Been thinking about having one of these around to use as a Domain Controller in case my virtual DCs ever all go down. Pretty cheap investment really.
Aren't there open-source RDP clients? I mean, isn't the protocol documented? Why bother with Windows, updates, Deep Freeze, etc., and why not just use Linux instead as an RDP box.So as a thin client alternative, that's one option. Another is to actually use them as a thin client. Using Deep Freeze & doing some restrictions in Windows, you can set it up just for RDP access with a bulletproof OS that wipes itself back to your stock settings upon reboot. I've been able to recycle old machines doing this - a single Deep Freeze license runs $45, so if you add in a copy of Windows 7 or 8 ($140), a Celeron NUC ($165), a 4-gig RAM stick ($40), a Wi-fi card ($20), and a small 30gb or 60gb SSD ($65), you'd only be looking at $475, which is not much more than a Wyse box. With plenty of speed & power to spare, while only using up 20 watts of power.
Been thinking about having one of these around to use as a Domain Controller in case my virtual DCs ever all go down. Pretty cheap investment really.
Aren't there open-source RDP clients? I mean, isn't the protocol documented? Why bother with Windows, updates, Deep Freeze, etc., and why not just use Linux instead as an RDP box.
Speaking of which, how do the various Linux distros handle the NUC (wireless, IGP, etc.)?
Because every Linux rdp client sucks. There's a lot you can do with the windows client you cannot do with open source clients.
Darnit, why are they releasing Ivy Bridge NUCs when Haswell is out? It seems like a perfect CPU for this application too.
I don't have to worry about this until my current gig is up at the end of the year...but I have 2 2TB HDDs sitting at home that I was going to throw in a NAS (Netgear/Synology), but never got around to it. I like the idea of using a NUC due to the greater capabilities and similar TDP, but how would I use the HDDs? I originally intended to use them in RAID but now I'd rather just use them as opposed to having them sit there in a box. Probably had them 2 years now at least.
My needs :
A (very) small computer JUST to display on 6 monitors.
Any movies, 3D, or any heavy computations, just web pages or low graphic ressources. The main concern is : displaying on 6 monitors.
When I saw that Intel NUC had now, 2 mini DP, I thought having find the gem : I was planning buying 2 Club 3D MST hubs in order to use 6 monitors.
But, Club 3D warned me that, besides the fact that DP used by Intel NUC is only 1.1 protocol version, they think that the IGP (HD4000) can't display to more than 2 monitors
The i5 Intel NUC is now available for $399:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856102035
Gigabyte's model is also available now, the BRIX. Only has two USB ports, both 3.0, plus one HDMI & one Mini DisplayPort, so it is a bit more limited in terms of expandability - you'd definitely want to get something like a single Logitech Unity receiver for a wireless keyboard & mouse set, and maybe a wireless printer, to preserve the USB ports without having to go to a USB hub. I do wish there was a 3.5mm headphone jack, especially a combo with digital audio like Apple uses on their Airport Express. Also, it includes the power cable & Wi-fi card, unlike the NUC's, which is nice. And it comes in an i7 flavor (dual-core, unfortunately).
i3 model: $299
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856164003
i5 model: $379
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856164002
i7 model: $489
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856164001
Ratman6161 has a thread with a review a few posts down:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2327093
You should check out USB video cards, in that case. You can get USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 models. You will need a powered USB hub, since the NUC's only have 2 or 3 USB ports (depending on the model you get). I've had a good experience with the ones from Newer Technology:
http://www.newertech.com/video/
They are pretty much only good for 2D stuff like Office or basic webpages, and even then they are sometimes a bit laggy, but they do work. I usually set them up as a third monitor for running some like the Outlook email client on a separate screen. You can use up to 6 of these on a Windows PC, plus the two onboard video ports on the NUC, for a total of 8. So buy a NUC, a powered USB hub, and 4 of these USB video cards:
$58 for USB 2.0 model
$68 for USB 3.0 model (USB 2.0 is backwards-compatible)
That should do the trick, as long as you don't need any heavy performance on the USB-driven monitors. Both can drive a monitor with 1920x1200 resolution, and the newer USB 3.0 models do better at gaming & video playback (Bluray support & fullscreen Youtube support, although you'll need to make sure you get a USB 3.0 hub too).
That Core i5 model looks like something I can use. We build servers for a restaurant management application where I work, and most of the small form factor PC's that I've seen in this price range so far are under powered junk with Atom, VIA, or AMD E-350 processors. This system should do the job nicely.
Thank you very much for this great answer.
In parallel, I discovered this :
http://www.area-powers.jp/product/usb_product/product/other/SD-U3DH.html
But your adviced model will be bought more easily .
What a pity Intel hadn't put USB3 port behind as Gigabyte... Well, front USB3 also makes sense
The next release of the Intel models will have USB 3.0. The NUC platform was originally designed for digital signage & then took off as a desktop computer, so it doesn't have all of the regular features like a headphone jack and stuff like that. They've already shown off the third-generation using Haswell chips & USB3, plus 4 external USB ports, a headphone jack, and an internal SATA port:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Intel-NUC-Haswell-SATA,22989.html
As far as the USB video cards go, nearly all of them are the same - they typically use DisplayLink technology:
http://www.displaylink.com/technology/technology_overview.php
looking to get one solely for the purpose of a Plex Media Server, because my synology uses arm, and arm is crap. Anyways, ULV seems like the perfect solution so I don't have to keep my computer on 24/7, and I can keep the NUC without significant fluctuations in my power bill.
Although there's no avoiding the fact that the Core i5-3337U isn't up to snuff with Intel's desktop chips, often falling behind even the Pentium G2020, the Gigabyte Brix is pretty snappy for a system that measures only 4.5 x 4.24 x 1.18". Both the i5-3337U and the G2020 are based on Ivy Bridge and feature two cores with a 3MB L3 cache. They differ in clock speed and number of available threads.
The Pentium G2020 is set at 2.9GHz and lacks HyperThreading which limits it to two threads, while the i5-3337U runs at only 1.8GHz but can jump to 2.7GHz with Turbo Boost and supports four threads courtesy of HT. These configurations made for some competitive results between the two parts, though it's worth noting that the G2020 is still pretty slow by desktop standards, so even if the i5-3337U was consistently faster -- and it isn't -- it would be a small victory in the grand scheme of things.
Although they may share performance margins, the i5-3337U's value comes into question when you consider the fact that the G2020 is much cheaper at $70 versus the i5's manufacturer suggested price of $225. As we mentioned earlier, Intel's NUC systems have witnessed limited enthusiast interest and we fear the Brix will suffer a similar fate considering it's $420 up front sans RAM, SSD and OS.
I guess the question is, can a "NUC" form factor handle a 55W TDP chip? If so, there's a lot of a) cost savings or b) performance increase to be had there. Even 35W cpu would help over the high priced 17W chips.
I think a great chip for these devices would be the i5-3470T @ 35W, 2.9GHz, turbo to 3.6, 2 cores, 4 threads for $184. Or the i5-3570T @ 45W: 2.8GHz, turbo to 3.3, 4 cores, 4 threads.
Both less than the i5-3337u, much better performance and really I doubt most people would care about the power consumption difference. Electricity is still pretty cheap and there's no battery to worry about. Just don't know about the heat.