The Intel NUC6i5SYK Skylake UCFF PC Review
by Ganesh T S on March 11, 2016 8:00 AM ESTNetworking and Storage Performance
Networking and storage are two major aspects which influence our experience with any computing system. This section presents results from our evaluation of these aspects in the Intel NUC6i5SYK. The NUC supports both M.2 SATA SSDs and M.2 PCIe SSDs (2242 / 2280). NVMe is also supported and provides the best possible performance. One of the evaluation options is a repetition of our strenuous SSD review tests on the drive in the PC. Fortunately, to avoid that overkill, PCMark 8 has a storage bench where certain common workloads such as loading games and document processing are replayed on the target drive. Results are presented in two forms, one being a benchmark number and the other, a bandwidth figure. We ran the PCMark 8 storage bench on selected PCs and the results are presented below.
Note that the problems we encountered with PCMark 8 and NVMe SSDs in a previous NUC review has been fixed now (by an update to PCMark 8). The benchmark now brings the full performance of the NVMe SSD to the forefront, yielding leading numbers in both the storage bench score as well as bandwidth. Unlike Broadwell-U, the M.2 SSD can interface with the Skylake package using a PCIe 3.0 x4 link (instead of PCIe 2.0 x4).
On the networking side, we restricted ourselves to the evaluation of the WLAN component. Our standard test router is the Netgear R7000 Nighthawk configured with both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks. The router is placed approximately 20 ft. away, separated by a drywall (as in a typical US building). A wired client is connected to the R7000 and serves as one endpoint for iperf evaluation. The PC under test is made to connect to either the 5 GHz (preferred) or 2.4 GHz SSID and iperf tests are conducted for both TCP and UDP transfers. It is ensured that the PC under test is the only wireless client for the Netgear R7000.
The WLAN functionality in the NUC6i5SYK is handled by the Intel AC8260 2x2 802.11ac chipset. While the number of spatial streams supported is the same as the AC7265 used in the Broadwell NUCs, the AC8260 integrates Bluetooth 4.2 (compared to Bluetooth 4.0 in the AC7265).
We evaluate total throughput for up to 32 simultaneous TCP connections using iperf and present the highest number in the graph below.
In the UDP case, we try to transfer data at the highest rate possible for which we get less than 1% packet loss.
The benchmark numbers in both cases point to a retrogression in performance compared to the previous-generation AC7265 used in the Intel NUC5i5RYK and NUC5i7RYH. In addition, we ran into a strange issue with the WLAN component. Occasionally after startup, the Wi-Fi adapter wouldn't see any 5 GHz networks to connect to. Repeated restarts helped in resolving the problem. Apparently, we are not alone in noticing this behavior. Intel has also been able to recreate the problem at their end and efforts are on to resolve it.
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ganeshts - Friday, March 11, 2016 - link
Hmm.. I haven't seen anyone use 'til now'.But, 'till date' is definitely common where I grew up / learned English: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/146767/... ; It might not be the best thing to use in other parts of the world, but it is not wrong.
kmo12345 - Saturday, March 12, 2016 - link
I noticed this as well.I also disagree with your statement that it is not wrong. I don't doubt that it has entered common usage in Indian English but I have never heard or seen this phrase in the UK, North America, or even Latin America. So while it may be correct in Indian English it is incorrect in any other forms of English.
nivedita - Sunday, March 13, 2016 - link
The dictionary disagrees with you.http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/en...
gietrzy - Friday, March 11, 2016 - link
Can you please point me to Intel white papers pdf where they say m.2 in Skylake can do more than 1600 MB/s?Tia.
ganeshts - Friday, March 11, 2016 - link
Sunrise Point-LP has PCIe 3.0 lanes, and the M.2 slot uses four of them. All I can say is that, with the appropriate M.2 SSD, you can utilize four PCIe 3.0 lanes' bandwidth.jdogi74 - Saturday, March 12, 2016 - link
Sorry, but you sound like a politician. Isn't there some contact at Intel that can provide some reasoning and confirmation for this limit or has Anandtech lost all of it's industry clout?jdogi74 - Saturday, March 12, 2016 - link
I completely agree. It's a shame that this review did not address this issue. Really, it's the only thing I came to this review hoping to learn. I have seen reports from users indicating that the M.2 on these is, for some reason, capped at 1600MB/s.This review states... "full support for PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 SSDs"... yet there's obviously some other factor that prevents these units from getting the most out of it. Given that, I would expect a review on this site to cover it and at least investigate and explain this limitation so that the readers get a better understanding of when PCIe 3.0 x4 really is PCIe 3.0 x4 and when it's not.
Can anyone explain why this alleged PCIe 3.0 x4 essentially perfoms as if it were PCIE 2.0 x4 or PCIe 3.0 x2.
Really.
jdogi74 - Saturday, March 12, 2016 - link
Sorry, I should also mention that Intel's own specs on these also confirm this 1600MB/s limit. So we know it's there. I just want to understand how it's PCIe 3.0 x4 but then it isn't.ganeshts - Sunday, March 13, 2016 - link
I benchmarked both the SM951 and 950 PRO NVMe SSDs, and the best-case bandwidth (large sequential reads) is around 1710 MBps for both.I have asked my Intel contact for the reason behind this, and I will either update things in this comments thread, or have a separate pipeline piece (depending on the depth of Intel's reply).
TheinsanegamerN - Friday, March 11, 2016 - link
Does this NUC have the ability to up te TDP, like haswell iris NUCs could (going from 15 to 28 watt, allowing both higher boost clocks and longer periods of sustained clock speeds.)?And has intel said anything about the skull canyon NUC, with the GT4e GPU?