Intel NUC 4" x 4" micro-PC - $299 shipped (1.8ghz i3, motherboard, case, PSU)

[Kaido]

YES!!! 24/7 operation for my transcoding done!!!

Yeah, they said even though the PSU is rated at 65W, they couldn't get it to break 30W no matter what they did. So it'll be slower on a mobile CPU, but if you leave your computer on 24/7, doesn't matter if it takes longer because there's almost always idle/downtime, but your bill stays lower regardless :thumbsup:

 

[OddTSi]

I'm curious to see if the new Atom CPU/GPU stuff can handle things like high-bitrate 1080p MKVs.

I agree, if it can handle the standard HTPC tasks, there's really no need for the higher performing chips since they'll just run up your power bill faster.

I'm really interested to see some HTPC tests done with the Bay Trail version.

 

[finbarqs]

Plex Transcoding, here I come!!!!!

 

[FriendlyGhost]

Intel & Gigabyte also have a new Bay Trail-M Atom NUC coming out in Q1 2014 (the DN2810FYK), which looks like it will have an MSRP of $139:

http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/Bay-Trail-M-Powered-Intel-NUC-Coming-Q1-2014-140

I'm curious to see if the new Atom CPU/GPU stuff can handle things like high-bitrate 1080p MKVs. If so, there's virtually no reason to buy the Core i-series Haswell NUC for HTPC usage, unless you want to do some lightweight gaming or run 4K source material. aka, super cheap HTPC front-ends! :awe:

Lightweight gaming - would that be MineCraft, WarCommander and Flash-based games?
What about some simple photo editing with Elements; would it be powerfull enough?

 

[you2]

The new atom will indeed be interesting. From some benchmarks I saw it is definitely faster than older atoms but slower than i3 (I forget if it was 1/2 i3 or 1/4 an i3 - 2 core low power i3). But still for web browsing; video et all that is plenty fast. Then again if you want 4K transcoding ....

 

[TwiceOver]

So when are the new haswell ones going to be available? Any suggestions on IR remote for it?

I'm thinking Plex Client.

 

[you2]

for ir remote use of the new smart phones

 

[TwiceOver]

for ir remote use of the new smart phones

Smart phone remotes are so dumb. I don't want to look down, turn on my phone, open app, press button. Plus no tactile feedback just doesn't work. Using your phone for a remote has it's place, that place is just not on my couch watching TV.

 

[Kaido]

Smart phone remotes are so dumb. I don't want to look down, turn on my phone, open app, press button. Plus no tactile feedback just doesn't work. Using your phone for a remote has it's place, that place is just not on my couch watching TV.

No no, the new Smartphones actually have IR blasters on them:

http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/24/4262074/is-this-the-year-of-the-ir-blaster

So we're going from a Wi-fi connected set-top player device to a Wi-fi connected smartphone via infrared :biggrin:

 

[Kaido]

Lightweight gaming - would that be MineCraft, WarCommander and Flash-based games?
What about some simple photo editing with Elements; would it be powerfull enough?

Yeah, and with the new HD5000 integrated GPU, I'd imagine it'd be better than fine, it'd probably be nicely usable. I use Paint.NET on old GMA integrated graphics all the time and it's fine.

Pretty much any older game, any lightweight 3D game, and Flash-based games would be great.

 

[Kaido]

So when are the new haswell ones going to be available? Any suggestions on IR remote for it?

I'm thinking Plex Client.

I would imagine you could use anything with it, like your typical universal remote control. I've seen like zero data on it, so I don't know if you'd have to use something like Girder to control it or if Intel would give you some custom piece of software. Personally, I'd still go with a Logitech Harmony Smart Control:

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/harmony-smart-control?crid=60

It's kind of backwards to use a Wifi-enabled IR blaster to control a computer with an IR receiver, but the benefit is that the Logitech "dumb" remote can also control your TV & Receiver, so you end up with One Remote To Rule Them All: dumb remote -> Wifi IR blaster -> TV + Receiver + NUC.

I think Plex coupled with a good emulator/MAME frontend like Hyperspin would be the bomb on this new NUC model. I'm definitely in for one, probably an i5 model. Tiny player with low 24/7 power requirements (5 watts idle, 30 watts max load!!!), ability to play HD, ability to play retro & arcade games, HDMI, yes please!

 

[Kaido]

Another review (with video!) of the Haswell NUC:

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Processors/Intel-NUC-D54250WYK-SFF-System-Review-Haswell-Update

MAN is that thing small!

Front pic

Rear pic

I'll post links in the OP once the pricing goes live. Some notes:

1. Intel confirmed that this new generation of NUCs will include the appropriate power cord per region, so you don't have to buy that stupid mickey-mouse plug separately anymore!

2. The U-series Haswell chips requires DDR3L (low-voltage), so you need to get the Ultrabook-compatible RAM at 1.35v or less. I didn't see an easy search method on Newegg, but they do list the voltages in the specs; here is a 1.35v 8GB Patriot stick for $68.

3. Intel has a new Mini-PCIe Wifi card out: dual-band 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0 for $29:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833106190

4. The largest available mSATA SSD is still 480gb. The good news is, the prices have dropped significantly. Crucial now offers a new 20nm NAND unit for $370:

http://www.crucial.com/store/partspe...=CT480M500SSD3

Haswell i5 + 16GB RAM + 480gb SSD + 802.11ac & Bluetooth 4.0 sounds really good to me!

 

[unokitty]

Another review (with video!) of the Haswell NUC:

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Processors/Intel-NUC-D54250WYK-SFF-System-Review-Haswell-Update

MAN is that thing small!

Appreciate your NUC postings.

The last three desktops I built were mini itx's. But I could never get the aesthetics quite the way that I wanted. So, this NUC has alot of appeal for me.

If you hear of the date that they go on sale, I'd appreciate that as well.

Uno

 

[Kaido]

Appreciate your NUC postings.

The last three desktops I built were mini itx's. But I could never get the aesthetics quite the way that I wanted. So, this NUC has alot of appeal for me.

If you hear of the date that they go on sale, I'd appreciate that as well.

Uno

Glad you like them! I'm amazed they don't do more advertising or anything on this, pretty much every business that doesn't do thin clients could really use these! I'd like to encourage more home users to buy them, but I usually just recommend they get the $279-ish laptops from Dell/Asus/etc. that are always at Best Buy (4GB RAM, Windows 8, 320gb HDD, DVD burner, etc.) because those essentially have a UPS built-in, have an HDMI port to plug into a TV, VGA into a monitor, etc.

Their official site is up:

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/nuc-kit-d54250wyk.html

Tech spec PDF:

http://downloadmirror.intel.com/23090/eng/D54250WYB_D34010WYB_TechProdSpec01.pdf

Rumors are saying around $400 with a 3-year warranty and a possible ship date of October. Nothing official from Intel though:

http://www.legitreviews.com/intel-n...ed-at-pax-prime-w-haswell-cpu-inside_122531/2

Also some info on other upcoming NUCs:

http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-fea...gets-a-haswell-makeover-and-a-bay-trail-rumor

In other NUC related news, it seems as if Intel may be prepping at least one mini PC powered by a Bay Trail chip; boasting a low price tag and a 2014 launch date. According to Hexus, the upcoming NUC DN2810FYK (aka Forest Canyon) is powered by an Intel Celeron N2810 chip, a budget 2 GHz dual-core processor with a TDP of 7.5W.

 

[SithSolo1]

For those interested in the Celeron based NUC:

Newegg currently has the Celeron based Gigabyte Brix unit(GB-XM14-1037) for $170 shipped - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856164005

Differences vs NUC:

+Brix Celeron 1037U @ 1.8ghz vs NUC Celeron 847 @ 1.1ghz
+Comes with the Wifi card
+Comes with the power cable for the PSU

HDMI+Mini-DP vs dual HDMI

-Realtek nic vs Intel nic
-1 less USB 2.0 port in the back

 

[Kaido]

For those interested in the Celeron based NUC:

Newegg currently has the Celeron based Gigabyte Brix unit(GB-XM14-1037) for $170 shipped - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856164005

Differences vs NUC:

+Brix Celeron 1037U @ 1.8ghz vs NUC Celeron 847 @ 1.1ghz
+Comes with the Wifi card
+Comes with the power cable for the PSU

HDMI+Mini-DP vs dual HDMI

-Realtek nic vs Intel nic
-1 less USB 2.0 port in the back

Ooh nice...gives me some ideas...

http://www.cabrio-fe.org/

 

[Auric]

The case should simply be unobtrusive semi-flat black. Gloss black and metallic silver are garish individually and worse together.

 

[Kaido]

The case should simply be unobtrusive semi-flat black. Gloss black and metallic silver are garish individually and worse together.

The tops of the existing Intel NUCs are gloss black. It looks good for about 3 seconds until you scratch it by breathing on it

 

[capeconsultant]

No problem! I'm probably overly excited about these I don't want to say they're a gamechanger, but these are kind of my "vision of the future" - I do a lot of side work for small businesses and average (non-techie) home users and these are just absolutely perfect for those applications.

I'm sitting here at work with about 10 Dell towers on my bench, ranging from ancient Dimension 2400's to newer Optiplex 330's waiting for GPU replacements, new PSU's, replacement HDD's, RAM upgrades, etc...and I'm looking over at my tiny NUC test rig that blows them all out of the water, uses no power, makes no noise, takes up no space, and has nothing to break.

We think alike! Space heater dust collector inefficient boxes be gone!

 

[jrichrds]

I have the Intel NUC with the Core i3-3217U processor. The CPU stays pegged at 0.832v to 0.856v whether at idle 8x multiplier or full 18x multiplier. Isn't it supposed to drop the voltage at idle for power savings (i.e. do I need to enable a setting), or does these ULV Intel CPUs just run at one set voltage?

 

[jaydee]

For those interested in the Celeron based NUC:

Newegg currently has the Celeron based Gigabyte Brix unit(GB-XM14-1037) for $170 shipped - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856164005

Differences vs NUC:

+Brix Celeron 1037U @ 1.8ghz vs NUC Celeron 847 @ 1.1ghz
+Comes with the Wifi card
+Comes with the power cable for the PSU

HDMI+Mini-DP vs dual HDMI

-Realtek nic vs Intel nic
-1 less USB 2.0 port in the back

Man, if this thing had a audio/mic jack, USB 3.0 for the same price, it would be really great deal.

Anyone know how a Celeron 1037U is suppose to compare to Bay Trail (other than more power obviously)?

 

[Kaido]

Man, if this thing had a audio/mic jack, USB 3.0 for the same price, it would be really great deal.

Anyone know how a Celeron 1037U is suppose to compare to Bay Trail (other than more power obviously)?

Yeah, that's my one big complaint - even on the upcoming Haswell NUC's, there's only an analog audio output on the front (??) of the case. Seems like a no-brainer to stick one on the back of the case. I do buy HDMI monitors with audio built-in from time to time at work, like if it's a simple setup for a secretary or something who only needs basic audio or maybe a single monitor, but the sound quality on those is never very good and if it ever breaks, you're still stuck with HDMI audio or having to get a USB analog audio adapter.

 

[jaydee]

Yeah, that's my one big complaint - even on the upcoming Haswell NUC's, there's only an analog audio output on the front (??) of the case. Seems like a no-brainer to stick one on the back of the case. I do buy HDMI monitors with audio built-in from time to time at work, like if it's a simple setup for a secretary or something who only needs basic audio or maybe a single monitor, but the sound quality on those is never very good and if it ever breaks, you're still stuck with HDMI audio or having to get a USB analog audio adapter.

Neither of my monitors have built-in-speakers. So the fact that it only has two USB ports, one for the keyboard/mouse presumably and now having one to use for speakers. You have no USB's left unless you grab a USB hub, which kinda defeats much of the purpose for me with these things (clean look, not a lot of extras needed). I'd also like to see an SD card reader, but I suppose I can't be too greedy. I know Zotac has a similar box (with card reader and audio jacks and more USB), but it's a bit bigger than the Brix and NUC, only have 1 DIMM slot and I don't really like the CPU options (looks like only AMD E-series for ~$200).

 

[Kaido]

Neither of my monitors have built-in-speakers. So the fact that it only has two USB ports, one for the keyboard/mouse presumably and now having one to use for speakers. You have no USB's left unless you grab a USB hub, which kinda defeats much of the purpose for me with these things (clean look, not a lot of extras needed). I'd also like to see an SD card reader, but I suppose I can't be too greedy. I know Zotac has a similar box (with card reader and audio jacks and more USB), but it's a bit bigger than the Brix and NUC, only have 1 DIMM slot and I don't really like the CPU options (looks like only AMD E-series for ~$200).

Yeah. I mean, there's room for an SD & rear analog audio jack, they just don't do it because it was originally meant for digital signage applications. I'd like to see a third-party vendor do it like Gigabyte at least. Even if they had to go bigger, I really don't think anyone would care if it was 0.5" larger all around or something

 

[Kaido]

D34010WYK is the i3 Haswell NUC:
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/nuc-kit-d34010wyk.html

D54250WYK is the i5 Haswell NUC:
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/nuc-kit-d54250wyk.html

Both are showing up initially on Amazon, although without direct prices yet:

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Corp-Sin...dp/B00F3F381A/

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Corp-Sin...dp/B00F3F38O2/

Looks like the i3 is going to retail for $299 from the looks of it.