Intel NUC - Fully Loaded

[musicbee]

It has reached Hyderabad early this morning, but apparently sitting there
in their warehouse without any further movement. Looks like they will deliver
only on the initial planned date of 16/4

Can someone suggest a compatible SSD for this?. For instance, I read in
legitreviews that the motherboard supports only Sata II interface, hence
even if I buy Sata III SSD, it would restrict to Sata II speeds.

On the other hand, I was looking at Kingston V300 120 GB SSD which is available
for 4k, but some of the reviews suggest the actual read/write speeds are
not great and not as advertised.

Amazon.in: Buy Kingston V300 SSDNow 120GB SATA 3 2.5 Solid State Drive w/Adapter Online at Low Prices in India | Kingston Reviews & Ratings

The Kingston will anyday beat a HDD. BTW nobody even gets the SATA I speeds of 1.5 Gb/s so SATA II speeds will be excellent and more than enough for streaming all forms of audio/video.

I'd personally recommend the Samsung 120 GB 840 EVO (850 is better but more $$$). The 840 was available a while back for Rs. 4500-5000 so if you can get it at those prices then its the best.

 

[reignofchaos]

The Kingston will anyday beat a HDD. BTW nobody even gets the SATA I speeds of 1.5 Gb/s so SATA II speeds will be excellent and more than enough for streaming all forms of audio/video.

I'd personally recommend the Samsung 120 GB 840 EVO (850 is better but more $$$). The 840 was available a while back for Rs. 4500-5000 so if you can get it at those prices then its the best.

840 EVO has known slow down issues with old files which aren't fixed yet. I'd avoid it. The cheapest decent drive I'd pick up is an Adata SP610.

 

[sivakuru]

I see on Amazon.in,
the Kingston 120 GB at Rs 3896
Amazon.in: Buy Kingston V300 SSDNow 120GB SATA 3 2.5 Solid State Drive w/Adapter Online at Low Prices in India | Kingston Reviews & Ratings
the Sandisk at Rs 4189
Amazon.in: Buy SanDisk 128GB SATA 6.0GB/s 2.5-Inch 7mm Height Solid State Drive (SSD) With Read Up To 475MB/s- SDSSDP-128G-G25 Online at Low Prices in India | SanDisk Reviews & Ratings
the Samsung 850 Evo at Rs 5249
Samsung 850 EVO 120GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD: Amazon.in: Computers & Accessories
the Transcend at Rs 4001
Transcend TS128GSSD370 128GB Solid State Drive: Amazon.in: Computers & Accessories

Given these options, it is the Samsung 850 EVO which is at about 25% costlier
than the others.

Is there a specific reason, why one should go for the Samsung 850 EVO?.

I understand there are about 118 reviews for the 840 EVO, so it must be reliable
and good, but I would like to understand what separates the Samsung EVOs from
the rest?. Is it because they give better speeds or is it that they are more
reliable or is there any other reason.

Thank you.

 

[musicbee]

Given these options, it is the Samsung 850 EVO which is at about 25% costlier
than the others.

Is there a specific reason, why one should go for the Samsung 850 EVO?.

I understand there are about 118 reviews for the 840 EVO, so it must be reliable
and good, but I would like to understand what separates the Samsung EVOs from
the rest?. Is it because they give better speeds or is it that they are more
reliable or is there any other reason.

Thank you.

Samsung SSD 850 EVO (120GB, 250GB, 500GB & 1TB) Review

I've used an 840 Evo (its still running on an older PC) and now I'm using an 850 Pro for the OS. 120 GB should suffice... no cons, incredibly fast and accurate i.e. no data loss. I'm a happy camper. The Intels (SSDs) are also reviewed very well... just cost more $$$. The Samsungs are the perfect middle ground for price to performance ratio. The cheaper Kingstons are slower... they use a slower NAND and while they will be faster than regular HDDs... they don't really compare well to other SSDs in terms of speeds.

 

[mgdelhi]

Can someone suggest a compatible SSD for this?.

Let's hope we get it.

But if it is a pricing error and we get it without HDD and RAM @9.4k, are you willing to keep it ?

Whatever your answer is, let it reach you first and then order SSD (no harm in discussing).

 

[sivakuru]

I hope it is not a pricing error. Had it been a pricing error, I would assume
they would cancel the order. Anyways nothing is confirmed until someone
receives it. Fingers crossed.

Yes, I am just doing the prep work. I will not order the SSD until I receive it.

I dont know if I will keep it or return it. I have not made a decision yet.
I really hope it comes with the RAM and HD.

 

[sivakuru]

@musicbee,

I understand that the Samsung 850s are fast. However in the context of this Intel NUC,
do you think it would make sense?.

In the following review,
Intel NUC DN2820FYKH Bay Trail System Review - Page 9 of 9 - Legit ReviewsFinal Thoughts & Conclusions
it states, the following
"For starters the Intel NUC DN2820FYKH uses a single 2.5? SATA notebook drive that operates on the SATA II 3Gbps interface. You dont have to go out and buy a high-end SATA III 6Gbps drive as you are limited to SATA II speeds, so save yourself a few bucks there."
and hence the concern. Let me know your thoughts.

Thank you.

 

[musicbee]

@musicbee,

I understand that the Samsung 850s are fast. However in the context of this Intel NUC,
do you think it would make sense?.

In the following review,
Intel NUC DN2820FYKH Bay Trail System Review - Page 9 of 9 - Legit ReviewsFinal Thoughts & Conclusions
it states, the following
"For starters the Intel NUC DN2820FYKH uses a single 2.5? SATA notebook drive that operates on the SATA II 3Gbps interface. You dont have to go out and buy a high-end SATA III 6Gbps drive as you are limited to SATA II speeds, so save yourself a few bucks there."
and hence the concern. Let me know your thoughts.

Thank you.

Think long term. IIRC the Samsung 850 has a warranty of 10 or 15 years... unheard of in any SSD. It will definitely outlast the Intel NUC, the only issue is how much more $$$ compared to the Kingston. Not much, the Samsung 850 is Rs. 5,249.00, the Kingston is Rs. 3,897.00. The Kingston is also very slow in comparison to the Samsung.

On the other hand if its only for streaming FLACs, downloaded movies, etc. then even a regular HDD will suffice. Music and movies don't require much b/w and definitely don't need an SSD. If boot time is not an issue (should not be for a NUC) then you can simply use the 500 GB given with the NUC.

PS - I would not spend on the Kingston... way too many folks complaining of slow speeds and many negative reviews. You can think of other brands instead, quite a few options on Amazon.

 

[reignofchaos]

The 850 pro has 10 year warranty. The 850 has 5. That Kingston you selected is based on the antiquated sandforce 2281 controller which is slow by modern standards and also very prone to failure. I wouldn't buy it if I were you. 850 is worth the extra cash.

 

[sivakuru]

Thank you Guys. No matter how much research I do, I will not be able to get information like this.

The only reason I am thinking of SSD is to decrease the boot time and to speed up applications such as Xbmc, jriver, etc. In this context is it worth the extra cash for SSD.

For instance if the boot times is say 30 secs for regular HD, can I expect boot times to be around 5 secs for SSD?. The OS I will be installing will be Win 8.1

 

[sivakuru]

I read some reviews and looked at some Youtube videos and it is clear that I
could save few secs at a minimum and in some cases may be even half the time.
The difference becomes more prominent when we start running several applications
in-parallel, which is not my use case.

I have decided to experiment. If the Unit comes with HD, I will install Win8.1 and
if I get satisfactory boot times, I might just run with it for now. However if it takes
too long, I will go for the Samsung 850 EVO.

 

[pradeepkamat]

I also ordered Intel NUC on Amazon on 10.04.15, order was confirmed but later on got mail regreating inability of supply.

Immediately ordered to Flipkart at Rs.10290/- yesterday 13.04.15 and today 14.4.15 material was despatched at 12:30 a.m.
Delivery dt.20.04.15 but hope to get by 17th or 18th as per previous experience with Flipkart.

It is clearly stated in their advertisement, that Ram & hdd are not included.
In Pune Market 4GB RAM Rs.1800/- to 2200/-
HDD 500GB Rs.2800/-

There are many reviews & setup vedios available on net. It appears that we need to update the bios, before installing the OS.

Let us share our experiences after we get the NUC in hand !

 

[gangasjith]

Yup, mine too got shipped. I thought the order might
be cancelled. I hope it comes with 4 GB RAM and 500GB HD.

The plan is to remove the 500GB HD, sell it off and replace it with a
120GB SSD. Make it dual boot with OpenElec, Win7 or Win8.

Excited . Thanks to the gangasjith again.

Hi All,

Accept your thanks Mr. Sivakuru.

However I believe that the forum is meant for information sharing and I was just doing that. However from this thread one of the most benefited person may be I myself.
Frankly, I do not know anything about HTPCs. Now I started to learn a lot info. from this forum and especially from this thread.

Thanks to all....

 

[gangasjith]

Hi All,

I believe that any HTPC can be customized (may be using kodi) to process almost all the latest video and audio formats.

Then is it enough to invest in a low cost HTiB system like YHT 299 (Rs. 37,000/-). All the latest video & audio formats will be processed by the NUC and we can expect a reasonable good HT experience from YHT 299.

Guys what do you think?

 

[musicbee]

I read some reviews and looked at some Youtube videos and it is clear that I
could save few secs at a minimum and in some cases may be even half the time.
The difference becomes more prominent when we start running several applications
in-parallel, which is not my use case.

I have decided to experiment. If the Unit comes with HD, I will install Win8.1 and
if I get satisfactory boot times, I might just run with it for now. However if it takes
too long, I will go for the Samsung 850 EVO.

If you have the $$$ then go for SSD. Nothing like it. Once you get used to the speed there is no going back.

You can always add the SSD later on, especially if the NUC comes with a HDD.

Hi All,

I believe that any HTPC can be customized (may be using kodi) to process almost all the latest video and audio formats.

Then is it enough to invest in a low cost HTiB system like YHT 299 (Rs. 37,000/-). All the latest video & audio formats will be processed by the NUC and we can expect a reasonable good HT experience from YHT 299.

Guys what do you think?

You have to listen for yourself and make the decision. Personally, I bitstream and let the AVR do the decoding. Many players like PotPlayer not only decode, but also upmix to 5.1 like Dolby Pro Logic II, even external filters like LAV will do that in the PC, but honestly none of them compare to the DTS Neo and Dolby Pro Logic upmixing modes on my Onkyo. The Onkyo adds depth, more bass, better spacing, etc. something the likes of Kodi (IMHO even the PQ is average at best and I recommend an external player even with Kodi) cannot achieve. PotPlayer and MPC can be tweaked, but something like even JRiver (with madVR) will eat Kodi for breakfast in terms of PQ and SQ and that's right out of the box without any tweaking or additional filters. Kodi at best is a decent library manager and not the best PQ or SQ in a HTPC.

Also, the latest formats like Dolby Atmos, DTS X (still not out) will need an AVR. I've tried them all and nothing upmixes John Wick (5.1.2 setup) like an AVR.

 

[gangasjith]

Hi All,

Just received SMS from amazon informing that the NUC is out for delivery.
I might get it today.

Please advice how to check RAM and HDR?

 

[Nikhil]

Great to see some action on the Intel NUC on here.
I have been following the unit as well and will be following this thread.

I have a request for those of you who are getting this unit.

Is there any difference in audio by removing the bluetooth/wifi card?
I ask this because typically wifi/bluetooth circuits are supposedly prone to noise.

Congratulations on scouting a great deal.

Regards.

 

[manniraj]

Great to see some action on the Intel NUC on here.
I have been following the unit as well and will be following this thread.

I have a request for those of you who are getting this unit.

Is there any difference in audio by removing the bluetooth/wifi card?
I ask this because typically wifi/bluetooth circuits are supposedly prone to noise.

Congratulations on scouting a great deal.

Regards.

I have a Foxconn based barebones PC which is also a Intel based with built-in wifi card. Initially the wifi card started interfering with my wifi router with the IP address and other stuff. There are lots of issues with the Intel wifi cards in these barebones, so I disconnected it and started using only the LAN port. I am using this PC only for music with just Foobar installed and frankly speaking I have not heard any difference with wifi card or without. May be my setup is not resolving enough but nevertheless I have installed the software from the computer audio design (I think I got the name correct) whereby running a batch file will disable all unnecessary features including wifi/bluetooth etc.,

 

[gangasjith]

Hi All,

Received the shipment.
Initial Impression : There is no RAM & HDR.
However let me explore further

 

[Nikhil]

Looks like we are dealing with a slick operator here.

Although Rs 9K is not a bad deal - the details as shown earlier did indicate that memory and HDD were included.
At least that is what "Fully Loaded" seemed to indicate.