GIGABYTE refreshes BRIX compact barebone PCs with 7th Gen Intel Kaby Lake processors

Size matters. Well, when it comes to computers, at least. Look, long gone are the days of having dedicated computer rooms where a family shares a single monstrous tower. With so many adults moving back home with their parents, houses and apartments are much more cramped, meaning fewer vacant rooms. True, a laptop can alleviate this, but so can a diminutive desktop. By taking up less space (some can even be VESA mounted to the rear of a monitor), a compact PC can allow a desk or table to serve other purposes than simply being home to a tower.

There are many choices in the compact PC market nowadays, such as the brilliant System76 Meerkat, or the new HP mini computers -- Wave and Slice. If you want a barebones system, however, GIGABYTE's BRIX line is a legit alternative to Intel's own NUC. Today, BRIX gets a refresh with all-new 7th Gen Intel 'Kaby Lake' Processors.

"Challenging the essence of how we define a desktop PC, GIGABYTE engineers have developed an ultra compact PC with a brushed aluminum surface chassis design. Ideal for a broad range of computing applications at home or in the office, the BRIX expounds sheer simplicity and convenience. With a broad choice of processors covering the entire performance spectrum, the BRIX sets a new standard for desktop miniaturization that makes it perfect as a discreet HTPC/multimedia hub, an ultra-low power PC for the family, an office PC or as a digital signage unit", says GIGABYTE.

The company also shares, "the new BRIX barebones raises the bar once again with the new Intel 7th Gen Core processor family -- delivering more responsive performance than ever before. This 7th Gen Core processor utilizes a power efficient microarchitecture, advanced process technology and silicon optimizations to deliver faster performance than previous generation processors. By leveraging Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology, performance and power is dynamically controlled -- for cores and graphics -- boosting performance precisely when it is needed, and saving energy when it counts".

There are six models available -- three of which carry the 's' moniker, meaning it is taller and can accommodate a 2.5 inch SSD or HDD. All models comes with a m.2 SSD connector, however. You can review and compare them by clicking the links below.

Since these are barebone machines, you must add your own RAM and storage drive for it to operate. Also, you will need to bring your own operating system to the party. While BRIX will run Windows 10 wonderfully, it can also make an excellent Linux machine, thanks to the very compatible Intel hardware.