player) but I have experience with ULV processors and love them for their low power needs and low heat results. However $280 was a little more then I want to spend (I got the brix for $150, which is pretty killer at that price vs power). During one of my digs through new egg I uncovered an older MSI cubi based off the last generation i3-5005U. Same passmark as the AMD which would be fine, but I am sure it actually performs better in overall task just because its an intel i3. At best however I was sure the ulv processor would give me the power AND noise levels I want.
So it came a couple days ago and I was going to switch the 7260 intel mPCIE card I had gotten for the AMD cause it kicked ass, and I didn't want to risk farting around with another cheapie card. Well I was met with a little disappointment, the Cubi went with a smaller M.2 formfactor for the intel 3165 card. the card is very simular to the 7260 but is only 1x1. I decided to keep the card that came with it (I later found out the second slot was a full mPCIe port, not just Sata, so I could have used it if I wanted too and nix ever using a sata board) and thankfully it has worked great. I get full internet speeds and I didn't find any response issue when seeking in my local videos. I love intel cards. ^^
What I don't love is how cubi sends the unit. I ran into several issues and many hours troubleshooting things which boiled down to 2 issues. #1 the Cubi by default has the non SSD bottom installed. This is fine, swapping bottoms is no problem, but they also leave the SSD cable in a bag for the user to install. This turned out to be a pain in the ass because it is difficult to see which direction the cable needs to face, and you need to put a fair amount of pressure on the plug to socket it down, enough that you could damage it if you were not lined up right. Now either the cable came damaged, or it got damaged during the attaching process, but I now had a problem where there was a 50/50 chance the hard drive could not be detected/used properly during each bootup.
I seem to have found an orientation (the hd isn't secured atm, to relieve pressure from the SSD header) where its always working now, will need to send out a ticket to see if I can get a new cable sent though.
My second issue came with the fact that the bios is setup for an OS that is NOT windows 8/10. Took me some time to figure out that after the above issues, the SSD not being allowed to be the system drive for windows stemmed from secure boot (hidden under the novel "Windows 8 options" in the bios) being disabled.
BTW none of the above is covered in the manuals. The manuals assume you baught a prebuilt windows system, and covers NOTHING about the bios, or how to install your hardware into the unit. So after burning my evening after work I was finally getting places with the unit. Funny enough, despite all the issues with it, it as doing the one thing I got it for, being quiet! despite all the time spent on the install screens and installing data it remind whisper quiet. The fan is always on, but it is below the sound level of breathing.
Today I ran some benchmarks on it to do a little comparison with my brix, and see how loud it can get under full loads. Amazingly it did seem to outperform the brix just a little in games (low settings in FFIX and Guildwars 2 were quite playable) and the fan STILL didn't need to go much faster. During iGPU use on the AMD apu, the fan noise was unbearable.
So my quick notes on its good and bads;
+ Couldn't ask for a quieter fan.
+ Box is pretty damn small, smaller then my Brix.
+ CPU is more than enough for casual use. Not really enough power for gaming but if you were stuck with just this box, you have options.
+ intel 3160 wifi card has the bells and whistles of 7260 big brother, but cheaps out only being 1x1.
- Kit offers poor documentation. JFYI the jumper on the motherboard IS a cmos clear.
- If you want to ugrade the wifi, you will need the M.2 version of the card if you don't want to block off your ability to use an SSD mPCIe.
- bios is super basic, and updating it REQUIRES you build a boot disk. To rub salt into the wounds, the instructions for building this is ONLY in a power point presentation file, and in order for the boot disk to work you need to go back into the bios and turn off secure boot.
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