Intel NUC

[TPerry]

Anybody have one? I'm seriously giving consideration to getting one to install Linux on to play with. Showed it to the office manager at the Dr. office I do volunteer work (IT) at and he liked the size of it (currently we use the micro Dell desktops with SSD drives). I like the fact it's small enough to mount on the monitor itself and they never use CD/DVD-ROM for anything other than installing software every now and then.
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/overview.html

 

[lazy llama]

I have two, the previous i5 models (DC53427HYE).
I have 16GB RAM and a 64GB SSD in each, running VMware ESXi 5.5 as part of my test lab. I have a test XenForo install running in a Linux machine on one, with one disk of the VM running from iSCSI GbE-connected SAN and the database running from SSD on the host.

They're great little machines.
Upsides:

• Really small
• Pretty much silent
• Low energy consumption.
• Pretty fast
• The i5 model I have has Intel vPro for remote console access (like iLO on HP servers).
• Comes in a box which plays the Intel ident notes when you open it:

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Downsides:

• Only a single NIC - this is not much of a problem for most people but for a vSphere lab it's a bit restrictive.
• Until someone releases 16GB DDR3 SODIMMs, they're limited to 16GB of RAM. Again, not a problem for most people.
• Not as cheap as they could be, especially if you're filling them up.

 

[TPerry]

Single NIC won't kill me (it's more to play with here than anything, and I've got the two actual servers sitting on the desk with 5 full size desktops and 1 mini - adjacent to my desk that I normally use with my Mac Mini on it).
I've already got 2 128GB SSD drives here and extra memory that will work fine in them - so my actual outlay is just for the unit itself. Time to start finding the best price. No wireless for me, I want hardwired!

 

[lazy llama]

The NUCs only take mSATA drives (mini PCIe interface) so you as long as your existing SSDs are that format rather than normal SATA you should be fine.

Oh and they don't come with a power cable - takes a cloverleaf (C5) power cable which if you don't already have one can be acquired cheaply.

 

[TPerry]

The NUCs only take mSATA drives (mini PCIe interface) so you as long as your existing SSDs are that format rather than normal SATA you should be fine.

Oh and they don't come with a power cable - takes a cloverleaf (C5) power cable which if you don't already have one can be acquired cheaply.

Have two of the drives in that format (don't ask me why I purchased 'em... I forget what I thought I needed 'em for but never used them - VisionTek's that I got from NewEgg) and I've got about 15 of those cables back in one of my "just in case junk" boxes in another computer room.

 

[TPerry]

Ironically, went to the Dr. office today because their fax server quit accepting faxes (I HATE VMware) and while there the Dr. asked about putting the monitors in the X-Ray room on the wall to conserve space. I showed him the Intel NUC and commented that way it could ALL be mounted on the wall easily. Looks like they'll be ordering 2 for the X-Ray room to try out soon.

 

[woei]

Nice. I have ordered an unit (v3 with option for 2,5" drive) for a windows 8.1 with XBMC setup. Also I want to use it to play Netflix and some dutch webstreams. I like the fact they have sufficient power for smooth playback now and in the future. It's small and nice enough to put under the tv and has IR build in. A friend of mine has got the same model and it plays the new 4k content also without any problems. Only problem now is to buy a 4k tv Nah, quite happy with my current panasonic plasma

 

[OSS 117]

So it's kind of like a Mac mini? I don't really get the whole non optical thing. Most of my software still comes on discs. Heck, I bought a few laptops this past holiday season. Finding ones with drives was a pain in the butt.

 

[AdamD]

Heh, I don't remember the last time I had a CD or DVD with software on it.

 

[woei]

So it's kind of like a Mac mini? I don't really get the whole non optical thing. Most of my software still comes on discs. Heck, I bought a few laptops this past holiday season. Finding ones with drives was a pain in the butt.

Yeah, it has about the same kind of dimensions, and it comes with a VESA mount to easily mount it on the back of a tv screen or monitor. The non-optical thing is the demand of consumers that they want thinner and smaller devices. It's really easy to use or create a bootable usb stick for installation of software. I think 99% of the software that I bought last 2 years are download only.

 

[OSS 117]

Outside the realm of every day software used by the masses and games, most software I've used in the past has come with 5-6 installation DVDs with 9 GB of data on each disc, expanding to a total of nearly 90 GB on a drive. It just isn't economical to download 54 GB of data in a sitting and that covers only one software, not to mention the GBs its plugins take, each one taking nearly 4 GB alone. Even with a 100 Mbit down connection with a theoretical 500 GB cap each month, I easily get close to that cap doing everyday things. I mean, I really like YouTube, but that aside getting rid of the optical drive pisses prosumers off. I find it silly to buy a laptop and then to purchase a USB DVD or Bluray drive.

That aside, downloading may be fine if your connection speed can support the burst habit, but then there's caps. Most American ISPs (let alone outside of the USA) have silly caps. Most of these thinner profile computers use SSD. Easy to fill those up with a few large downloads, then you need to worry about expansion during setup. While I've heard the line from the average consumer, some of us still rely on discs because the software simply doesn't come on download or isn't feasible to download, as the provider's server speed is atrocious.

 

[woei]

Just out of curiosity, what kind of software do you have that comes with an 45gb install? I don't think you are speaking of normal consumer use? I think a qualify as prosumer and I'm really happy with the option to buy a separate USB dvd drive. I want to have a light notebook. My current model has a 512GB ssd in it and thats more then enough for me. Also here in the Netherlands most ISPs don't have caps and have good speeds (150/15mbit for 60 euro a month and fiber providers offering 100/100 for as low as 50 euro a month). I think it's normal evolution and that it's better to have the choice.

In my normal workstation I still have a DVD drive, but I can't remember when I used it...

But more on-topic. Today I received my new intel NUC, it plays a nice sound when unboxing and the unit feels solid. The installation went really smooth Bootable USB ftw