performance taking over from
traditional CPU centric workloads.
The difference is that INTEL isn’t
asking you to sacrifice any CPU
performance because of this approach
or philosophy. It’s matter of just
dramatically improving where they
had traditionally been weak.
With the Iris Pro, INTEL has clearly
taken graphics very seriously, to
the point where they have actually
dedicated a significant amount of
silicon space to this sole task or
rather package space. In 2013, at IDF
Beijing, an INTEL rep would not or
perhaps was not allowed to divulge
to us just how big the L4 cache they
had on the then, new Haswell mobile
CPUs was. 128 was the only number
we could discern, but at the time
128MB cache seemed far too large
and obviously a 128KB cache would
be next to useless. Obviously we now
know that it is the former. Unlike
with AMD’s APUs, in testing we found
that going from DDR3 1600MHz to
2133MHz made a smaller difference
in performance than we would have
thought. It wasn’t as pronounced and
certainly far less than it is on the
Kaveri APU. This is possibly related
to the large L4 cache as there’s less
reliance on the main memory for
data that can be stored locally. Given
that the L4 cache does not work as
a frame buffer, we have to assume
that it is because of more technical
reasons why DRAM speed impacts
performance in this way. What is
good about this is that, you’re not
forced to commit to the fastest Low
voltage memory money can buy to
nch R15 CPU
get the best out of the system. You’ll
benefit from 2133MHz DIMMS but the
system will not suffer dramatically
or in any noticeable way if you choose
to go with lower frequency modules.
(We would however implore you to
go with as high a speed as you can
afford especially given the pricing of
1866 and 2133MHz kits at present).
Whatever INTEL did with the 5200
over and above more execution units,
a fast and large L4 cache and all
the rest. The result is that they have
produced the fastest iGPU you can
find on the desktop to date. We would
have never thought that such honors
would be bestowed upon an INTEL
graphics part, yet here we are.
Right now we know nothing about
what INTEL has lined up for Broadwell
CPUs, but we can assume that
the replacement for the 4770R for
instance, will obviously be built on
the smaller 14nm node. If that is true
for the Graphics L4 cache as well will
remain to be seen. Logic would dictate
that this should be the case, but even
better performance can extracted
from the current 22nm logic by the
mere fact that the CPU will use even
less power, which will free up the
TDP budget. A frequency increase
is the most direct way to go about
this, without sacrificing the power
and thermal properties of the total
package.
That is a debate or analysis of
another time however. The BRIX PRO
that we have today should sell very
well. If not the 4770R model at least
the 4570R version as they are identical
in performance for most tasks.
CineBench R15
OpenGL
Memory Copy
Memory Latency
LuxMark v.20
(OpenCL GPU+CPU)
48,24
36446
68,6
721
45,99
36577
68,8
654
51,57
21507
82,4
696
47,15
20879
83,2
634
SUMMARY
For a first generation product,
GIGABYTE’s Brix Pro is a
phenomenal unit. It may not be
perfect but by and large it more
than delivers where it counts and
the build quality is exceptional.
When you buy it in store or online,
you’re not going to purchase
it with any form of storage or
memory. It’ll be up to you to decide
what hardware you pair with it.
For those who want maximum
performance and storage you
can outfit it with 16GB DDR3 Low
Voltage DIMMS like the CORSAIR
Vengeance set we used for our
system. In addition to that you’ll
want to maximize your disk
performance by way of an mSATA
drive as your operating system
storage and a second magnetic
2.5” drive for everything else.
This will undoubtedly drive the
cost up and everything combined
will likely cost over $1,000 USD.
A steep price, but you can at the
opposite end settle for the 4570R
version, outfit it with a single 2.5”
7200RPM 500GB magnetic drive
and 8GB of DDR3 1600MHz memory
for instance and have the entire
machine up and running for $590
or so (which is less than the price
of the 4770R model). So whatever
budget you may have, chances are
if you’re looking for a mini PC, one
of these two models will be what
you’re looking for. There are other
models as well that make use of
the lower end 4000 series graphics
processors. We would however
not consider these as viable
alternatives because they lack at
the very heart of it all what it is that
makes these two special.
We have heard that there may be
future models which are based on
this INTEL platform but have an MXM
module embedded with a discreet
GPU for even greater performance.
When this will materialize and if it
will at all, remains to be seen. Even if
that doesn’t come to be, the current
models offer something that no other
vendor we are aware of can offer. If
there ever was a great showing for
INTEL’s NUC concept, the GIGABYTE
BRIX PRO would have to be it. It’s a
tiny machine that delivers incredible
amounts of power in a very small
form factor. We are thoroughly
impressed by what GIGABYTE has
produced with the BRIX PRO!
[ The OverClocker ]
Issue 29 | 2014 The OverClocker 15