This unit has a suggested retail price of about $140 and is now showing up on U.S. Shelves. This thread is dedicated to this unit, which is attractive for HTPC due to low price and small size. It is easy to create a sub $300 system for this unit using XBMC and Linux, and not much more if one goes with Windows.
Other threads are discussing this unit, but I think we are better off having one unified thread for the unit.
http://ark.intel.com/products/78953/Intel-NUC-Kit-DN2820FYK
Summary:
Unit works generally well so far. There are some Intel graphics issues that are an issue for VC-1 codecs. Does not get very hot, small. Relatively inexpensive. It would appear that ProVantage is a good place to look for the unit. I overpaid when adding shipping, etc. at PC Connection.
More detailed comments:
So I picked up the Bay Trail NUC from PC Connection. Pricing was basically suggested retail, plus I paid sales tax and 2 days expedited shipping.
Also picked up 8gb or RAM. I repurposed a 1TB 2.5 inch sata drive from a Seagate portable drive and also used an extra Windows 8 license that I picked up dirt cheap from Microsoft last year during the intro period. The unit is definitely aimed at Windows 8 and 8.1 by Intel when you look at the supported operating system matrix.
Intel provides a list of recommended memory. Most of it is billed as Mac portable memory. I ordered a crucial stick and it worked just fine right away.
I am not sure that 8gb was really called for given my intended uses, and based on observing reported program data from XBMC Frodo I am using less than 2gb of memory for HD material playback. By the way, I am new to XBMC but could not get the performance I wanted with some less common blu-ray codecs (such as those used on Kubrick's 2001 and Clockwork Orange which is VC-1). I think that Intel needs solidify some of their graphics drivers for this unit.
I have not tried the infrared remote yet, or the wifi, or the bluetooth. But once I installed the Intel updates, the video, audio and ethernet have all worked just fine. The packaging implies a bios update should be installed, but it turns out that the bios the unit shipped with is the same on the Intel download site.
I am new to PC installation from a USB stick, but there are utilities that format the Microsoft ISO files onto FAT32 and that worked just fine. I had originally thought I could transfer an operating system with apps from a notebook, run the Windows 8 repair utilities, than put in the Windows 8 activation code but a number of errors (including messages about a locked hard drive) kept popping up. So I eventuallly. went with a clean install. In retrospect, I thik 4gb and a 128gb SSD would be good choices for this machine.
Installation was easy. The only trick was after the memory is put in, an internal connector (probably supplies internal power) needs to be attached. There is a picture of the procedure in the included easy installation mini-manual. Installing the hard drive was super easy. The only hard part of the installation was installing Windows 8, then upgrading to 8.1 and getting various software packages to load. I was impressed that even during the initial installation process the unit recognized my Logitech 400 usb wireless keyboard (with built in track pad).
So a few overall comments. I am using the machine as a HTPC, and have no opinions on the units suitability for gaming or for running Linux.
As a HTPC, I think that once it is set up it should be fine. However, Intel is still working out some driver bugs based on posts I have seen on the Intel forums. For now, I would suggest use of a paid application like Arcsoft TMT. MPC-HC and VLC do work with a variety of media files but not all so far. VC-1 codecs are a challenge right now. Some people are stating issues with bitstream DTS HD MA, but I am decoding those using the arsoft dll into linear PCM. My current receiver does not handle those codecs. But otherwise I like the Denon 3806 so I am not rushing into a new unit.
I am having some issues getting text to be more easily readable on the screen. I had been optimizing the unit for HD video playback. I am open to ideas for how to set up the display parameters.
So you can get a very small HTPC going for a reasonable sum. $140 for the unit itself; $40 or so for 4gb of memory, $60 to $100 for a hard drive or SSD, and a Windows 7 or 8 license. Or maybe Linux if you know what you are doing. Not a killer graphics chip, but with the appropriate software seems to do the job.
Other threads are discussing this unit, but I think we are better off having one unified thread for the unit.
http://ark.intel.com/products/78953/Intel-NUC-Kit-DN2820FYK
Summary:
Unit works generally well so far. There are some Intel graphics issues that are an issue for VC-1 codecs. Does not get very hot, small. Relatively inexpensive. It would appear that ProVantage is a good place to look for the unit. I overpaid when adding shipping, etc. at PC Connection.
More detailed comments:
So I picked up the Bay Trail NUC from PC Connection. Pricing was basically suggested retail, plus I paid sales tax and 2 days expedited shipping.
Also picked up 8gb or RAM. I repurposed a 1TB 2.5 inch sata drive from a Seagate portable drive and also used an extra Windows 8 license that I picked up dirt cheap from Microsoft last year during the intro period. The unit is definitely aimed at Windows 8 and 8.1 by Intel when you look at the supported operating system matrix.
Intel provides a list of recommended memory. Most of it is billed as Mac portable memory. I ordered a crucial stick and it worked just fine right away.
I am not sure that 8gb was really called for given my intended uses, and based on observing reported program data from XBMC Frodo I am using less than 2gb of memory for HD material playback. By the way, I am new to XBMC but could not get the performance I wanted with some less common blu-ray codecs (such as those used on Kubrick's 2001 and Clockwork Orange which is VC-1). I think that Intel needs solidify some of their graphics drivers for this unit.
I have not tried the infrared remote yet, or the wifi, or the bluetooth. But once I installed the Intel updates, the video, audio and ethernet have all worked just fine. The packaging implies a bios update should be installed, but it turns out that the bios the unit shipped with is the same on the Intel download site.
I am new to PC installation from a USB stick, but there are utilities that format the Microsoft ISO files onto FAT32 and that worked just fine. I had originally thought I could transfer an operating system with apps from a notebook, run the Windows 8 repair utilities, than put in the Windows 8 activation code but a number of errors (including messages about a locked hard drive) kept popping up. So I eventuallly. went with a clean install. In retrospect, I thik 4gb and a 128gb SSD would be good choices for this machine.
Installation was easy. The only trick was after the memory is put in, an internal connector (probably supplies internal power) needs to be attached. There is a picture of the procedure in the included easy installation mini-manual. Installing the hard drive was super easy. The only hard part of the installation was installing Windows 8, then upgrading to 8.1 and getting various software packages to load. I was impressed that even during the initial installation process the unit recognized my Logitech 400 usb wireless keyboard (with built in track pad).
So a few overall comments. I am using the machine as a HTPC, and have no opinions on the units suitability for gaming or for running Linux.
As a HTPC, I think that once it is set up it should be fine. However, Intel is still working out some driver bugs based on posts I have seen on the Intel forums. For now, I would suggest use of a paid application like Arcsoft TMT. MPC-HC and VLC do work with a variety of media files but not all so far. VC-1 codecs are a challenge right now. Some people are stating issues with bitstream DTS HD MA, but I am decoding those using the arsoft dll into linear PCM. My current receiver does not handle those codecs. But otherwise I like the Denon 3806 so I am not rushing into a new unit.
I am having some issues getting text to be more easily readable on the screen. I had been optimizing the unit for HD video playback. I am open to ideas for how to set up the display parameters.
So you can get a very small HTPC going for a reasonable sum. $140 for the unit itself; $40 or so for 4gb of memory, $60 to $100 for a hard drive or SSD, and a Windows 7 or 8 license. Or maybe Linux if you know what you are doing. Not a killer graphics chip, but with the appropriate software seems to do the job.