Question 1

Is it best to use two 4GB chips or just one 8GB chip.  Is there a significant performance increase using two chips?  I prefer the latter just in case I want to expand.  I am just using this as a plex server, light browsing.  No games.  Thanks

Accepted Answer

2 4 gig sticks  is the better way as you will be running dual channel instead of single

Question 2

What's the max resolution and number of displays it can support?

Accepted Answer

HDMI Resolution (Max.)1920 x 1080 @60Hz
Mini DP Resolution (Max.)4096 x 2160 @30Hz
You can run dual displays with the available ports. If you need more you can use a USB video adapter to take that number as high as you like.

Question 3

32or 64-bit?

Accepted Answer

Depends on the OS you install.  A 32-bit OS install will limit you to a max of 4GB of addressable memory.  A 64-bit OS allow more.  I have a 64-bit Windows 7 OS installed on my GB-BXA8-5557.  BTW, a nice little box thus far.  So, in order to max the memory to 16GB with this box you need to install a 64-bit OS.  Hope that helps.

Question 4

can it boot off 2.5" sata or only msata?

Accepted Answer

Short answer: Any. Long answer: I originally set it up with a 2.5" SATA HDD and it worked fine, but I was concerned about heat build up in the HDD, so then it set it up again using a 2.5" SATA SSD and it worked much better. But then I set it up a third time using a Samsung EVO mSATA and that is truly the best. Depending upon how you will use it, any option is fine. The mSATA boots significantly faster than the HDD but only slightly faster than the 2.5" SSD. I reinstalled the 2.5' HDD as bulk data storage (1.0TB). Mine is now mounted to the back of an LG 27" IPS monitor and it is perfect in the application. With the VESA plate mounted, the BRIX slides off and travels instantly (using a mini wireless keyboard with built-in trackball). Disconnect or reconnect literally takes a minute. And a simple USB 3.0 hub will be helpful if you mount it on the back of a monitor. Last thought: It was easy to set up the first time, but after that is more work. Best to decide first and do it once. Read all instructions before starting. (Sorry for the "TMI")

Question 5

I just bought this box and yet to set it up. I have read about the heating issue with this box. As a result, I will like to remove the thermal past on heat sink and replace it with the "Arctic Silver 5". Can anyone provide me the instruction on how to do this? I don't want to mess up anything. Thanks

Accepted Answer

Hi Kenny,

I would try your new mini-PC out first before you void your warranty. I replaced the heat sink compound on mine and it made very little difference in the high temps. I would work it from the driver side instead. By updating the driver, Windows can better control the clock speeds on lightly used cores and throttle back the cores when they start to get too hot. This also reduced the fan noise on my system somewhat.

I would recommend to replace the Gigabyte drivers with the latest AMD APU drivers. Go to AMD's website and look under Drivers + Support for the latest APU drivers for your OS.

While on AMD's site also search for the AMD overdrive utility. Although designed mainly for over-clockers, it also has temperature monitors that can correctly read the CPU and GPU temps. Most common diagnostic programs like Speccy misread the CPU temperature sensor on the AMD APU models. The reason is AMD is now reading out the temperature margin, not the actual CPU temperature. So if an APU chip melts down at 100° C and is currently running at 60°C, the temperature margin is 40°C to meltdown.

Question 6

Does this system include CPU?

Accepted Answer

Yes it does.  The A8-5557M.  It is actually an APU which is a CPU + GPU.  It is quad-core and the graphics are nice and fast too.  Also when I load my operating system I also use slimdrivers free to update to the most latest drivers.  This is a big help.  Load chipset first, then graphics, then everything else.

Question 7

why doesn't GB-BX-A8-5557 support other OS like Linux?

Accepted Answer

I got this as part of a kit on this site with 16 GB Ram and 240 GB SSD. I got it for my wife for her daily use. First I installed Linux Mint but had an issue with the wifi driver dropping and not connecting. Then I installed Ubuntu Mate and it has been rock solid. It boots up in just under 10 seconds. She is using a 24 inch HDMI TV as a monitor. Only reason I can guess at on why Mint had an issue is they hold back newer kernels, which means sometimes you don't get newer drivers. But with Ubuntu Mate 15.04 I give it a 10.

Question 8

Crazy question, has anyone tried to put xp 32 or 64 bit on this unit?

Accepted Answer

Thanks, I have a XP64x2 that I would like to find a home for, but it too is out of date. There is still a lot of programs that will not run on anything else and their maker is no longer in business.

Question 9

Can I install Windows on an mSATA drive on this machine, then install a 2.5" HDD that already has Ubuntu on it, and then switch operating systems by selecting boot device at startup or restart?

Accepted Answer

I would recommend putting grub on the boot drive (the 2.5 in your case) and then just setting the boot path to windows on the m.2.  However, your method would probably work.  I have not tried Linux dual booted with Windows yet on this particular unit myself though.

Question 10

Anyone flash the bios to F2?  How did you do it?  @Bios does not run (I get an error running setup in windows 10) and I can't seem to get this to boot to a USB flash drive I made using Rufus.  Thanks

Accepted Answer

Yes made with Rufus and worked fine there are instructions on hot to make your flash drive Bootable. Then copy bios program with all files to the flash drive.... In bios turn off USB 3.0 and reboot to boot off flash drive.

I had no issues with both I bought regarding bios update....

CJ

GIGABYTE GB-BXA8-5557 (rev. 1.0) AMD Bolton M3 Mini / Booksize Barebone System

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Item#: N82E16856164027