Month: February 2016

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Intel Nuc – How to Install Memory and mSata SSD

Intel NUC RAM & Samsung 850 mSata SSD Installation

In this video you will see a basic installation of Corsair RAM plus a Samsung 850 mSata SSD

Tools You Will Need

  • Phillips Screwdriver
  • Flat Head Screwdriver
  • 10-15 minutes of time

Impressions on the NUC from Intel

So far I have been really impressed with the performance from my NUC. I setup one as a headless server and I couldn’t be any happier. The whole unit can fit in the palm of your hand and depending on which model you get can pack a serious punch. I opted to go with the Intel Celeron 847 Dual Core, I’ll explain further down why I went with this particular model.

In my experience the NUC runs quite cool, I used a R/C Engine thermometer to test the temperature and it came in at a cool temp of 88°F so I measured my smartphone with the same thermal temperature sensor just to compare and my phone measured 85°F.

I have been looking for a solution to my server needs and this Intel NUC was up to the task. I needed something that was small and compact so at first I tried using a Raspberry Pi which is a great computer but just didn’t have the horsepower I needed and most of all a gigabit NIC. So after quite a few open source computer purchases with the latest being a bananaPi by LeMaker, I just couldn’t find a suitable piece of equipment that would fit my requirements.

The Banana Pi is another fantastic piece of hardware, it even sports a full size SATA port, which is great considering I was using it for a server. However the SATA speeds were not as I had hoped. The average transfer speed over a gigabit network was around 40 MB/s which is about average for most NFS systems. I personally prefer faster speeds, like around 110 MB/s which is exactly what I can expect from the NUC.

Reasons Why I Purchased the NUC
  1. Low Power Consumption (17 Watts) !!
  2. Runs Extremely Cool
  3. Completely Silent Operation
  4. Small Footprint
  5. VESA Mountable
  6. Very Affordable
  7. Gigabit Ethernet
Specs
  1. Intel Celeron Dual Core 847
  2. Max 16GB RAM
  3. Dual HDMI Ports
  4. 7.1 Surround through HDMI
  5. 5 Total USB Connections (3 external & 2 via internal header
  6. 3 Year Limited Warranty