NUC mini PC kit BOXNUC6I7KYK1 (Core i7)

This is one helluva micro form factor PC. It is about 1/3 the size of my ASUS VivoPC and way more powerful. I went with the 2x16GB SODIMMs, maxing out the memory to 32GB. I went with the Intel SSD6 500GB NVMe SSD for the hard drive to complete the build. I have been able to get it working with the RAZER CORE making this a great gaming PC as well without the bulk of a mini-Tower. Pros: - Small and powerful: The NUC is very capable of replacing any desktop and it is very portable. - Iris Pro 580: I am actually surprise on how well this GPU performed with games at the 4K resolution setting. The fan was on full blast during game play, but it did work with moderate graphics settings with the game. - Thunderbolt port: It is compatible with RAZER CORE!!! Just make sure to update the Thunderbolt driver to the latest that is available from Intel's website. I went with the ASUS GTX 1060 OC 6GB GPU and game play is pretty awesome. Also, the NUC fan does not go full blast during game play anymore, a definite plus. - Two NVMe slots: One for OS and the other for apps/data. Good options for storage before you need to plug an external USB 3.0 hard drive to it. - Up to 32 GB of RAM support: You can run VM clients on this if you wanted to. Cons: - More USB 3.0 ports: I could have used another two USB 3.0 ports in the back or a single USB 2.0 port in the front. The USB 2.0 port is for wireless keyboard/mouse since USB 3.0 seems to interfere with them. You will definitely want to invest in a USB 3.0 hub, especially if you plan to plug a BD/DVD reader to the NUC. - The fan is always on: They could be heard and are at full blast while running graphics intensive applications. Even the Bing's webpage (live) cam cause the fan to kick up. You might want to consider this if you want to use it for HTPC and maybe put in in an entertainment unit. - Along with the fan noise, the unit can generate a bit of heat. Not hot enough to be concerned or too hot to handle, but enough to not want to put it in an confined space without ventilation. - The NVMe performance seems to be adequate and not as fast compared to a PCIe NVMe adapter for NVMe SSDs. Using the same NVMe SSD on a HP EliteDesk 800 G2 (i7 6700U, 48GB RAM) versus this NUC, the HP desktop seemed faster. I do not have any captured performance metrics, so this is perception. Maybe someone can prove this if not already done. Overall, I am very pleased with the Intel NUC Skull Candy. I was comparing this to the Gigabyte and ZOTAC offerings and very glad I made this choice since it had the Thunderbolt port. I think I paid more in the end when comparing the NUC+RCORE+GTX1060, being the major differences, I got the latest hardware and the flexibility to upgarde the GPU in the future. Did I mention that it is compatible with the RAZER CORE!

The primary purpose for this product was to be an HTPC in the form of a Plex Media Player, playing media files off my Home Computer's Plex Media Server. The ram and nvme ssd I purchased were: Ballistix Sport LT 8GB Single DDR4 2400 MT/s (PC4-19200) SODIMM 260-Pin Memory - BLS8G4S240FSD and Samsung 960 EVO Series - 250GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V6E250BW) . Windows Installation Of course with Windows 7 being my one true love I created a bootable usb and started the installation. However, keyboard and mouse would not work. Google search indicated that Windows 7 had no support for USB 3.0. So I made the modifications necessary to support USB 3.0. Then I discovered, of course, no nvme support and it could not detect the hard drive. Losing patience, I just downloaded the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool and created a Windows 10 bootable usb. My first attempt to install Windows 10 failed, I got the "windows could not set the offline locale information error". I rebooted, deleted the partitions, and tried again. It worked the second time. Harmony Support Being the fool I was without thoroughly looking through the spec sheet, I bought a Flirc -- to be compatible with my Harmony remote. But of course, the Skull Canyon has an IR port already. After I installed the driver, I was able to look up this exact NUC model number and add it as a device. From there everything worked perfectly. Plex Media Player Just wanted to note that there is a difference between the Plex Media Server and Plex Media Player. Make sure to download the Plex Media Player for a more Home Theater like experience. Hdmi 2.0 By now infamous Hdmi 2.0 fallout has ended. My device already had the Hdmi 2.0 firmware update. Just make sure to be plugged in directly to the TV. I was connected to a Octava 4 x 1 HDMI Audio switch with ARC and Optical Audio output and it would only display 4k at 30hz. There's a firmware update for that switch to support 4k, so I'll fiddle with that later. And also I had problems with surround sound. Connecting directly to the TV resolved my issue. So! No lag, works as desired. I also have a Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard K400 Plus, Touchpad Keyboard for Internet-Connected TVs which works very well with this setup.

This latest iteration of Intel's NUC series is well formed, if pricey. The device was smaller and heavier than I expected - appropriate for the NUC series and the power draw of this unit. I have purchased Intel NUCs in the past for fanless, special purpose x86-based systems. Such systems were not suitable as a desktop replacement. I bought this system as a small form factor desktop for light development activities, web browsing, email, and very light gaming (mostly of the retro form). I paired this system with 32 GB of Patriot RAM and a 256 GB Samsung 950 Pro M.2 256 GB drive. Installation was easy - remove four screws, install memory, remove one screw, install drive, replace screws. The power brick is quite large, maybe 80% the size of the unit, and much larger even than my Macbook Pro's charger. A necessary evil it sits out of sight and mind. The first thing I did was update the firmware to the latest revision using a bootable USB drive. It is interesting that DOS can still be used after all these years to update things like the BIOS/Firmware. I received the unit with revision 0037 and updated to the latest current revision (0041). Uneventful setup. The firmware is not as feature rich as most "gaming" system firmware; you are in Intel's world and you play by their rules. I run Arch Linux on the NUC. Setup was straightforward and most hardware seems well supported, although I do not currently use the wireless connectivity provided. The EFI setup environment is similar to past versions, and configuring it was straightforward and minimal. After so many years of setting up systems using BIOS, MBRs, and bootloaders (and having only setup two EFI-based systems in the past) I had the read through my distribution of choice's documentation carefully. Once setup and installed I had no further issues. The graphics for the Iris Pro seem reasonably well supported in Linux. The KDE Plasma desktop looks as one would expect and performance is on par with my desktop class system running a similar OS setup. In general I had no issues. The fan noise is typically quiet and under load noticeable but not too distracting. Plenty of connection options provide future expandability. The only gripe I have is the current price point. The form factor is great, but once you factor in the cost of RAM and an M.2 SSD, you can easily purchase an equivalent or better desktop system more suited for gaming. Four stars because I really like the product but the total cost is not competitive for similar hardware.

Amazed, that's the word i am looking for, AMAZED. Just got it in after some super fast prime shipping! Installation of RAM and M2 SSD were a breeze. Windows install off a bootable USB. In no time at all I was up and running. Found the drivers and had everything working in less than 45 mins! The NUC The NUC itself is just jaw dropping. Nothing like the little square box I have connected to my TV (5th gen i7) no siree bob, this is a thing of beauty! Low, flat, sleek, black and the skull oh that skull looks mega cool! A lot of people whine about the fan, yes there is some sound, but if you have ever used a laptop that's about how loud it is, really not a big deal. I am replacing a gaming tower that I had and THAT beast was loud, this is a subtle whisper compared to that! Performance This thing screams! with 32GB of RAM and a Samsung 960 Pro it is amazingly powerful for all that I use it. Have not gamed with it yet, not really meant for that but I will put it through its paces to see whats up. I will followup soon with more insights. if you are on the fence, don't be, this thing is amazing and worth the price in my opinion. yes you can get a more powerful box for the same coin, but that's not what i was going for. I wanted Exactly what i got! Update - 1 Week in I am still amazed by this power machine. Looks amazing on my desktop and works great for what I do with it. The noise factor again, I can't understand how some people can complain about this. As I type this my laptop at work is making more noise than this box does. More updates after 3 months Update - 3 Months in This thing is solid! No hiccups, no missteps, no drama. zero, Zilch, NADA! I have now changed from 2 24inch monitors to 2 27inch monitors and I am loving it even more. Still very silent and very powerful. I can still truly that I am amazed by just how much i am enjoying it. I went to Australia for 2 weeks and left it on the whole time. I checked it remotely using Splashtop and the temps were solid. Pretty amazing device

Got this thing home yesterday. So far: complete frustration. SSD does not mount securely, because the screws are not the right length. Then looking for a solution to this problem online I found the poor design of the case includes: 1) extremely fragile plastic in the corners of the case; 2) no clear way to see which way the cover goes on (it is easy to accidentally put the cover on backwards and defeat the cooling fan.. Problem #3) No out of the box support for Windows 7 (due to USB 3.0 only ports). So far, this thing is not giving me a warm fuzzy on reliability. I will post a short video of the loose mounting of the SSD. ===================== 1/5/2019 My system run fairly well for 11 months. Back in November, it started randomly crashing with various Blue Screens of Death under WIndows 10 Pro. It appeared that any time the system tried to write to the SSD, the system would crash. So I got a replacement SSD, and...same thing. I have 2 16GB sticks of RAM so I tried one, then the other, noticing that the RAM closest to the motherboard is pretty warm. The fan is functional, but the system appears to be running too hot. Mind you, it's January in Michigan right now...it is fairly cool ambient temp. Neither stick of RAM works in either slot. My only hope is Intel customer service at this point....wish me luck.

First off this is not a replacement for a full-blown gaming machine. If you plan on replacing your LGA2011 6-core Intel X99 i7 with this computer, you're going to be very disappointed. The skull canyon integrated graphics are not going to be able to beat an Nvidia 1080 GTX, or even the 750 GTX. What this computer is is a much more expendable laptop type computer, simply without the built-in screen. It will play most games pretty well, but it is not an ultimate gamers paradise. This machine shines at being a very small form factor computer with a great CPU and the ability to drive multiple large displays. Additionally, it is hugely expandable supporting both thunderbolt and USB 3.0 devices, as well as having multiple M2 slots - Sporting both NVMe and SSD (AHCI) support. Aside from the graphics and the thunderbolt support this machine adds support for 32 GB of RAM to the NUC line-up. It also comes with all of the hardware to mount it behind a monitor (VESA mount). The great advantage overall is that this unit is highly expandable, has a super small foot print, and low power utilization (even at peek utilization). In my case I'm using them to run a VMware ESXi 6.0 cluster, with a vCenter appliance and a vRO / vRA lab. If you need a decent, extremely small footprint, computer that is hugely expandable, AND you don't need a classic workstation... this is a great alternative.

Digitalcpu is an excellent company. Product was as advertised, in excellent condition and works perfectly. Would not hesitate to use this company again.

Pros: 1. First of all, this is the first NUC i can say that was able to replace my existing desktop system. (I had a i7 4770, and Z97 motherboard before), even geekbench confirms this is somewhat faster than my previous desktop system. 2. It is fast, paired with the samsung 850 pro 512GB, and 16 GB of ram (can do 32GB, but for now i don't need it) 3. Can run most non AAA games at my native resolution of 2560x1440 just fine (e.g.: Pinball fx2) as for others, i bet on the Razer core which can expand the GPU power. 4. Size: this thing is small (somewhat heavier than one can expect, but that does not matter) 5. Its mostly quiet, and in most times is quieter than my previously used Corsair h100i water cooling. 6. The most important reason i prefer it to a plain desktop system, drivers support! Intel hardware and software drivers support is so much better than your average motherboard and their crap. It is kept updated, and usually future proof, while other 3rd party hardware usually have some sort of problems. (Yes, BT broadcom dongles, i'm talking to you) Cons: 1. Price, there is no way around it, this thing is not cost effective. But i liked this SFF so much, and drivers support that i was willing to pay extra. 2. Lacks the ability to be expended other than external GPU and USB. But seriously, with so much built-in stuff, i won't see much need to. 3. Good luck fixing part of this thing if and when it breaks (except sending the whole thing back) Final thoughts: SFF is the future, and no doubt intel will have great success in the NUC consumer line. Only now i can fully understand why the stopped making desktop motherboards.

Tenía dudas acerca de pedir productos electrónicos, que tiene que pasar por aduana en México, sobre todo como había una reseña muy negativa ara este producto con la entrega. En mi caso el transporte y su rastreo fueron super eficiente. Me di de alta en DHL para recibir notificaciones y efectivamente había un pequeño "delay no controlable" en aduana. Pero en cuestión de 24 horas esto se resolvió y el producto llegó dentro del tiempo indicado en la página. El NUC es un gran producto, bastante potente y muy compacto. No es necesariamente para gaming (30fps) no es gran cosa, pero para algo si sirve. Pero si uno lo ve como una PC de escritorio o servidor casero está muy bueno. Gamers si buscan algo compacto, creo que lo encuentran mejor con ZOTAC. En este producto se puede agregar un GPU externo, pero creo que ni sale económico y dudo que sea más que un parche. Para todo lo demás hay un incremento de performance considerable en la 6 generación del i7 comparado con modelos anteriores y eso incluye la GPU integrado. Es bastante compacto, dejando aún así muy buen espacio para agregar dos discos duros (M2) y los RAMs. Es una PC de alto rendimiento, e incluso se debe de considerar sino es demasiado (hay NUC con i5 e i3 que dan también buen rendimiento, a menor precio) Los interfaces externos que he probado, todo está a mi entera satisfacción y aún me falta probar algunas como el NFC que trae. Corre bien en Linux y Windows y tiene un BIOS bastante confortable. El ventilador si se escucha aunque bajito. Colocando el NUC a tras del monitor, creo que no se percibirá casi. Se calienta algo el chassis pero muy manejable. Hubiera querido acceder la CPU, pero dudo que se pueda. No lo he probado en todo caso. Para mi es un buen balance entre configurar un equipo y comprar pre-configurado ya que deja opciones y solamente trae una base. Es sin problemas y superfácil armarlo.

ヘビーユーザーでは無いので、十分な性能です

Easy to set up, powerful, and compact. Works extremely well.

Adquirí recientemente este producto debido a su formato. Me dedico a una empresa de streaming y me resulta sumamente útil debido a que antes llevaba mi gabinete que pesa alrededor de 30 kg. He realizado streamings con Wirecast a tres cámaras y va genial. Le adapté además una tarjeta capturadora de video (Ultrstudio mini recorder) cuya entrada es Thunderbolt 2 y a través de un adaptador para thunderbolt 3 (StarTech TBT3TBTADAP Adaptador Thunderbolt 3 a Thunderbolt) lo pude conectar sin problemas.

Great one. Bought one for my dad. Waiting the next generation of this model for myself. Oh, be careful for the 4 case screws, don't use force like it is very easy to break the base.