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[jmone]

I've had a look at several other Intel NUC and Compute Sticks but this time I'm looking at the current Mid Range NUC from Intel based on the I5-6260U processor with the Iris 540 Graphics GPU. 

I like the concept of the small form factor PC's for dedicated HTPCs but there are normally compromises that can make them problematic for general HTPC duties.  For reference I've previously done similar reviews for:
- Review : Intel NUC DN2820 & MC as a Low Cost Media Player
- Review: Intel Compute Stick (2016 Version)
- Review: Clone of Intel Compute Stick (MeeGoPad T01) with MC as Media Player

This time I've picked the NUC6i5SYK which is the smaller NUC form factor but still with the full array or ports and connectors. 

I've still got the same basic list of desirable for a good HTPC:
- Access and Quality Playback of all my media (Audio and Video)
- Smoothly run MC
- Low Power Usage
- Small and quiet unit
...but don't want to pay big $$$ ?



The NUC6i5SKY is no "cheapie", at about US$370 for the bare bones (I paid a little less for a factory refurb unit) and to that you need to add Memory (say $45 for 8GB), and a Drive (say $75 for an M2 SDD).  On top of that, you will need an OS (I grabbed an OEM Win10 Pro Lic for this).  This build is a bit over twice the price than the original NUC 2820 I reviewed almost 3 years ago (which by the way is still going strong!).  So is it more than twice as good?

On the surface the specs look good with HDMI, IR, Wireless & Wired NW all in a smaller form factor but much more powerful than my modestly priced NUC 2820.  In particular, I was interested to see how it would go with the:
- noise from the fan cooling the i5 CPU and
- Iris™ graphics 540 handling ROHQ (madVR) with high frame rate content (eg AVC 1080/50p / 50i / 60i)


Install: 
- HW (5Min) : You remove 4 screws from the base to gain access and then just slot in the Memory and the S.2 drive.  Easy
- Win 10 (30Mins) : Straight Forward
- Updating Drivers / BIOS (45Mins) : Straight Forward.  Did the usual Windows Updates post install and unlike my prior experience, it just worked with all devices found, installed and working.  Ran the Intel Driver Utility and it found a whole bunch of stuff to update (and this was more painful, needed lots of click through boxs, reboots etc).
- Initial MC Install (10Mins) : Straight Forward as usual (with my usual customisations for use as a Client from an MC Server)

Tweaks:  ROHQ worked at the STD settings.  I then upped madVR to use Jinc and it had no issues playing any video without dropping frames (including 1080/50i/50p/60i).  Blu-ray 3D also worked just fine.  I don't have a 4K display to test higher res scaling.

Results:  This little NUC plays everything in my Library without breaking a sweat!
- Audio: No problems with decoding Audio over HDMI for all formats
- Video: Fine with ROHQ using Jinc on AVC, MPEG2, VC-1 material up to 1080/50p/60i.  All the MC Video goodies such as Auto Frame Rate Switching and Video Clock worked without issue.  I've yet to test 2K, 4K, HEVC material.
- Power and Noise: While it does have a small fan, it is quiet.  I could not hear the fan at all at 1m.

Code: [Select]

=== Running Benchmarks (please do not interrupt) ===

Running 'Math' benchmark...
    Single-threaded integer math... 5.327 seconds
    Single-threaded floating point math... 3.676 seconds
    Multi-threaded integer math... 2.903 seconds
    Multi-threaded mixed math... 2.011 seconds
Score: 1365

Running 'Image' benchmark...
    Image creation / destruction... 0.535 seconds
    Flood filling... 0.471 seconds
    Direct copying... 0.652 seconds
    Small renders... 1.352 seconds
    Bilinear rendering... 1.762 seconds
    Bicubic rendering... 1.067 seconds
Score: 3767

Running 'Database' benchmark...
    Create database... 0.216 seconds
    Populate database... 1.297 seconds
    Save database... 0.346 seconds
    Reload database... 0.056 seconds
    Search database... 1.080 seconds
    Sort database... 1.019 seconds
    Group database... 0.768 seconds
Score: 4496

JRMark (version 22.0.45): 3210
Conclusion:  It is a very capable HTPC, offering all the HW options and ports you need (including IR), and is nice and quiet.  It had no issues with the media I've tried so far and did so effortlessly .... and in such a small format.  To give you an idea of the size the following picture shows the NUC6i5SYK sitting on top of the older NUCDN2820.  It is not not cheap, but you do get a great all round package that works out of the box without any special tweaks.  I'm sure the cheaper NUC will suit many but if you want ROHQ with madVR at some reasonable settings this model will be hard to go past.  The simple addition of an Ethernet Connector makes it a better choice than the Intel Compute Stick, in my opinion, as relying on a wireless connection for streaming high bit rate video is not a great option.  That said I still need to check its 4K performance.

[JimH]

Nice write-up.  Thanks!

[Listener]

I've been using the taller case version of the NUC6i5SYK for a few months.  My wife is using one now too.

It is easy to set the fan profile to quiet in the BIOS.  The fan rarely runs at all for my uses.

[jmone]

Here are some IR Pics of the Thermal output of the NUC while playing a harder video.  65C at the vents.

[jmone]

I also got to play with the NUC on a 3D PJ and TV and while the Playback just worked with MC, I did see some odd behaviour.  Firstly in ROHQ, I saw in madVR Stats that it was upscaling to 4K.... Kinda odd as the res was only set to 1080p and that was what seemed to be output to my TV/PJ.  I also saw a drop in GPU performance that was related to this scaling to 4K (and presumable back to 1080p).  Anyway, after fighting with EDID, my new Yami AVR, and fiddling with ROHQ queue sizes, we sat down and watched a Blu-ray 3D from start to finish without issue.

PS- I think my days of using a DVI Detector Plus is over.  This new Yami Amp is the first of my 4K Equipment and it does not like this box.....  For now I'm trying to use Custom EDID profile instead.

[elviscaprice]

Very good, yes, a NUC can perform all necessary format playbacks and video with the proper integrated mobo and CPU.  Small form factor. 
But that is it as an effective HTPC.  All I can say is noisy sound quality.  It doesn't have a PCIe slot for an audiophile USB card to run to a higher quality DAC.  Fans are never a good thing pulling power from the mobo.  Power supply implementation is poor, more electrical noise.  M2 is not a desirable feature, again, power demanding and no ability to operate a separate power supply on the M2 outside the mobo.  Lack of sata connectors for HDD's, thus you probably have to operate a NAS or external HDD's.  As a direct HTPC without renderer, and even poor at that, I would never recommend a NUC as an HTPC for anyone who cares about audio quality.  For movies, internet, youtube, radio, tv, fine. 

Better, would be an embedded solution with an mini itx Wesena case.  Something like this mobo, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157731
Add an LPS power supply from HD Plex with an ATX board and now your talking, much better quality than a NUC.  Have the ability to add a PCIe audio usb card in the 1 slot available.

[Listener]

Very good, yes, a NUC can perform all necessary format playbacks and video with the proper integrated mobo and CPU.  Small form factor. 
But that is it as an effective HTPC.  All I can say is noisy sound quality.  It doesn't have a PCIe slot for an audiophile USB card to run to a higher quality DAC.  Fans are never a good thing pulling power from the mobo.  Power supply implementation is poor, more electrical noise.  M2 is not a desirable feature, again, power demanding and no ability to operate a separate power supply on the M2 outside the mobo.  Lack of sata connectors for HDD's, thus you probably have to operate a NAS or external HDD's.  As a direct HTPC without renderer, and even poor at that, I would never recommend a NUC as an HTPC for anyone who cares about audio quality.  For movies, internet, youtube, radio, tv, fine. 

Better, would be an embedded solution with an mini itx Wesena case.  Something like this mobo, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157731
Add an LPS power supply from HD Plex with an ATX board and now your talking, much better quality than a NUC.  Have the ability to add a PCIe audio usb card in the 1 slot available.

Do you have any actual experience with a 5th or 6th or 7th generation NUC?  I do and I find them to be very useful and very satisfactory for my uses including audio playback.

I've heard no difference in audio quality between a 6th generation i5 NUC and previous generation PCs using USB DACs or USB to SPDIF converters.  Including a bus powered Audioquest Red USB DAC.

I use a 1TB m.2 SSD in my i5 NUC.  Total power consumption  for the entire NUC is 4-6 watts in normal operation.  m.2 power demanding?  If it is a power hog, it is just a tiny suckling pig.

The taller case versions of NUCs have an m.2 slot and a SATA slot for a thin 2.5" drive.  You simply slide a thin laptop size SSD or hard drive into the slot. 1 TB m.2 drives or 1 TB SATA SSDs are about $ 260 - $ 270 in the US now and a 2 TB SATA SSD runs between $ 550 and $ 850.  A 2 TB 2.5" hard drive is about $ 100.  2 TB m.2 drives and 4 TB SATA SSDs are at nosebleed levels ($ 1600 and up.)  If you can live with the options available and the prices for them, a NUC is a simple cost effective solution.

NUCs do have limits that make them poor choices if you need lots of internal storage or lots of CPU and GPU power to do massive processing of audio and video.  That's real-world stuff not the audiophile dogma you recite.

You mentioned power supplies.  I build a number of PCs over the last 10 years for personal and audio use.  I made an effort to find ones with very good test results and used those.  As power consumption came down from one generation of Intel CPUs to the next, a problem arose.  The good power supplies were designed for 350, 500 or even 750 watt limits.  While they were quite efficient at high loads, they were so-so at the 35 watts that a Sandy Bridge based PC actually consumed.  PCs built with later generation CPUs and motherboards consume even less power in normal operation.  Intel's NUCs have a power supply that is very efficient at the power levels the rest of the system consumes. 

[Manfred]

Nice Review 

But the really interesting enemy for me is the new released Intel® NUC Kit NUC7i7BNH (Kaby Lake) with HDMI 2.0 4k@60Hz and Iris Pro 650 Graphics; i7-7567U- will it be cabale to scale-up 1080i/p to 4k using madvr?

[Antognini]

- Win 10 (30Mins) : Straight Forward

How exactly did you Windows 10 (and was it x64)? From a USB stick? If yes, in what form was it on the stick? That is, how was the OS installation material put on the stick?

[jmone]

Yes, Windows 10 64Bit installed from a USB DVD Drive from memory (but it may have been a USB Stick).

[nycmtber]

I have the exact NUC as my HTPC. After reading this post i tried red October high quality settings both default and the tweaks that you listed. JRiver locks up the PC and it requires a reset holding the power button. This is when playing movies that are 1080p .mkv files.

Never had the issue in standard settings...

[jmone]

FYI my testing was using 1080p Content to a 1080p display (are you outputting to a 4k display?).

[nycmtber]

No, 1080p to 1080p.

[Huite]

Do you have any actual experience with a 5th or 6th or 7th generation NUC?  I do and I find them to be very useful and very satisfactory for my uses including audio playback.

I've heard no difference in audio quality between a 6th generation i5 NUC and previous generation PCs using USB DACs or USB to SPDIF converters.  Including a bus powered Audioquest Red USB DAC.

I use a 1TB m.2 SSD in my i5 NUC.  Total power consumption  for the entire NUC is 4-6 watts in normal operation.  m.2 power demanding?  If it is a power hog, it is just a tiny suckling pig.

The taller case versions of NUCs have an m.2 slot and a SATA slot for a thin 2.5" drive.  You simply slide a thin laptop size SSD or hard drive into the slot. 1 TB m.2 drives or 1 TB SATA SSDs are about $ 260 - $ 270 in the US now and a 2 TB SATA SSD runs between $ 550 and $ 850.  A 2 TB 2.5" hard drive is about $ 100.  2 TB m.2 drives and 4 TB SATA SSDs are at nosebleed levels ($ 1600 and up.)  If you can live with the options available and the prices for them, a NUC is a simple cost effective solution.

NUCs do have limits that make them poor choices if you need lots of internal storage or lots of CPU and GPU power to do massive processing of audio and video.  That's real-world stuff not the audiophile dogma you recite.

You mentioned power supplies.  I build a number of PCs over the last 10 years for personal and audio use.  I made an effort to find ones with very good test results and used those.  As power consumption came down from one generation of Intel CPUs to the next, a problem arose.  The good power supplies were designed for 350, 500 or even 750 watt limits.  While they were quite efficient at high loads, they were so-so at the 35 watts that a Sandy Bridge based PC actually consumed.  PCs built with later generation CPUs and motherboards consume even less power in normal operation.  Intel's NUCs have a power supply that is very efficient at the power levels the rest of the system consumes.

I agree!
And to prevent potential elektrical noise from an Intel NUC you can make use of hard en software tweaks.
My NUC 6i3SYH that I use as an Audio streamer sounds great!

[robt]

I too have a NUC 6i3SYH and it has no problems with hi res audio, blu ray rips or anything else I've thrown at it so far, but Red October HQ is too much for it. I suspect a much more powerful processor is required for that.

I can live with that limitation (for now  )

[antenna]

@jmone

Thanks for the thorough review.

One question - you did not state it explicitly, but I presume that audio is sent through the HDMI interface and not through a separate channel?

thx.

[stewart_pk]

I too have a NUC 6i3SYH and it has no problems with hi res audio, blu ray rips or anything else I've thrown at it so far, but Red October HQ is too much for it. I suspect a much more powerful processor is required for that.

Red October HQ (MadVR) is mostly reliant on the GPU of the system rather than the CPU.

[jmone]

One question - you did not state it explicitly, but I presume that audio is sent through the HDMI interface and not through a separate channel?

Correct

[Darrensef]

Single NIC Boot with Routed mode is now supported that could be useful in these Single NIC systems like the Intel NUC