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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ganeshts - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
I can understand the issue for people who are following each and every review that is published here. On the other hand, many of our readers come from search results - say, someone searching on Google for 'Iris NUC review' - So, it is necessary for each review to be a 'standalone' piece ; I have published 10+ UCFF PC reviews in the last year or so. I would rather spend time writing about the actual benchmark results rather than thinking about 10 different ways to convey the same information.If you are a regular reader, the only item of interest in the introductory section would be the table listing the specs of the unit on a comparative basis. Feel free to skim over the introductory section and dive into the actual benchmark results if you are a regular reader.
keg504 - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
The title for the DiRT Showdown benchmarks is "Tomb Raider" for some reason...ganeshts - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
Thanks! Fixed ithlovatt - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
@ganeshts Any chance of a Mac Mini review to see how it stacks up in the HTPC stakes? After all the Mac Mini is one of the founders of this form factor.milkod2001 - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
i'll second that, please do review and comparison NUC vs Mac Mini if possible.zodiacfml - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
After all the Core M review these days, 28 watts appeared a performance monster at first glance.Yet, this is no Quad Core compared to previous similarly priced NUC. Not impressed.
meacupla - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
If you're talking about that Brix Pro, that thing was a beast and it consumes about 2x the power that this NUC does.zodiacfml - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
True, but these devices are plugged in. For a notebook, I might reconsider.Pork@III - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
Weak is weak, if you will, and it names NUClear.meacupla - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
If it said "NUClear" on the package, I would totally expect it to contain an R9 290X and subsequently melt down to a smouldering pile of plastic, silicon and PCB the moment it is subjected to ground breaking benchmarks.