We're still waiting on Intel to launch its Comet Lake-S series CPUs for the desktop, but in the meantime, Gigabyte is outfitting its Brix line of mini PCs with Comet Lake-U hardware.
Comet Lake represents the fourth refinement to Intel's 14-nanometer node. It's not quite the 10nm refresh we hoped would be out by now, but that's a topic for another article. As it pertains to Comet Lake, mobile parts are already available, with Comet Lake-U being low power 15W CPUs.
That makes them candidates for thin and light laptops, and mini PCs. And that's what we have here—Gigabyte's Brix family is similar to Intel's NUC lineup, in that they are chunky little boxes that hardly take up any space. You could even mount one to the back of a monitor to create an all-in-one system.
As spotted by Twitter user @momomo_us, Gigabyte refreshed several of its Brix models with Comet Lake-U hardware. There are four models, one for each Comet Lake-U CPU available, including the Core i7-10710U, Core i7-10510U, Core i5-10210U, and Core i3-10110U.
Each of the four Brix models support up to 64GB of DDR4-2666 memory by way of two SO-DIMM slots. They also feature a 2.5-inch storage bay (SATA 6Gbps), Wi-Fi 5 connectivity, and an assortment of ports. Specifically, the front I/O houses four USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (three Type-A, one Type-C) and a headphone/microphone combo jack. Around back, users have access to two more USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, two HDMI 2.0 outputs, and a GbE LAN port.
The processors are the main selling point here. Specs for the four CPUs include:
- Core i7-10710U—6 cores / 12 threads, 1.1GHz to 4.7GHz, 12MB cache
- Core i7-10510U—4 cores / 8 threads, 1.8GHz to 4.9GHz, 8MB cache
- Core i5-10210U—4 cores / 8 threads, 1.6GHz to 4.2GHz, 6MB cache
- Core i3-10110U—2 cores / 4 threads, 2.1GHz to 4.1GHz, 4MB cache
None of these systems sport discrete graphics, so by themselves they are not gaming PCs. However, with services like Google Stadia and GeForce Now making headway in the cloud gaming space, integrated graphics can suffice.
To that end, GeForce Now requires a dual-core CPU clocked at 2GHz or higher, 4GB of RAM, DirectX 11 graphics, and a 15Mbps or faster internet connection. Likewise, Stadia's requirements on the PC are equally as soft.
Gigabyte did not say when its refreshed Brix PCs will be available to purchase or how much they will cost.
