
2018 Intel NUC Models - el_duderino
http://nucblog.net/2017/09/2018-intel-nuc-models/
======
monkmartinez
Is anyone else just completely lost inside Intel's Canyons and Lakes? To carry
the analogy a bit further, the maps I've found that detail the Lakes and
Canyons aren't much help due to the Core, Pentium and Celeron monikers.

At this point, does it matter much? I have a Celeron Qnap 25X that chews up
everything I throw at it, the only limitation is the 8GB of RAM. IN fact, the
limitation doesn't seem to be the processor on any of my stuff. It is either a
dearth of supported RAM (like 8GB max), or a lack of an SSD or slow SSD's
(which is another confusing topic eVVM, NVM, etc...).

~~~
wolfgke
> At this point, does it matter much? I have a Celeron Qnap 25X that chews up
> everything I throw at it, the only limitation is the 8GB of RAM.

It surely chews no code containing AVX/AVX instructions. Also support vor VT-d
is probably missing, just as TSX. Not to speak of AVX-512, which is planned by
Intel to come to prosumer processors in near future.

~~~
saosebastiao
How much does that matter?

I get most of my software pre-compiled through apt repositories. It's all
using basic X86_64 instruction sets. My computer, being a relatively recent
Core i5, has plenty of advanced features [0], but outside of one piece of
manually compiled software occupying less than 5% of my CPU on average (an LP
solver used by a bot), I'm not taking advantage of any of it.

Considering how much electron apps have taken over my desktop, SSD and RAM
play an exponentially bigger role in the quality of experience than my
processor does.

[0] [https://ark.intel.com/products/91160/Intel-
Core-i5-6260U-Pro...](https://ark.intel.com/products/91160/Intel-
Core-i5-6260U-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-2_90-GHz)

~~~
jasonjayr
Java, V8, or the .net CLR could sense the processor features at run time , and
JIT the code into more efficient instructions?

A lot of things are interpreted nowadays, if the interpreter is updated to
understand the processor features, it can take advantage of it.

~~~
the8472
In addition to JIT-compiled code there also are libraries that do runtime
detection of available processor features and dispatch to optimized
implementations. Pretty much anything number-crunchy such as software
image/video processing will do this.

------
pavlov
The NUC codenames and model numbers are impenetrable. Here's a summary of
these rumored new models:

\- "Bean Canyon" is the expected annual replacement for the current NUC
lineup. Same form factor, new Intel chips as usual.

\- "June Canyon" is a new low-cost model using Celeron/Pentium CPUs. No word
on form factor.

\- "Hades Canyon" is a new high-powered model with quad-core CPUs and probably
a new hardware design. There will be a special VR model that supports low-
power discrete graphics. (All previous NUCs have been Intel integrated
graphics only, unless you count the ability to use an external GPU using
Thunderbolt 3 which appeared on this year's models.)

~~~
lahna1
Not sure if Bean Canyon will have the same form factor as all of them are 28W.
I certainly hope they've got a new cooling solution! June Canyon (Gemini Lake)
will be the same as Apollo Lake I'm pretty sure.

------
nextos
I don't understand why they are never releasing a fanless model. Especially
now that their m3 CPUs are fanless in lots of machines. There's _a lot_ of
aftermarket cases and mods for this. An official product would make things so
much simpler and well-tested.

Maybe those June Canyon, with 10W TDP will be finally fanless. But an i3 would
be so much better.

------
m6w6
I often thought about going with a NUC in the past but either the price tag
was not convincing or the only performant option was housed in a skull case.

~~~
coldtea
> _or the only performant option was housed in a skull case._

So?

~~~
m6w6
I didn't know it came with a non-skull plate, but to answer your, erm,
question, I think a skull on the desk is not really an option for an office
which clients would visit.

~~~
topspin
"I think a skull on the desk is not really an option"

How is that not self evident? Are hospitals supposed to just populate their
facilities with skull enclosures? How about a funeral home? The receptionist
is supposed to put a skull on the desk and think nothing of it?

If you're having trouble understanding why someone may take issue with skull
cased computers you should look at your own development; it's not progressing
properly.

(Yes I know Intel supplied a non-skull cover; you're missing the point as
well.)

~~~
coldtea
> _Are hospitals supposed to just populate their facilities with skull
> enclosures? How about a funeral home?_

Is the parent working on a hospital or a funeral home or some such place? Did
they mention they are interested in using it in a professional setting? And
even in such a setting, does it say anywhere that the computer has to be in
prominent display? And is the presence of a skull decoration such big of a
deal, when tons of stuff people buy, wear and sport have prominent skulls and
similar motifs?

(Not to mention that hospitals feature skulls all around their premises, from
signs outside the x-ray department -"danger radiation"-, to labels on chemical
bottles, bins where they throw hazardous material in, etc. Heck, anatomical
skeletons are quite common in hospitals / doctor offices as well.

> _If you 're having trouble understanding why someone may take issue with
> skull cased computers you should look at your own development; it's not
> progressing properly._

If you're having trouble not insulting people you don't know about their
"development (...) not progressing properly" (sic) because of a question for
something which many people/cultures in the world would find totally
inconsequential if they saw it in an office ("it's a PC with some decoration,
nothing to see here"), maybe you should check your manners?

------
ChuckMcM
I like the NUC, I've got several. These seem to be reasonable bumps along the
line. I find it amusing that Intel's NUC was in response to the Mac Mini and
they have now developed a nice niche market while the Mini has wilted on the
vine.

------
phkahler
Are there any SFF models with new AMD Ryzen? Any coming out soon? I have been
unable to find anything.

~~~
ece
The lowest TDP for Ryzen is 65W, so while there has been at least one laptop
announced with a Ryzen 7, it might be the most thermally throttled CPU/GPU
combination ever.

AMD has announced Ryzen APUs, but the specifics aren't out yet. If they come
with USB/SATA/PCIe connectivity on the processor like normal Ryzens, they
could lead to some very small and very power efficient laptops and SFF PCs.
Waiting for a laptop with one of these myself. Just watch out for DDR4 ram
prices.

~~~
jdietrich
>The lowest TDP for Ryzen is 65W, so while there has been at least one laptop
announced with a Ryzen 7, it might be the most thermally throttled CPU/GPU
combination ever.

Big gaming laptops can handle astonishing amounts of heat. The Origin
Eon17-SLX can achieve useful overclocks on an i7-7700K and _two_ GTX 1080s.
It's two inches thick, weighs 12lbs and needs two power bricks, but there's
clearly a market for desktop-replacement monsters.

Intel and Nvidia have the laptop market dominated for now due to their greater
power efficiency, but it isn't inconceivable that AMD could make some inroads
into the laptop and SFF market when the Ryzen APUs launch.

[https://www.originpc.com/gaming/laptops/eon17-slx/](https://www.originpc.com/gaming/laptops/eon17-slx/)

------
synack
I'm excited for the NUC7i5DN variants that are shipping "real soon now"...
They're very similar to the current NUC7i5BN with the addition of a bunch more
headers on the board and vPro is enabled.

[https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/nuc-kit-
nuc7i5dn...](https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/nuc-kit-nuc7i5dnke-
nuc7i5dnhe-board-nuc7i5dnbe-brief.html)

------
zitterbewegung
A small form factor VR computer would be really nice just for ease of setup
(especially for installations or demos). At [1] CHIVR everyone that does a
demo is either bringing a gaming laptop or desktop.

[https://www.meetup.com/CHIVR-Chicago-Virtual-
Reality/](https://www.meetup.com/CHIVR-Chicago-Virtual-Reality/)

~~~
monksy
I've seen the group before. What exactly do you guys do? Is it just a
networking with a few corporate demos?

~~~
zitterbewegung
CHIVR meetups are centered around a panel where a few people talk about how
they use VR (usually split between ad agencies and creators / video game
designers / content). There is networking before while people eat food and
after. There are a demos before and afterward by people. Its actually really
interesting.

------
PhantomGremlin
These might be interesting for a home firewall. Much more powerful and
flexible than the usual suspects.

Except for that whole Intel Management Engine fiasco. I've read that (all?)
recent Intel CPUs have that? I presume the Ethernet has an IME and is
potentially vulnerable?

------
AtticusTheGreat
I've got two NUCs, which I use as HTPCs running Fedora. They're fantastic
machines. Really tiny, quiet, and plenty powerful enough for HD movies and
light gaming/emulation.

------
NickHoff
I'm considering buying a NUC, attaching a big hard drive, and running
syncthing on it. Good idea?

~~~
riobard
Some NUC models cannot house 2.5" SATA drives. For those that do, heat
dissipation is an issue for 7200RPM drives. Plus max capacity of internal 2.5"
hard drives is only 2TB, and depending on your use case it might or might not
be sufficient.

Your use case does not seem very computation-depending. Maybe a cheaper
Raspberry Pi-based solution will also work.

~~~
NickHoff
Thanks for the advice. Yeah, a NUC would be way overpowered most of the time.
A R-Pi and NFS probably solves 90% of my use case.

~~~
blacksmith_tb
The RPi, even the 3, isn't a great choice for networked storage, since the NIC
is running over the USB bus. A Beaglebone Black[1] would be similar but have
better hardware for the job.

1: [http://beagleboard.org/black](http://beagleboard.org/black)

~~~
nonamechicken
I have a Beaglebone Black with a WD USB 2 portable HDD attached to it. I get
only around 5 MB/s while copying (from Beagle to PC) a ~500 MB file over 5 GHz
wifi. Not sure if this is because of USB 2.0 though.

