Intel NUC10i7FNH Frost Canyon Review: Hexa-Core NUC Delivers a Mixed Bag
by Ganesh T S on March 2, 2020 9:00 AM ESTPower Consumption and Thermal Performance
The power consumption at the wall was measured with a 4K display being driven through the HDMI port. In the graphs below, we compare the idle and load power of the Intel NUC10i7FNH (Frost Canyon) with other low power PCs evaluated before. For load power consumption, we ran the AIDA64 System Stability Test with various stress components, and noted the maximum sustained power consumption at the wall.
The usage of a PCIe 3.0 x2 NVMe SSD along with a low TDP processor (25W, compared to the 28W+ processors in the other systems, other than the June Canyon NUC) manufactured in a highly-optimized and power-efficient 14nm process result in the Frost Canyon NUC having a sub-5W idle power consumption even while driving a 4K display. The system is able to sustain 90W+ at the wall for a very brief duration only, with the power falling slightly south of 60W for sustained workloads.
Our thermal stress routine starts with the system at idle, followed by four stages of different system loading profiles using the AIDA64 System Stability Test (each of 30 minutes duration). In the first stage, we stress the CPU, caches and RAM. In the second stage, we add the GPU to the above list. In the third stage, we stress the GPU standalone. In the final stage, we stress all the system components (including the disks). Beyond this, we leave the unit idle in order to determine how quickly the various temperatures in the system can come back to normal idling range. The various clocks, temperatures and power consumption numbers for the system during the above routine are presented in the graphs below.
| Intel NUC10i7FNH (Frost Canyon) System Loading with the AIDA64 System Stability Test | |||
The frequencies adjust to ensure that the 30W PL1 is maintained. With just the CPU loaded, the cores can maintain around 3 GHz sustained. Adding the GPU brings the CPU cores down to 2 GHz. With only the GPU stressed, the CPU cores can stay close to their boost clocks without consuming much power. The thermal design is quite good, with the package temperature never above 90C for extended durations.
| Intel NUC10i7FNH (Frost Canyon) System Loading with Prime95 and Furmark | |||
Our custom stress test with Prime95 and Furmark shows similar characteristics. Frequencies get adjusted to maintain a 30W package power, and the package temperature does not cross 85C. Furmark loads the GPU more than the AIDA stress component, and hence, we see the CPU frequency drop down to around 1.5 GHz in this case.
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yankeeDDL - Monday, March 2, 2020 - link
I don't think anyone is arguing that high-end graphics is needed in NUC. The iGPU of a 2400G, or that of a 4800U are definitely *not* high-end graphics. UHD is a sore thumb on pretty much anything that is not office and email.Rookierookie - Monday, March 2, 2020 - link
Office and email are exactly what most people would buy this for. UHD even has competent video playback.yankeeDDL - Tuesday, March 3, 2020 - link
What? 1Kusd for a PC for office and email? You can buy a good laptop for that price, and get the screen and the portability. No, at least not only office and email. I, for one, have been looking at NUCs to use as a light gaming machine, video/Youtube player to be connected to my TV. I've been looking at Zotac's products, to give you an idea: a "NUC" with a Ryzen 4800H should blow this out of the water, both in CPU and GPU performance, while probably being quite a bit cheaper.Samus - Monday, March 2, 2020 - link
Nearly 90% of all PC's sold (desktops, laptops, PC, MAC, etc) rely on Intel iGPU's and the UI's their OS's run must be built around their limitations.You need to consider Intel has been indirectly holding back UI progress and developement for two decades while everyone around them (from AMD to SoC chipmakers) has been focusing on GPU performance. It could be argued
A) Intel couldn't be taken seriously in the ultramobile SoC space because they don't have a GPU to backup their APU\FPU IP and advanced production capabilities, which is why they threw in the towel.
B) Intel is responsible for the collapse of the PC market (the death of the PC as they call it) because they have halted evolutionary progress on the UI experience, meanwhile mobile devices have vastly outpaced PC's due to their superior graphics performance, and thus UI's.
C) Intel is embarrassingly the ONLY chipmaker struggling with GPU development. Because of their blind devotion to margins and profits, they have refused to license IP from companies that actually know what the fuck they are doing, meanwhile seemingly unable to engineer a product that's even close to competitive with the markets slowest options.
khanikun - Monday, March 2, 2020 - link
B) Huh? What was halted for the UI experience, due to graphics? Rounded corners in Windows? Translucent windows? If anything, MS is the ones ruining the UI experience with Win 8, Win 10, and the current garbage Start Menu.If all you're looking at is eye candy, check out today's Windows, Android, iOS. They're all flattening out the UI. Shit's literally Win 95 with more color options.
Lord of the Bored - Thursday, March 5, 2020 - link
"current garbage Start Menu"As opposed to the old garbage start menu.
The Start menu has always been terrible. Back in 1995 AD, it was actually worse than Program Manager, and it hasn't actually improved a lot since then. (Windows 95 made several other changes that were very welcome, like the one-touch close button and always-accessible task bar. The start menu is notable for how uniquely bad it is in an overhaul otherwise full of good ideas.)
Just because you are used to it doesn't make it right.
(And the Windows 10 interface is not Win 95 with more colors. It is a flatter and less complex Win 95 with FEWER colors. Nary a 3D bevel in sight.)
Foeketijn - Tuesday, March 3, 2020 - link
Then buy a SimplyNUC’s Sequoia. I like that I sold dozens of the things, and the only complaint is HDMI not coming on after sleep state once in a while, and 1 broken after a lightning incident.So they are in general bullet proof. Nobody once even asked about the GPU. And I am typing this using an old NUC on a 4k screen combined with a 1440p screen. No gaming, no Autocad and everything is well.
AbRASiON - Tuesday, March 3, 2020 - link
Interesting, some of us /couldn't possibly care less/ about the graphics, as long as it's enough to run Windows reliably and play back video. But we would like more and more CPU performance in a low sized form factor.nico_mach - Monday, March 2, 2020 - link
You ... took a delivered, complete system apart to review it? And it's the first assembled NUC ever offered? Well, that's bold.BedfordTim - Monday, March 2, 2020 - link
The used to make complete Atom based NUCs which were pretty good value.