Intel NUC Kit D54250WYK Review

[richardm]

I wonder if tweaking the core parking settings might yield any results in the power department...

[Apoptosis]

I still wonder a few things:
- how many 1080P@60 streams it can transcode simultaniously?
- how good (drivers) and easy is a Dual monitor setup?
-I see in the specs: 2 USB 2.0 ports via internal header. Will they boot from it?

I had to divert these to Intel:

1) how many 1080P@60 streams it can transcode simultaneously?

That iss an interesting question and the answer is, it depends. Depends on bit rate and whether you want real-time transcode or not.
- If you don’t need real-time transcode then in theory you could kick off 32,000 transcodes, but it would be pretty slow.
- If you want real-time transcode we should be able to do 4 or more in parallel.

2) how good are ddrivers and how easy is a Dual monitor setup?

Well, since you have 2 graphic outputs doing Dual display is a breeze. Recommendation is to have the mini DisplayPort convert to HDMI since that interface is still more common on the monitors. I’m checking the table below for accuracy’s, but this is a good reference point:

3) I see two USB 2.0 ports via internal header. Will the NUC boot from it?

Yes, you can boot to any USB port or header. The issue is that the headers on the board are the smaller 2.0mm pitch compared to the common desktop pitch of 2.54mm.

- There was a rumour the internal power header (the white plug at the backside) is suitable for supplying 12V instead of 19V. Can you confirm that?

Yes, you can power the system from 12 – 24V via the internal header. The outside power connector is rated for 12V to 19V input too.



I think answers all the open questions... Keep them coming if you have any more!

[robotica]

Thnx again for your insights; this machine is nearly 100% feature complete.

About the real-time transcoding:
I was referring to 1080P@60 fps, H.264 [email protected] encoded source material (lets say 9000kbps) coupled with AC3 5.1 sound (let's say 448kbps). But as i understand this should be doable.

Only, and for HTPC usage not minor, missed opportunity is an combined jack/spdif front port, like the Brix.

This makea me wonder which sound chip is used. I only read about HDAudio.

[noah]

Thanks for the excellent review.

Question about the upcoming chassis variations... any chance one of these will have a slot for an optical drive? I realize I could just buy an external one, but it's just so much cleaner to have it all in one enclosure...

Thanks!

[Apoptosis]

Thanks for the excellent review.

Question about the upcoming chassis variations... any chance one of these will have a slot for an optical drive? I realize I could just buy an external one, but it's just so much cleaner to have it all in one enclosure...

No, the version Intel is working on will not have an optical drive. To be honest I've seen case designs for the Haswell NUC from 4 companies and none do.

[mondo77]

Mondo77,

I hope you are still around and I finally got some answers for you.

The black header is the LPC header. Used for monitoring Post Codes for Debug.

The blue header is called the Custom Solutions Header. Here is the pinout for it:

Great stuff thanks! Now just waiting for it to hit retail (although those Brix with Iris Pro look impressive too.)

[crossblade]

Thank you again of your great effort regarding bringing us up to speed of this great product.


You mentioned earlier that there will be an Iris Pro Version of the nuc and a new intel Case with the capability to encase a 2,5 HDD. I didn’t find any information on that on the net. Can you please give some more detail. That could be the perfect solution as a steam-game console if it is timed correct against the new Xbox and playstation

[Apoptosis]

Thank you again of your great effort regarding bringing us up to speed of this great product.


You mentioned earlier that there will be an Iris Pro Version of the nuc and a new intel Case with the capability to encase a 2,5 HDD. I didn’t find any information on that on the net. Can you please give some more detail. That could be the perfect solution as a steam-game console if it is timed correct against the new Xbox and playstation

You heard it first here and I guess you have to trust me... I personally know the engineers that are working on this product line and am able to talk about some of the things that are for sure going to happen. The roadmap has both on it and both are actively being worked on by Intel. The chassis is rather simple, but not so on the Iris Pro version.

[robotica]

......

Only, and for HTPC usage not minor, missed opportunity is an combined jack/spdif front port, like the Brix.

This makea me wonder which sound chip is used. I only read about HDAudio.

I'm unable to find any info. on the soundchip, which is important for HTPC usage. Can you help me?

[Major_A]

I'm unable to find any info. on the soundchip, which is important for HTPC usage. Can you help me?

I thought this would be an easy answer. Scouring the Intel site the best I could come up with is it's a Realtek chipset. But beyond that I don't have a clue.
Audio: Realtek* ALC Audio Driver for Windows 8*

[Apoptosis]

......

Only, and for HTPC usage not minor, missed opportunity is an combined jack/spdif front port, like the Brix.

This makea me wonder which sound chip is used. I only read about HDAudio.

I'm unable to find any info. on the soundchip, which is important for HTPC usage. Can you help me?

Everything I'm seeing just shows Intel HD Audio:

intel-hd-audio.png (51.43 KiB) Viewed 11616 times

[crossblade]

I forgot to explicitly thank you last time for the check that 12V to 24V is possible. This is great news! I could easy use it mobile without the need of an external power supply - a big fat surge protector should suffice.

Since you have contact to the developers please also thank them for a close to perfect Product! After the iris pro upgrade, there are only two small improvements one could wish for, for specialized usage scenarios:

• One with a second LAN port for router / web-proxie applications
• One with more SATA ports for a NAS appliance.

But I guess these would have a to small user base and with the usb3 ports both could be realized externally.

From the pictures I think the analogue sound is a default Realtec codec. But in HTPC use the Sound should be output via the HDMI Port – which is directly dome by the CPU and chipset. Than maybe the codec is powered down so save a little bit of energy. At least on the Intel Ivy Bridge ITX board (I forgot the name)something like this was possible under linux…


I have one further request – I know I am a demanding but intrigued customer :
Cold you if possible make a side by side picture of this NUC with the previous version?

The reason I finally read the specification on the Intel Website and saw following:
Old NUC size: 4.59” x 4.11” x 1.55”
New NUC size: 4.59” x 4.11” x 1.36”
How they managed to further shave of 15% in height at such a tiny build is unbelievable.

[LEDAdd1ct]

Thank you for the excellent reviews. I am a longtime admirer of the perspective this site offers.
I have a few questions.

1) Have you witnessed the final product or been exposed to the development of fanless cases for the Intel Haswell NUC?
All the fanless cases out there I can find are for the Ivy Bridge version.

2) Is there a firm date set on the release of the Haswell NUC?

3) Since I would want to purchase just the board with soldered CPU and power supply without the stock case
and put it in a fanless case, do we have a firm price yet for the board, chip, and power supply with no case?

Thank you!

[Apoptosis]

I have one further request – I know I am a demanding but intrigued customer :
Cold you if possible make a side by side picture of this NUC with the previous version?

The reason I finally read the specification on the Intel Website and saw following:
Old NUC size: 4.59” x 4.11” x 1.55”
New NUC size: 4.59” x 4.11” x 1.36”
How they managed to further shave of 15% in height at such a tiny build is unbelievable.

I did that back in August - http://www.legitreviews.com/intel-nuc-k ... ide_122531

Haswell NUC on the left and Ivy Bridge NUC on the right:



You can see the removal of the fan grill for improved air flow and lower noise in this shot as well.

[Apoptosis]

Thank you for the excellent reviews. I am a longtime admirer of the perspective this site offers.
I have a few questions.

1) Have you witnessed the final product or been exposed to the development of fanless cases for the Intel Haswell NUC?
All the fanless cases out there I can find are for the Ivy Bridge version.

2) Is there a firm date set on the release of the Haswell NUC?

3) Since I would want to purchase just the board with soldered CPU and power supply without the stock case
and put it in a fanless case, do we have a firm price yet for the board, chip, and power supply with no case?

Thank you!

1 - Not yet for the Haswell versions
2 - There is not a firm date yet, just a work week in October if all goes well.
3 - No firm price yet as it is still ~1 month out, so the sales team hasn't set the price firmly yet. (The tray price on the Intel Core i5-4250U is $342 - http://ark.intel.com/products/75028/ but you it is soldered on as you noted)

If you don't want the case you might be better off buying the Intel NUC Board D54250WYB and the FSP FSP065-REB Power Brick on your own. I see a couple on ebay, but i'm sure someone else carries them as well.

[Apoptosis]

I also recently tried out using the Club 3D MST Hub to run three DP monitors without any luck due to what I think is a Windows 8 graphics driver bug or incompatibility issue:

mst-hub.jpg (131.24 KiB) Viewed 11531 times

The basic driver works during POST, DOS and OS loading, which means I'm getting VGA to work. Once the Windows 8 desktop loads the full driver it and it takes over. Since the displays go black after the Windows loading screen, it sounds like an issue with the driver and/or the MST Hub. I've let Intel know, but just a heads up for those looking to run triple monitors or daisy chain with DP. I was able to run dual monitors (HDMI and DisplayPort) with no issues.

[robotica]

I still wonder a few things:
- how many 1080P@60 streams it can transcode simultaniously?
- how good (drivers) and easy is a Dual monitor setup?
-I see in the specs: 2 USB 2.0 ports via internal header. Will they boot from it?

I had to divert these to Intel:

1) how many 1080P@60 streams it can transcode simultaneously?

That iss an interesting question and the answer is, it depends. Depends on bit rate and whether you want real-time transcode or not.
- If you don’t need real-time transcode then in theory you could kick off 32,000 transcodes, but it would be pretty slow.
- If you want real-time transcode we should be able to do 4 or more in parallel.

Thnx again for your insights; this machine is nearly 100% feature complete.

About the real-time transcoding:
I was referring to 1080P@60 fps, H.264 [email protected] encoded source material (lets say 9000kbps) coupled with AC3 5.1 sound (let's say 448kbps). But as i understand this should be doable.

Thnx. again for all your answers!
Could you share a result of the CPU (maybe even GPU) utilization, playing a youtube 1080P hollywood movietrailer?

[gerrynjr]

Curious,
Any idea where/when these are available?

Thanks

[Apoptosis]

Curious,
Any idea where/when these are available?

Thanks

Read the second to last paragraph in the review please

[exit88]

Hi,

Can you maybe tell me of the powerconsumption of the Nuc D 34010WYK lower is than the Nuc D54250WYK, both with 4 gb memory.

Ed
France.