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Intel Reveals Unlocked, Socketed Broadwell and Core i7 NUC With Iris Graphics

Posted by timothy on from the faster-all-the-time dept.

MojoKid writes Intel held an event at a location adjacent to GDC last night, where the company discussed some updates to its 5th Gen Core processor line-up, Intel graphics developments, the Intel Hardware SDK, and its various game developer tools. Chris Silva, Director of Marketing for Premium Notebook and Client Graphics teams disclosed a few details that a socketed, unlocked, 65W desktop processor based on Intel's Broadwell architecture, featuring Iris graphics, is due to arrive sometime in mid-2015. It's noteworthy because this will be Intel's first desktop CPU with Iris Pro graphics and because it is multiplier unlocked. It will be interesting to see what Iris Pro can do with some overclocking. Intel then showed off a new NUC mini PC powered by a 28W, quad-core Core i7 Broadwell processor, which also featured Iris graphics. The device has a tiny .63 liter enclosure with support for high-performance M.2 solid state drives and features an array of built-in IO options, like USB3, BT4, and 802.11ac WiFi. Bryan Langley, Principal PM for Windows Graphics also talked a bit about DirectX 12, disclosing that the company would be ready with DX12 support when Windows 10 arrives and that there are optimizations in DX12 and their drivers that would deliver performance enhancements to current and future Intel graphics platforms.

30 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. Unlocked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Is the BIOS unlocked? I'm reluctant to trust anything from Intel, with their recent anti-freedom actions against Coreboot, locking BIOSes, and requiring mandatory digitally signed proprietary Management Engine firmware and microcode.

    1. Re:Unlocked by halltk1983 · · Score: 2

      Pretty sure the NUC mini PC is a little more than a processor.

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    2. Re:Unlocked by stevel · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The NUC BIOS (EFI, really) defaults to having "secure boot" disabled. You can install any software you want on a NUC system. I just got one of the Core i3 Broadwell NUCs and it's delightful.

    3. Re:Unlocked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      The NUC systems really are pretty damn nice from a geek perspective. They ship bare. No OS. Install-your-own storage, memory, peripherals. They explicitly support linux and windows. TPM/Secure boot are off by default (But you can enable them if you want/need them)

      They're made by Intel and thus have much better build quality and support than even the best taiwanese makers. Particularly when it comes to things like power management. (No 'It boots windows ship it!' shit-pile broken implementations)

      They're not /completely/ customizable, but keep in mind what they are. A tiny, VERY low power, system at a reasonable price. There are obvious thermal load and power limitations so you don't get much ability to overclock (Other than the ability to lightly tweak tweak or disable the thermal-throttled asymmetric core clocking scheme intel calls "Turbo Boost", on processors that sport said feature) They're also very tiny systems with limited room inside- Though you do have the abilty to pick your own memory, wifi, and SSD on most models.

    4. Re:Unlocked by jbolden · · Score: 2

      I understand. Coreboot depends on Intel Boot Guard. Intel Boot Guard gives whoever first buys the CPU a one time key, along with other features. I'm not sure what there is to not trust about that scheme.

    5. Re:Unlocked by jbolden · · Score: 1

      You are making a different point. The claim originally was about not trusting Intel. Your claim is about the fact that you need specialized hardware to flash the CPU which is true. As far as wanting to install your own BIOS just buy one with Boot Guard not enabled if you want to install your own BIOS. Who are you are guarding against as a consumer?

  2. Re:For those that don't read foreign by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

    They'll never learn if you keep helping them convert in their kid-friendly system.

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  3. Apple by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

    Those Intel NUC makes the Apple Mac mini look like an Apple Mac Maxi.

    Wake up, Apple. The company providing the CPUs for your computers can make computers smaller than your own.

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    1. Re:Apple by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      ... just don't put stickers in the front.

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    2. Re:Apple by ArhcAngel · · Score: 2

      CompuLab's Fitlet does that to the NUC.

      --
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    3. Re:Apple by itsdapead · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Those Intel NUC makes the Apple Mac mini look like an Apple Mac Maxi.

      Except the Mac Mini includes a built-in power supply, while the NUC needs an external power brick half as big as the computer.

      Maybe this new processor will mean the future return of the quad-core mini, though.

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    4. Re:Apple by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      Except you cant get a Quad i7 fitlet.

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    5. Re:Apple by ranton · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Problem is this NUC with a quad i7, 16gb ram and 256gb SSD costs a lot more than the mac mini in the same configuration.
      I though Intel was supposed to be better performance at lower prices than apple.

      A Mac Mini with those specs costs $1400 with gen4 intel processors (will probably be the same price when gen5 is released). I didn't see any prices for the Intel versions but it will likely be under $1400.

      The 4th gen i7 Intel NUC is $400 after rebate from Amazon right now. Add 16 GB of SODIMM RAM for $150 and a 256GB SSD for $200 (both are high figures) and you have a Mac Mini equivalent for $750. I might be missing something, but probably not $650 worth of missed items.

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    6. Re:Apple by fnj · · Score: 1

      Problem is this NUC with a quad i7, 16gb ram and 256gb SSD costs a lot more than the mac mini in the same configuration.

      Citation? A Mac Mini configured with an i7 and 16GB and a 256GB SSD is $1399 (I just went to store.apple.com to find out). The equivalent NUC is not going to be "a lot more" than that. In fact I will bet it will be not more at all. It will be less. But we're going to have to wait for the thing to actually be stocked anywhere so we can see the actual selling price.

      The Mac Mini in its current incarnation is also GIGANTIC. Check it out. 19.7x19.7cm compared to the NUC at 11.5x11.1cm. That is THREE TIMES the area.

    7. Re:Apple by Red+Herring · · Score: 4, Interesting

      > People who want Macs are only in the Mac market, and will have zero interest in a NUC

      My Hackintosh would disagree. NUCs make great iMacs... just velcro them to the back of a display of your choice. Combined with a nice VISA mount, provides a very clean setup with acceptable performance, for 1/4 the cost of 'real' Apple hardware.

      I will admit to lusting after a 27" 5K display, though...

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    8. Re:Apple by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      I'm rocking multiple new mac minis

      Are you "rocking" them? Really?

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    9. Re:Apple by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Are you "rocking" them? Really?

      He's rocking them like rocks all day, in his cradle of love, which also rocks.

      --
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    10. Re:Apple by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      I've never installed a credit card at the back of my monitor, but if that works for you then I'm happy.

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    11. Re:Apple by Kjella · · Score: 1

      My Hackintosh would disagree. NUCs make great iMacs... just velcro them to the back of a display of your choice. Combined with a nice VISA mount, provides a very clean setup with acceptable performance, for 1/4 the cost of 'real' Apple hardware.

      Haven't you heard that NFC is now the hip, cool thing? That is so last year.

      --
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    12. Re:Apple by munwin99 · · Score: 1

      He's rocking them like rocks all day, in his cradle of love, which also rocks.

      [coffee spilt] Oh for mod points - +1 funny :-)

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    13. Re:Apple by toddestan · · Score: 2

      Keep in mind that the Intel NUCs can be had with a quad-core i7. The Mac Mini is only available with the mobile dual-core i7. So besides being cheaper, you also get twice the cores.

  4. Re: For those that don't read foreign by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Could you do a car analogy?

  5. Not bad... by ddtmm · · Score: 2

    Off hand the specs look pretty attractive. All that remains is the price point. This will either bury the Mac Mini or prompt Apple to get back in the game.

    1. Re:Not bad... by ddtmm · · Score: 1

      exactly

    2. Re:Not bad... by slazzy · · Score: 1

      I really wish Apple would offer the i7 quadcore again in the mini. This looks like a great new option for me.

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  6. Re: For those that don't read foreign by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

    Roughly the same volume as the headlight from an original VW beetle.

    Well, you asked...

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  7. Re:For those that don't read foreign by BlackHawk-666 · · Score: 1

    How much is that in hogsheads?

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  8. Bay Trail NUCs are lousy: Buyer beware by Big_Breaker · · Score: 3, Insightful

    My first D54250WYKH couldn't even get through the OS install. It had IO errors that were unrecoverable every time. The second NUC would consistently take a Kubuntu install but has intermittent kernel panics and reboots for seemingly no reason. And it near bricks using any kind of suspend mode in Linux - everyone is having that problem. You have to disassemble the whole NUC and pull the CMOS battery to get it to boot after any sort of suspend. Suspend is pretty important because these small cases use small, loud fans. Just a modern desktop, an idling modern desktop, is enough load on the GPU to throttle up the fan to full RPM.

    I posted about my troubles on the NUC forums, along with many others. Intel says they don't officially support Linux so it's on you to fix. That's interesting because they sell the NUC with no OS. If it's intended to be windows only they should sell it with windows. Also in the firmware notes they talk about fixing a bug that was effecting Openelec, so obviously Linux is part of their testing.

  9. Wait a minute.. by edxwelch · · Score: 1

    Isn't desktop Skylake, the successor to Broadwell, launching at the same time? This will be the first Intel CPU that's already out of date at launch

  10. Re:I like beta by __aanbvm4272 · · Score: 1

    room for all 10 of them fingers?