NUC 8 Mainstream Kit (NUC8i3BEH) - Core i3, Tall, Add't Components Needed

I bought this to replace a 5 year old 54250WYKH1 NUC (16GB RAM) I had running: - 7 high-def SECURITY CAMERAS - Web server - NODE RED - HOMEASSISTANT in Docker VM - WINDOWS 10 It'd get pretty overloaded at times, especially when performing background maintenance tasks. It was kind of lame waiting a few seconds for the lights to turn on sometimes, with some commands getting dropped altogether. I actually thought some of my home automation hardware was malfunctioning but it was all in the server. For anyone with an older 2 core HT computer you're using for things like this like the older NUC -- this really makes a huge difference. This new one has the same TPD as the 2014 version but literally twice the CPU power (benchmark verified) because of it's 4 core 8 threads (vs 2 +4) and GPU is about 50% faster on benchmarks -- BlueIris server takes advantage of the GPU, by the way. It also holds 32GB, I believe the old one only ran up to 16; though I will say that I don't seem to need more than 16 even with all the junk I'm running. One interesting thing regarding cameras: I'm not sure if has to do with the major upgrades to quicksync over the last 3-4 generations, but the thing appears way better able to offload camera stuff to the GPU, I used to range 50-90% CPU usage on the old one every time I took a look at my home cameras, now it's less than 15%. I bet this would also be pretty awesome as a second box for twitch streaming. I'm totally happy with this thing. I'm actually a bit sad it's in a server closet as it has some pretty great IO that's going to waste. It costs a bit more than a home-built solution like my all my other PCs but that mobile processor runs quiet, cold, and low power with that relatively fat blower fan on the top -- oh yeah, fan's been totally upgraded since 2014 as well. FYI: HDMI 2.0A is compatible with HDR 4k. I bet this would drive that no problem for movie watching. This is a TOTAL overkill for a HTPC though.

So I had an Azule Byte3 as my HTPC to run videos to a plasma HDTV. I recently upgraded to a 4K OLED TV (which then made me decide to upgrade my surround system to 7.1.4 3-D surround). While the Byte3 was a good priced HD video player, it doesn't have 2.0a HDMI and doesn't have the hardware for playing all 4K HDR content. I then debated about what Intel NUC to get. At first I was contemplating getting a preconfigured NUC8i5. Then I priced out getting this NUC8i7BEH base with 16GB RAM, 250GB M.2 SSD, and Windows 10 Pro. Then I read some forums where people complained that this computer doesn't have true HDMI 2.0a (the interface itself is 2.0a, but it's being converted from Display port). I've now run some 4K content on this computer, and I've had no issues: it's probably overkill for any 4K video content. I assume the nay sayers are referring to playing intensive games at 4K HDR...but I always thought serious gamers don't set games to max settings in order to get high frame rates. I can say that after getting everything set up with Windows "HD settings" (available from the Fall Creator's upgrade), Netflix, Vudu, and my UHD files all look as good as from my Roku Ultra or Apple 4K TV. The only caveate I've found is that there's no Dolby Vision support yet. Dolby is only advertising some Lenovo notebooks for having Dolby Vision (and I see that one series, the Yoga C, has hardware that's less robust). So I assume at some point this system will be umbrella'ed into Dolby Vision. The only knock I have right now with the setup is installing Windows. It has been a few years since I setup a computer: my most recent computers have been preconfigured laptops or the Byte3. I bought the regular USB Windows Pro from Amazon, so I assumed it would at least have the drivers for network access. It didn't, so I could only setup my local user folder. The setup itself did go pretty quickly (but another word of caution is that the USB drive is not very good...it was pretty hard to get it in a USB port: you'd think that paying $140+ on the Software, Microsoft could supply a better USB stick). So once I found out Windows didn't have the drivers, I figured most the time would be driver installs and Windows updates. Intel does have a full driver pack that you can download. I thought I'd be able to install all drivers and that would be it. But the graphics driver wound up taking awhile: it kept giving error messages that my computer wasn't the right processor type. It wound up being that I had to keep on installing Windows updates until I had installed the latest Fall Creator's Windows update. That update also gives you HDR options in the display options. For video use, this NUC is very quiet. My everyday Lenovo laptop is much noisier (I've looked inside it and have seen fairly small fans and the ventilation isn't as great). The most intensive tasks I'll do is 3D animation. This NUC does have specs that make it good enough to be some more cores for a network render (since rendering is most about just number of cores you can throw in). The renderer will also push all cores to 100%...so I'm sure by that point I'd hear fan noise (but I'm also sure it won't nearly be as loud as a dedicated server or workstation).

This little guy has almost the same cpu passmark score as my old i7 4790 from a few years ago, in this form factor. It's crazy. The new bean canyon 8259u is a little monster of a cpu. I replaced an i5 7i5bnh with this 8i5bek, going from a sata Samsung 850 pro to a 970 evo nvme. Boots crazy fast, use corsair vengeance 8gb at 2400mhz. I use this primarily as a PC when I'm tweaking my main rig and it's out of commission. To be honest, this thing is probably overkill for even that. All I use it for is web browsing, YouTube, and some other work, but this can handle so much more I think I might try to use it as an always on, online music server for a cloud music server app to my cell phone or something. It runs silent, and hasn't touched 80 degrees even with tons of tabs open, YouTube playing, and multiple programs running at once. It just chugs right though all of them. The fact it's a quad core at these clocks, is this snappy and this cool/quiet at this TDP, is insane. The bios is bare bones, and the thunderbolt is a little finnecky to get working, but even now if I wanted to get an external gpu and use it on thunderbolt, I'm sure I'd have a good gaming experience if I tried to ask something crazy for a nuc to do. If you're looking for an overkill tiny form factor pc, check this one out. Honestly, if all you're doing is light browsing and YouTube, look at the 7i3bnh i3, last year's editions which are 6th or 7th gen cpus. They're great for light work. If you are a tab whore though, either kick that habit or get 8gb of ram. They're only dual cores, but if you're not doing much they work just fine. Highly, highly recommend. Amazing little NUC.

This is a brilliant device not marketed well. It’s powerful with enough expansion options packed for a really small size. I had purchased a 1 TB SSD, which I was looking to find a home for. This device has been a worthwhile investment. I’ve connected it to my TV via HDMI and this has allowed me to not only have a fully functional computer but also a smart TV with the ability to stream or play local / internet content without any restrictions. I use a wireless keyboard and mouse combo with it so there’s literally no sign of a computer sitting near my TV until I switch it on. You have to buy a separate power cord as the box doesn’t come with one, so keep that in mind when you buy this.

This is a nice kit. All parts needed to mount included. I just bought memory and an SSD drive from Samsung EVO 1TB. No issues installing operating system. End result it works well, fast boot and quick response during day to day use. The compact size is great. Love it.

Compacto y eficiente. Lo utilizo para unos desarrollos y a veces el ventilador suena demasiado con procesamiento gráfico, y aunque no está pensado para eso, va bastante bien para el demás procesamiento va sin problemas . Me agrada que venga con USB-C y WiFi integrado

I cannot recommend the standard case for people who want really quiet/silent systems. But I installed the system in an Akasa fanless case and it is running great. Very good quality system.

Great little Mini-PC. Pros: - Very small form factor, way smaller than a Mac-mini. - Easy installation of components. Took just 15 mins to open the case and install RAM and HDD. I am using it with 16 GB Crucial 2400Mhz and Samsung EVO 500GB SSD. - Silent, until the processor is loaded with heavy apps for sometime like Games, Video rendering. When under load you can hear the fan, but for normal work it is very silent. - Very good connectivity. All the basics are covered. We can have 2 HDDs (SATA and NVMe). Also supports 32 GB RAM which makes it a good virtualisation option. Cons: - Expensive, but compared to Mac-mini, Zotac, etc this is cheaper. - Intel should really concentrate more on software and drivers. The latest BIOS 0056 does not boot. Had to revert to 0051. - Games don't perform that well, it has decent graphics but can't play games on high resolutions and settings. For smooth performance I would recommend to lower the settings to HD (720p). Overall a great little Mini-PC and suits my needs perfectly.