2018 Intel NUC Models
nucblog.net
nucblog.net
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...).
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.
[1] https://www.qnap.com/solution/container_station/en/ [2] https://www.qnap.com/solution/virtualization-station/en-au/
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...
A lot of things are interpreted nowadays, if the interpreter is updated to understand the processor features, it can take advantage of it.
VT-d not being in every processor is Intel's fault for using binning to gouge consumers. Though everyone doesn't need VMs or containers.
VT-d also enables device driver containment/isolation, again, which provides value to people not otherwise interested in VMs or containers.
https://ark.intel.com/products/78930/Intel-Core-i7-4710HQ-Pr...
TXT is more a part of vPro and provides bootup security, including drivers loaded at startup. Everyone doesn't need VT-d or TXT. Most BIOSes support some sort of signing if you bother to setup it up and verify that your kernel hasn't changed. Intel could have made vPro, TPMs and TXT open and available to everyone, regardless of VT-d, but that's how they chose to differentiate and make a little more money. Mom and pop need to settle for basic kernel signing instead of an open TPM module.
- "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.)
Maybe those June Canyon, with 10W TDP will be finally fanless. But an i3 would be so much better.
So?
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.)
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?
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.
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.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/nuc-kit-nuc7i5dn...
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?
But many laptops will run without a battery just fine.
Your use case does not seem very computation-depending. Maybe a cheaper Raspberry Pi-based solution will also work.
Those models only have the "MacBook pro" "stick ssd" aka M2 SSD, which has a smaller form factor.
I have an Asus chromebox doing this, very happy with it.
That's the maximum capacity of a 2.5" 9mm tall drive. You can buy Seagate 4TB & 5TB drives in 2.5" which are 15mm tall. [0] [1]
[0] https://mtekk.us/archives/reviews/hardware/seagate-4tb-expan...
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-2-5-Inch-Internal-S...
You should be able to get a Thin Terminal device for about $100US with USB3.0 and gigabit ethernet and/or wifi. With a little shopping, you may even be able to get one with a low profile PCIe slot for similar money. A few examples of such machines are the HP T5740, t520 or t620. Dell/Wyse also should have acceptable options.
Choosing a Thin terminal should cost far less than a NUC while being much more capable than a raspberry pi for not much more money (a raspberry pi 3 still needs a uSD card, a case, and an unusually powerful USB PSU).
Its nice, though the performance of usb3 is... less than optimal the fact that I can saturate gigabit ethernet means I don't care too much. Local compiles are crazy fast though.
Its plenty fast for all my needs, though nfs over wifi is... slow in general its fast enough to not care a whole lot. I have a few bhyve linux vm's running that just go straight to the ssd's so they're silly fast with like 3g/s read speed or whatever. Its more than enough for all my home needs.
I just did a build, and was considering the NUC, but it was prohibitively costlier for not a lot of improvement, other than the form factor.