Intel NUC5i7RYH Broadwell-U Iris NUC Review
by Ganesh T S on April 20, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- Intel
- HTPC
- NUC
- Broadwell-U
Final Words
The Intel NUC5i7RYH provided us with the opportunity to take a look at what a higher TDP CPU and Iris Graphics can bring to the table in the UCFF space. Intel is pitching the Iris NUC as a gaming and content creation solution. Based on our evaluation, the Iris NUC seems to provide the best performance per watt in this form factor. The BRIX Pro with the Core i7-4770R is a better all-round solution, but that comes with bad acoustics and higher power consumption. It is also slightly bigger in order to accommodate the necessary thermal solution. The Iris NUC doesn't suffer from those drawbacks, thanks to the use of a 28W TDP CPU in the system.
In terms of scope for improvement, we would like to see a full-sized HDMI port in the back panel. The BRIX PCs are able to accommodate full-sized HDMI ports, so there is really nothing on the technical side to prevent this. If a mini-HDMI port is non-negotiable, it would be good to have either a mini-HDMI to full-sized HDMI adapter or a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable in the package. The design for accommodating the 2.5" drive is better than what we saw in the Haswell NUC. However, the cabling and 2.5" drive slot in the BRIX H series is definitely better. Other improvement aspects that we suggested in the Broadwell-U NUC review are applicable here also.
Minor quibbles aside, the Iris NUC delivers what it promises - decent casual gaming credentials and optimal CPU performance while ensuring that acoustics and power consumption remain reasonable. In fact, it has the best performance amongst all the traditional UCFF PCs that we have evaluated so far.
The final aspect that we talk about today is pricing. The NUC5i7RYH seems to be available on pre-order for $480 on CDW (even though Intel indicated a street price of $500). M.2 SSDs (both NVMe and SATA AHCI) continue to carry a premium. For users wishing to keep the build cost down, the Iris NUC also supports a traditional 2.5" drive. This makes the Iris NUC mini-PC an excellent choice for all budgets.
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Antronman - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
Since when do monitors draw power from the device they're connected to anyways?eanazag - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
Same response as close.Additionally, you want to have a power supply that can provide more juice because over time they lose the capacity to provide the highest specified wattage. If you have a device that routinely hits the max spec, you will experience some kind of failure. I'd rather see a 90 Watt charger. There were at least 3 USB slots I could see and they can pull at least 5 Watts. Additional components can pull more electricity too; like a 2.5 inch drive and the M.2 SSD. Maxed out the 65W adapter doesn't have a lot of wiggle room.
rhx123 - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
I'm sure the NUCs are getting uglier each time. The all black Ivy Bridge NUC was by far the best looking of the lot.CaedenV - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
So I am curious about 4K support. This thing purports to have 4K display support, but I wonder how well it works. In another year or two it will be time to upgrade my wife's desktop and I really want to get a slick little NUC (or NUC-like) device paired with a small-ish (35-45") curved 4K display/TV. All it needs to do is web browsing, office, UHD video (h.265, Netflix 4K and youtube 4K), and upscaling our digital library of our ripped DVDs and BluRays (h.264 and h.265) to 4K playback. It does not need to play games, or rather can stream games via the home network from the 'real computer' in the basement which should have 4K game support in a few years.Any thoughts if this is realistic on this model? Will the technology be there in this form factor in 2 years? Or should I be looking at one more home-built machine for my wife's desk? I would really like to get her something small and fanless... or at least low-power enough to run fanless most of the time.
ganeshts - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
Something like the NUC will be working great in the next generation or so. This one has 4K support, but not HDMI 2.0 - Refer to our earlier piece on why most PC platforms are not ready for the 4K era yet : http://anandtech.com/show/9152/futureproofing-htpc...xchaotic - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
'or rather can stream games via the home network' in uncompressed 4k???? that way more than even fiber can handleextide - Thursday, April 23, 2015 - link
He never said uncompressed 4k...PICman - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
Ganesh, what is this 'realm of reason' of which you speak so frequently? What lies beyond the 'realm of reason'?nathanddrews - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
Further confirmation that Broadwell is a big fizzle.Flunk - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
Ticks generally just update the tock, so that's no surprise.