I'd have to agree on that one, laptops that aren't going to be moved around or take out of the office don't make any sense for most business, but something like this does.
I'm hoping personally for a bay trail version of this for $150-200 bare bones.
It ought to be faster since it won't have the same thermal/power constraints as a laptop. Even though the same components are being used, I would assume (could be wrong though) that the cooling system would be much better, which would reduce/eliminate throttling. Also, since you don't have to worry about battery life, you can tune the power options for better performance. IMO :-)
The Zotac ZBOX with an AMD E450 is available for some $200, but still totally enough for a HTPC/OfficePC. You can slap in a standard 2.5" SSD/HDD and it has even a remote. It's a little bit larger though.
An E450 would be brutally slow as an "office" PC, even if you are referring to basic office use like Excel/Outlook. They make great media streamers, but they are too damn slow for much else. For basic home use like email/Facebook I'd still say something around Sandy Bridge Celeron or Llano performance would be the bare minimum for a decent experience.
I have the Zotac's E450 and... yes, it's a slooooow CPU. It's totally fine for HD videos and stuff, but even web surfing can sometimes be a bit frustrating.
"Good experience" is definitely open to individual interpretation, but I don't personally know anyone who would be truly happy with the experience offered by an E350/E450 for general home use. Like I said, the iGPU is great for decoding HD content, but the CPU cores are frustratingly slow, and I'm talking about just doing basic tasks like opening apps (even with an SSD). I bought an HP DM1Z with the E350 shortly after it came out and just recently sold it. I also have a Mini-ITX Biostar E350 board, so I've got plenty of experience with Brazos. And I'm not someone who thinks everyone needs an i7-4770K just to surf the web and check Facebook. I have built several cheap SB Celeron systems in the past 2 years that are more than fast enough for general home (or even office) use. I did the same with a cheap Llano build. But Bobcat doesn't cut it. It only looks good compared to Atom which isn't saying much since those have been absolute turkeys to date.
So the Kabini version of the Brix is vaporware? Wanted to get one as a HTPC, might as well now get such a Haswell version as my new desktop and use my current Edge VS8 as HTPC then, I just wanted to spend less money if possible.
We need a version of the NUC or BRIX or TURDZ or whatever they call the other brands of this class of product that includes the best Intel integrated GPU. Not the middling GPU's.
the only reasons to go mITX are a) cost. A6-5600k, A85X mITX mobo and mITX case is way cheaper b) you want an internal optical drive c) slightly more customizable acoustics with more than one option for heatsink and fan(s)
Man they drag these things out, announce a product with few details in June, then more details, but no pricing or availability in September. Who knows when we'll actually see these things, Christmas?
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djscrew - Saturday, September 7, 2013 - link
the future of the office computeTaft12 - Saturday, September 7, 2013 - link
Uhh, that's laptops.djscrew - Saturday, September 7, 2013 - link
for the typical office where tasks are simple email and ms office style work, laptops are an unnecessary expenseCollarOfDuty - Saturday, September 7, 2013 - link
I'd have to agree on that one, laptops that aren't going to be moved around or take out of the office don't make any sense for most business, but something like this does.I'm hoping personally for a bay trail version of this for $150-200 bare bones.
Laststop311 - Monday, September 9, 2013 - link
If only they would of used the haswell chip with iris 5100 gpu. Would be a lot more interesting.eanazag - Monday, September 9, 2013 - link
I was thinking the same thing.Rocket321 - Monday, September 9, 2013 - link
^^this. Intel, stop being so stingy with the crystalwell chips!eamon - Saturday, September 7, 2013 - link
Well, this might be a lot cheaper and probably faster than a comparable laptop. Not to mention more ergonomic.Gigaplex - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
Why would it be faster? It's using the same components laptops use.2kfire - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
It ought to be faster since it won't have the same thermal/power constraints as a laptop.Even though the same components are being used, I would assume (could be wrong though) that the cooling system would be much better, which would reduce/eliminate throttling. Also, since you don't have to worry about battery life, you can tune the power options for better performance.
IMO :-)
jrs77 - Saturday, September 7, 2013 - link
The Zotac ZBOX with an AMD E450 is available for some $200, but still totally enough for a HTPC/OfficePC. You can slap in a standard 2.5" SSD/HDD and it has even a remote. It's a little bit larger though.Bob Todd - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
An E450 would be brutally slow as an "office" PC, even if you are referring to basic office use like Excel/Outlook. They make great media streamers, but they are too damn slow for much else. For basic home use like email/Facebook I'd still say something around Sandy Bridge Celeron or Llano performance would be the bare minimum for a decent experience.heffeque - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
I have the Zotac's E450 and... yes, it's a slooooow CPU. It's totally fine for HD videos and stuff, but even web surfing can sometimes be a bit frustrating.jrs77 - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
It's not too slow for an office PC. I even played EvE Online on an E350 netbook when I was travelling. No problems there at all.Bob Todd - Monday, September 9, 2013 - link
"Good experience" is definitely open to individual interpretation, but I don't personally know anyone who would be truly happy with the experience offered by an E350/E450 for general home use. Like I said, the iGPU is great for decoding HD content, but the CPU cores are frustratingly slow, and I'm talking about just doing basic tasks like opening apps (even with an SSD). I bought an HP DM1Z with the E350 shortly after it came out and just recently sold it. I also have a Mini-ITX Biostar E350 board, so I've got plenty of experience with Brazos. And I'm not someone who thinks everyone needs an i7-4770K just to surf the web and check Facebook. I have built several cheap SB Celeron systems in the past 2 years that are more than fast enough for general home (or even office) use. I did the same with a cheap Llano build. But Bobcat doesn't cut it. It only looks good compared to Atom which isn't saying much since those have been absolute turkeys to date.signorRossi - Monday, September 9, 2013 - link
I've got a Trinity-based Sapphire Nettop and it gives a decent experience, you just have to use an SSD instead of a normal HDD!signorRossi - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
So the Kabini version of the Brix is vaporware?Wanted to get one as a HTPC, might as well now get such a Haswell version as my new desktop and use my current Edge VS8 as HTPC then, I just wanted to spend less money if possible.
willis936 - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
The future of grocery checkout*HisDivineOrder - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
We need a version of the NUC or BRIX or TURDZ or whatever they call the other brands of this class of product that includes the best Intel integrated GPU. Not the middling GPU's.Sandcat - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
The onboard GPU is good enough for an HTPC. I think I'll ditch my mini-ITX build in favor of this.JlHADJOE - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
Exactly what I was thinking.meacupla - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
the only reasons to go mITX area) cost. A6-5600k, A85X mITX mobo and mITX case is way cheaper
b) you want an internal optical drive
c) slightly more customizable acoustics with more than one option for heatsink and fan(s)
Sivar - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
Is it fanless?ShadowShade - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
Theres a slim heatsink and fan under the motherboardmeacupla - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
I wonder if they will come out with the HD5000 or Iris versions.It's just another 50 or 58 in the SKU...
i7-4550U, i5-4250U, i3-4158U, etc.
jaydee - Monday, September 9, 2013 - link
Man they drag these things out, announce a product with few details in June, then more details, but no pricing or availability in September. Who knows when we'll actually see these things, Christmas?