Intel NUC 8 Mainstream Kit (NUC8i7BEH) - Core i7, Tall, Add't Components Needed

The problem with i7 nucs is that they are small, but not silent. This generation does not fix it. For all the usual tasks, like watching youtube, doing office work or really light gaming, it is quite and stays around 40 C. But if you were hoping to use its i7 to its full potential, be prepared for the nuc to hit 85 degrees with irritating fan noise. The single best solution I found to cope with the noise is to turn off the TurboBoost in BIOS. For example I have a python script that does some data analysis. Without turbo boost it ran for around 19 minutes at 50 degrees package temperature with little noise (ambient temperature was 23 C). With turbo boost on, it took only 11 minutes, but at the cost of hitting 90 degrees with a really loud fan. Also keep in mind that if you want to analyze performance of your code, you will need to turn of the TurboBoost anyway for reproducible results. One also might look for Akasa to release their cases for the new 28W nucs to see if they offer better cooling. Now about linux compatibility, in my case thats OpenSUSE. As usual for nucs (and all other PCs I had), the microphone from the 3.5mm jack is noisy. This can be solved by using USB microphone/headset, I personally use Logitech H800 (+it is wireless). What is new for me, is that the wi-fi card does not show on the first boot after the nuc was powered off. I have to restart it to show up, dont know yet what is the problem. One final note. If you want to use hardware encryption for an NVMe drive, I dont think the BIOS supports it yet. But there are software solutions, like LUKS in Linux.

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This review is for the BOXNUC8i5BEH1, the "tall" i5 "kit" that does not include RAM or HDD. (Note that i3, i5, and i7 reviews are unhelpfully combined here, unless you know how to filter the reviews.) First things first: this is a great piece of hardware. I have owned several mini-PCs including GIgabytes last generation and an Atom-based Asus. Ive built dozens of PCs over the years. I use this NUC as a media center (HTPC) and so far it is *completely* silent and emits no discernible heat. Considering that my Gigabyte would occasionally sound like a hair dryer and my fanless Atom ran hot, I am very happy with this. Im not gaming on this unit but for casual use I am very pleased with the thermal profile. On the other hand. The out-of-box experience on this kit is the absolute worst I have ever seen, anywhere. The instructions/documentation is essentially non-existent. The assembly instructions omit many important details, e.g. the direction that components are inserted, etc. And the "support" on Intels website it literally non-existent. I had to jump through many hoops to get drivers for this thing, since the support pages are only for the non-kit versions and Intel doesnt make an effort to clarify any of this. It wasnt even easy to find a BIOS manual or get into the BIOS configuration. I think most anyone with less experience building PCs would have given up. In short, Intels hardware team is doing great work with this model. But their support, driver and documentation team are letting the side down.

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This NUC is a great little machine, I added a M.2 drive (Crucial 500GB M/N CT500MX500SSD4), 16GB RAM (Crucial MM/N CT2K8G4SFD824A) , and the OS (Win 10 on a USB stick). If you already have a monitor, a HDMI connector, and a keyboard + mouse then youre all set. Assembling it all is relatively easy, and quick - all you need is a Phillips screwdriver. The kit even includes a VESA mount, allowing you to mount the NUC to the back of a monitor. However, I do wonder why Intel does not include important drivers for the NUC. Even a 2GB USB Flash stick could be partitioned to support both Linux and Windows. Instead, the user makes it through the Windows 10 install process only to discover that the NUC is incommunicado because Windows 10 does not include the necessary drivers. Neither ethernet, nor WifI could be enabled, necessitating a trip over to a computer that did have functioning internet access to consult on next steps. Thankfully, Intel offers bundles of drivers and firmware for ethernet, WiFi, etc. on its web-site; all you have to do is search for your NUC and then elect to download a bundle. Then use the manual install process for ethernet, Wifi, and firmware updates. Then, there are a plethora of drivers for other chips. Shortly later, the NUC is fully functional. But it is kind of silly for Intel / Microsoft not to work closely together to include a basic driver for both ethernet and Wifi so that the NUC can at least download the rest of what it needs later.

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I purchased the 8i5BEH NUC during one of Amazons flash deals. I am extremely happy with it so far. I am running windows 10 Pro with 16GB of ram (2 x 8GB Crucial DDR4 2400) and an NVME drive. Word, Excel, and other Office 2019 program open in one second. I have it connected to my wireless mesh network, and pages load instantly using the onboard WiFi. I also have the previous generation 7i3 NUC; the 8th generation i5 runs circles around it. I wasnt unhappy with the i3 per se, but it was just a little big sluggish... especially in comparison. The difference between the two is immediately obvious. I tried using the 7i3 as my main PC for a couple months. It was adequate, but I didnt love it. This, I love. Its tiny, quiet, and blazing fast. Im taking off a star because the Intel Driver and Support Assistant will no longer scan the device to identify drivers automatically. It worked once, but every occasion since then I can only get the dreaded "Oops, something went wrong while trying to scan." Irritating, but not a fatal flaw. I can install stuff manually, but the Assistant was great while it worked.

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