Intel's Haswell NUC: D54250WYK UCFF PC Review
by Ganesh T S on January 3, 2014 4:25 PM ESTPerformance Metrics
The NUC was evaluated using our standard test suite for low power desktops / industrial PCs. Note that some of the benchmarks are pretty recent (such as x264 v5.0 and 3D Mark 2013). Loaner samples haven't been tested with these new benchmarks. Therefore, the list of PCs in each graph are not the same.
Windows Experience Index:
Our NUC build clocks in at 5.3 in Windows 8's experience index. The weak point here is the HD5000 graphics, as expected.
Users looking for more graphics power within a similar form factor would do well to look at Gigabyte's BRIX Pro which comes with Intel's Iris Pro graphics.
Futuremark Benchmarks:
Miscellaneous Benchmarks:
These are impressive benchmark numbers when the size of the system is taken into consideration.
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bigdang - Saturday, January 4, 2014 - link
Which devices are not being recognized? I had some devices not recognized on my box, but I was able to clear those up by downloading drivers from the NUC product support page. I downloaded the Management Engine Driver, the Nuvotron Driver, and (IIRC) the Gigabit Ethernet controller driver.quillaja - Saturday, January 4, 2014 - link
Device manager lists them as "PCI Simple Communications Controller", "SM Bus Controller", and "Unknown device". I strongly suspect the "unknown device" is the IR receiver (Nuvotron). I guessed I could probably get drivers for these devices from Intel's support page, but since not having them hasn't really affected the operation of my PC, I never bothered. I just dislike knowing that things aren't "perfect".jhoff80 - Saturday, January 4, 2014 - link
The first two happen on any Intel-based PC, not just this one. It's the Intel management stuff.Lundmark - Friday, January 3, 2014 - link
Thanks for the review. I'm getting a new HTPC any day now. Should I get the NUC or a Mac mini?I like Macs better and I know it will work with my TV's remote control, since it supports Apple remotes. But, apparently, there are issues with 24p both on Intel HD 4000 (which is off by 00,003 fps and thus shouldn't matter?) and OS X, which outputs exactly 24 fps and not 23,976. This causes judder, even if Plex/XBMC is set to match video speed to refresh rate. Apparently, you can fix this with SwitchResX, but it's a hack. I would probably run Windows on the Mac anyway for HD audio support. How serious is the Intel HD 4000 24p "bug", really? 00,003 frames sounds like nothing.
I'm also interested in what type of IR commands the NUC supports. With the Mac, I know what I'm getting and that it works, but I have no experience with the NUC. Incidentally, I need to find out if the NUC can be made to listen to any of the IR codes in my TV's database. My TV has IR blasters and downloads IR codes from the web, but that requires that the right codes are in the database. If the NUC can listen to an Apple remote, then I know it will work.
What do you think?
DigitalFreak - Friday, January 3, 2014 - link
The HDMI full range problem you mentioned appears to be fixed if you do a registry edit.http://www.avsforum.com/t/1477460/theory-about-int...
Alketi - Saturday, January 4, 2014 - link
It's also fixed in the latest OpenELEC nightly builds, if you're considering this as a dedicated HTPC running XBMC.JDG1980 - Friday, January 3, 2014 - link
I lost interest in this review when I realized that the system didn't have Iris Pro. Why is Intel so stingy in parceling out this SKU? Are they having yield problems? At this point, for all intents and purposes, it appears to be a rMBP-only part. I did a Google search for the Gigabyte BRIX that's supposed to have Iris Pro, but found only announcement articles - no reviews and no sellers. Has that been released yet?I really don't get Intel's strategy with Iris Pro. It's almost like they don't want it to succeed.
ganeshts - Friday, January 3, 2014 - link
I have a review unit in hand :) Review coming up after CES, may do a quick rundown before that...elian123 - Saturday, January 4, 2014 - link
Great! Really looking forward to that as I'm very interested in the Brix Pro.I hope in the review you can shed some light on the performance at 60Hz over displayport on UHD displays such as the Asus PQ321QE.
Jeffrey Bosboom - Saturday, January 4, 2014 - link
I'm also looking forward to the Brix Pro review, but please do some gaming tests in addition to the HTPC stuff. I'm curious how an Iris Pro part compares to a hypothetical Steam box with AMD's integrated graphics or a low-end discrete card. (I'm guessing it'll be thermally-limited, though I don't know what the Brix Pro's cooling is like.)