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Hands-On With Intel's "Next Unit of Computing" Mini PC
crookedvulture writes "Intel's Next Unit of Computing has finally made its way into the hands of reviewers. The final revision is a little different from the demo unit that made the rounds earlier this year, but the concept remains the same. Intel has crammed what are essentially ultrabook internals into a tiny box measuring 4" x 4" x 2". A mobile Core i3 CPU provides the horsepower, and there's a decent array of I/O ports: USB, HDMI, and Thunderbolt. Users can add their own memory, storage, and wireless card to the system, which will be sold without an OS for around $300. Those extras raise the total price, bringing the NUC closer to Mac Mini territory. The Apple system has a bigger footprint, but it also boasts a faster processer and the ability to accommodate notebook hard drives with higher storage capacities than the mSATA SSDs that are compatible with the NUC. If Intel can convince system builders to adopt the NUC, the future of the PC could be a lot smaller."
...will be a worthy challenge.
Need to be smaller and cheaper and plug together like lego to allow me to add processing power. Now that I'd buy.
After pushing PC makers into going after the MacBook Air, Intel wants them to also go after the Mac Mini. News at ten...
Seems a bit too pricey to succeed, though.
and I might consider it. Looks like a reasonable HTPC, but without the video horse power to run ZSNES, other emulators, or even Linux native 3D games (not even necessarily the advanced ones) I won't consider it.
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Holy shit. I just realized you're right. There's no wired network port.
You kidding me, Intel? You want me to pay ~$500 for a computer without a network port? Who do you think you are, Apple?
... a laptop in a box. Except without all the extra things a laptop comes with -- like battery, keyboard, speakers, screen, ethernet, etc. Cute, but that's all.
You're right. Only Apple has the magic powers to remove functionality, raise the price, give it rounded corners and earn tons of money off it.
The DC3217IYE version trades the Thunderbolt port for GigE and a second HDMI. Still no audio ports though.
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
Ignoring the fact that its clearly not a gaming rig, the intel HD Graphics 4000, to put it in some kind of perspective I am currelty using Intel HD Graphics 3000 which allows me to play games like trine http://trine-thegame.com/site/ and Rochard http://www.rochardthegame.com/en/ both great Linux games
As for ZSNES please [snaps fingers],that was designed to run SNES full speed on a 486 with a SIS 630 chipset. Now BSNES now that is a different beast!!
trollololol
Not a troll, just a comment that is more a history reference, in a world where its been impossible to buy a PC without an OS for years http://www.zdnet.com/top-five-pc-manufacturers-fail-naked-pc-test-3039286228/ this is an article describing how difficult it was in 2007. The truth is Microsoft created the [propaganda] term "Naked PC" for "its dramatic value and as a means for creating the impression that it is evil to sell computers without operating systems because they might be used for so-called software piracy" http://www.linfo.org/naked_pc.html
What didn't we like about the Mac Mini? I haven't used an expansion port on a PC about 15 years other than a 3Dvideo card. And if I want a gaming rig I'll get something big and airy with lots of fans. If I need a grunt box, I'll run up a VM on my servers at work. For everything else the Mac Mini is perfect. I never understood why PCs we're so big these days. 90% of them are simple Web/Email/Word processors, the Mac Mini and new this Intel thing are all most of us need.
"most of the world is convinced the PC is doomed"
I still can't take any writing seriously which begins by preaching the end of the PC. First, every computing-capable non-mainframe computer is a PC. Second, there will always be a need for PCs with "normal" computational capacity (meaning more than a mobile i3 cpu), of course in smaller numbers, but still. Remember, not everyone is only a content consumer living on tablets and small form factor AIO computers.
That said, I like these small devices, they have their use and place, in my home too. And I like that there are nice alternatives to Apple.
I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
No, this is a motherboard and case for half of what a Mac Mini in working order goes for. At $300, you still need to add a power supply, mSata storage, memory, ethernet, etc.
Mac mini's start at $599, ready to run, with an i5, 4gb ram, 500gb hdd, and have ethernet, firewire, sound ports, etc.
Actually that is Gigabit ethernet, something their products have had for a decade. Can't say the same about most low-end competition yet.
Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
Not only these devices are significantly weaker, but Google is selling them for the manufacturing cost. Google wants you to use them so they can make money through advertisement and selling content. Intel is trying to provide a stand alone computer platform. They are selling hardware and if they don't make a profit on hardware sales, they won't make profit anywhere. The problem of these devices is not the price, but the lack of basic audio output ports and ethernet. Even for a device that I guess is supposed to be marketed towards the Average Joe Grandpa, this is unacceptable.
Indeed. If the price tag was lower I could see a market for it, but at $300 you can build/buy a significantly better box.
This "NUC" has an i3-3217U (1.8ghz / 2C)
You could get an A6-5400K (3.6ghz / 2C) for $65, an FM2 Micro ATX motherboard (USB 3.0 / SATA 6GB / DVI+HDMI / 2x DDR3 1866) for $50, and a MicroATX Slim case with 300W power supply for $75, totaling $190
Better CPU, better GPU, has multiple PCIE slots (with at least one 2.0 x16) and you can upgrade it. This Intel brick for $300..$320 (I read the article) has the CPU soldered on, and no PCIE slots so no upgrades of any kind ever, and the price quote doesn't include memory (which is why I didn't include any.)
I'm sure that you could also put together a better performing Intel box (using a Celeron G5xx series for instance) for about 60% of the money as well.
Looks to me like Intel over-produced some CPU's and/or chipsets and are looking to find a market for them.
"His name was James Damore."
Please take a quick look at the soon to be available board being proffered at Parallella.org. or you can enjoy their videos. Now you can get the 16+2 core super computer for $99, or the 64+2 core super computer for $199. The board comes with plenty of I/O options and two GPIO bus board expanders. By the way the board is expected to run under 5 watts in use.
It comes with linux installed. I could easily imagine a computer dramatically smaller than an Mac Mini running at lower power with the selection of peripherals that nobody expects. This little machine is going to redefine computers and I hope Intel can hear those tiny feet running up behind them at this very moment.
Things are going to get more interesting by the day.
I'm not getting the impression that the Mac Mini is so much more expensive. On the contrary...
- Core i3 vs core i5/i7.
- No RAM (2 * DDR slots) vs 4GB RAM
- No HD vs 500GB/1TB HD
- HDMI, Thunderbolt (or GigE and an extra HDMI), 3 * USB2 vs GigE, Thunderbolt, HDMI, WireWire, 4 * USB3, SD Card, Speaker In, Speaker Out
- No OS vs OS X
I haven't used an expansion port on a PC about 15 years other than a 3Dvideo card.
We could translate your argument as "I splash money around like its going out of style so things like expansion ports are stupid"
Many of us use those expansion slots about halfway through the life of the machine in order to upgrade them inexpensively (like adding SATA 3.0 to a machine purchased when SATA 1.0 was still new), repair them when a specific component goes tits up (The NIC died? Thats a $15 card for full-on b/g/n wireless), or to add specific functionality that only comes standard on much more expensive machines..
"His name was James Damore."
You have the choice between 2 gigabit ports or a thunderbolt port w/o ethernet. But not both. Intel's low end offerings seem to be deliberately crippled so as to not complete with their higher end stuff. You add in the memory and drive on one of these and you're about $100 short of a mac mini which has gigabit ethernet and thunderbolt together plus usb 3.0 and no fscking power brick.
..in a world where USB 3.0 has become standard on low end motherboards.
"His name was James Damore."
You could get an A6-5400K
Indeed.
I've been looking for a SFF PC recently, and the AMD choices are really weak.
The bobcat is excellent for this kind of thing. Significantly faster per-thread than the atom, equal number of cores and graphics certainly superior to an i3 or even i5 probably.
Or, the low end Fusion ones, which are weaker than the i3 per thread, but have more cores and stomp over the top end i5 when it comes to graphics.
Where are the cool little AMD PCs ready built?
SJW n. One who posts facts.
Ever seen one of those Acer Aspire Revo "nettops"? Mine is the original - 1.6 GHz Atom processor (64-bit), nVidia Ion onboard graphics, 7 USB ports, ethernet, HDMI and VGA. Current models use an AMD processor and graphics for $329 or Intel I3 and Intel graphics for $499. (The $329 model has no optical drive, the $499 model has an 8x DVD+/-RW drive.)
The case on all of the above is about 1.5"x8"x8".
Actually, given that I'm not certain what the NUC is supposed to be offering. Slightly smaller form factor, that's about it ...
Don't forget that it doesn't come with an OS. Unless you run Linux or some sort of BSD you can add the retail cost of Windows on to that price too. My mini also has the power supply internal unlike the older model with the brick.
When I saw it called the "unit" of computing I thought maybe it was modular so I could snap together a few "units" of them to make it faster, bigger, etc.
Shoot, make it NOT expandable at ALL and simply modular, so more ram, more hd, more proc, etc, just click it together. Have variations, different colors mean more ram or more hard drive. Pair a unit with more ram with a unit with more processor.
Otherwise, whats the point? They've made a nettop with an i3 rather than a atom? Ok...
Flappinbooger isn't my real name
I LOVE the idea of this thing. I LOVE the size. I LOVE most of the choices and tradeoffs. i love the external power brick - and big fat Bronx cheer to Apple for abandoning that and bringing 110VAC right into their latest minis. Really stupid, Apple.
But so sorry...
1) No ethernet = HUGE FAIL
2) No USB3 and not enough USB's = HUGE FAIL
These are absolute showstoppers. Fix these and this thing is the answer to my prayers. I'll accept up to 1" more width and depth to get them.
Until then, it's not even close to making me abandon my Aopen Mini.
Many of us use those expansion slots about halfway through the life of the machine in order to upgrade them inexpensively (like adding SATA 3.0 to a machine purchased when SATA 1.0 was still new)
Yeah, because not having SATA 3 makes a machine ununsable...
repair them when a specific component goes tits up (The NIC died? Thats a $15 card for full-on b/g/n wireless)
Yeah, because if a NIC dies then it doesn't matter that it's probably part of the motherboard chipset and all of a sudden you have an expensive repair bill. Not to mention that wireless cards *are* plug-in PCIe cards on these mini form factor PCs...
or to add specific functionality that only comes standard on much more expensive machines..
I think you might be havign problems understandnig/empathising with what a 'normal' person is going to want out of a PC. Not only that, but even us geeks get bored of the PC treadmill after a while. The last desktop I bought was an iMac in 2007. It's old, it's tired and it just stopped working reliably this past week or so. I cant' easily fix it, but you know what, I got five solid years out of that workhorse. I don't care that I couldn't upgrade it -- despite being a programmer, and therefore as much of a 'power user' as anybody, 2GHz of Core2 Duo has been plenty fast enough -- and, if repairibility had been an issue, I'd have bought 3 years of Applecare and retired it when the warranty expired.
The MacMini is an excellent computer if you want a small, silent machine that keeps out of your way. If you want a toy to upgrade and play with, it's not so great.
$200 scores you a 5x5 box with wireless, LAN, can fit a 2.5" drive, and has a dual core (sandy bridge?) intel processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856173042
neither of those are comparably quick
Don't let the fact that the next unit of computing is marketed as having an i3 while the chip in his ITX build is marketed as a celeron fool you, look at the actual specs of the processor. A little extra cache and a slight core revision are not going to make up for a nearly 50% clockspeed difference.
note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
mac mini has Ethernet more usb and firewire as well.
Your argument is sound, but I wanted to point out that the volume probably doubles (at least) when you include the external brick power supply.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
1) The G550 is sandy bridge, not Ivy Bridge
2) The i3 has hyper threading
3) The Celeron is a 65W CPU, meaning it'll never fit into a 4x4x2 inch box.
I just built 2 itx boxes:
1 with a e-350 apu board, 8gb of ram, and a 1tb hard drive for $195.00 for everything.
1 with a intel g550, itx board, 8gb of ram,and a 1Tb hd for $265 for everything.
I just bought a Zotaz Zbox - AMD E-450, 2GB RAM, 64GB for $300 in the same formfactor as this "new" Intel formfactor: 4.17in x 4.17in x 1.46in
http://www.zotacusa.com/zbox-nano-xs-ad11-plus.html
Until I saw the price tag. Comparing those specs to a tablet or laptop, this is a pricey machine without an OS or monitor. I suppose I can see a market for this as a compact personal server, but still, no ethernet? I'm just not clear what market they are targeting with this.
So, it is just a Raspberry Pi with x86, built-in hard disk and $300 instead of $35?
The problem of these devices is not the price, but the lack of basic audio output ports and ethernet.
Buy the one that comes with an ethernet port. Sound comes through the HDMI port.
From hell's heart I fstab at /dev/hdc
I see you saying that you will buy a whole new computer if you need SATA 3.
I see you also saying that you blow reams of money on Apple hardware.
You have just proved that you too will splash money around like its going out of style, so for you things like expansion ports are stupid. In my world, its not expansion ports that are stupid.. its needlessly wasting money like a complete retard thats stupid.
"His name was James Damore."