Gigabyte BRIX BSi7-6500 Compact PC Kit Review

Gigabyte BRIX Overview
Taking a first look at the BRIX the big change from last years models is that Gigabyte replaced the plastic chassis with a brushed aluminum one. It looks great and of course give you added protection.

Gigabyte BRIX BSi7-6500 Compact PC Kit

The BRIX is a very small unit, hence why Gigabyte calls it a “compact PC kit”. The official dimensions of the BSi7-6500 unit are 34.4 mm x 112.6 mm x 119.4 mm. There are new BRIX models that are a bit taller than this one, but this is because they support a 2.5-inch hard drive where this unit only supports a M.2 solid state drive. They way to tell is that models with “H” in the model name are the taller ones with 2.5-inch hard drive support. To give you an idea of scale here is the BRIX sitting next to a 2.5-inch solid state drive.

Gigabyte BRIX BSi7-6500 Compact PC Kit

At the top of the unit you have that nice brushed aluminum look. There is a Gigabyte logo in the top left corner and on the other side there is a triangular power button.

Gigabyte BRIX BSi7-6500 Compact PC Kit Gigabyte BRIX BSi7-6500 Compact PC Kit

You do have a few connections on the front of the unit for easy access, they include two USB 3.0 ports and headphone and microphone connections.

Gigabyte BRIX BSi7-6500 Compact PC Kit

As you move around the unit on each side you will find some ventilation holes, these allow hot air to escape the system and for cold air to come in.

Gigabyte BRIX BSi7-6500 Compact PC Kit

Moving around back there are two more USB 3.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet (Intel-powered), mini-DisplayPort, HDMI, power connection, a lock port and more ventilation.

Gigabyte BRIX BSi7-6500 Compact PC Kit

Flipping the unit over there are 4 rubber feet that will keep it in place on your desk. We also have stickers on the bottom with our model / serial numbers and other information. You will notice four screws on the bottom, they will need to be removed to get inside the unit. Once removed you can easily slide the bottom of the chassis off.

Gigabyte BRIX BSi7-6500 Compact PC Kit Gigabyte BRIX BSi7-6500 Compact PC Kit

With the bottom removed we can get a better look at what we have inside. First you have two DDR3L SO-DIMM slots that support 1600MHz, 1866MHz, and 2133MHz memory. Moving up we have our WiFi+Bluetooth 4.2 NGFF card. The card is powered by Intel’s dual-band Wireless-AC 3165. Sitting to the right of that is our M.2 slot that supports both SATA and PCIe M.2 drives with the 2280 specification.

Gigabyte BRIX BSi7-6500 Compact PC Kit

Removing a screw we can take the entire PCB out of the chassis. When we do that we find the Intel Core i7-6500U processor covered by a large heatsink with a blower fan attached. This fan will blow hot air out of the back of the unit.

Gigabyte BRIX BSi7-6500 Compact PC Kit

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