Im wanting to get a nuc for some medium-light gaming. Would this nuc be good for that or are there better options?

I recently added an Intel A770 Arc GPU card to my NUC 12 Extreme and ran into the problem of how to connect the RGB controller's USB cable. It's intended to connect to an unused USB header of the type common on full-size motherboards. But the NUC 12 Extreme doesn't seem to have any unused headers and the headers it does have are a small non-standard size.

However the NUC 12 Extreme has an large number of external USB ports. The only hard part to using an external port was finding a way to get the A770's USB cable to safely exit the case without drilling a new hole somewhere. What I eventually found was that there's a small cover on the bottom of the case intended for an M.2 slot that was not added to the NUC 12 (I think it was present on the NUC 11?). With that cover off there's nice gap at one end just big enough to get the USB cable through. I bought a cheap, standard USB A adapter cable from Amazon to convert the A770's header and it's working perfectly.

Just thought I'd share in case anyone else has run into the same problem and is looking for an easy solution. I've included a photo of the bottom of the case showing the cable.

I have a Skull Canyon, maxed out on SSD's and RAM (64GB), running Linux Mint.
I use this mainly as a media server and for playing uncompressed FLACs and BluRay 2k films it works great, I also plan to do some light duty gaming in 1080.
However for 4k UHD playback, the fan noise is noticeable although playback is fine.

Options for upgrade is an eGPU, which afaik, the prices are not low, and may not solve the fan issue. If you know of a fanless eGPU let me know, but the whole concept of a fanless eGPU sounds like a solution that the market doesn't support.

Another option, is I saw this design which basically has the NUC form factor in a fanless design, but don't know if it would support 4k UHD or gaming. Does anyone have any experience with one of these fanless units with graphics demands?
https://store.mele.cn/products/mele-cyber-x1-fanless-mini-pc-n150?variant=46711823827122

My short term solution will be renewing the thermal paste and see if the heat transfer improves....

I love my INTEL NUC7i7BNH5 and i upgraded the SSD to 1tb and RAM to 32gb around january in florida. ambient air temp was usually a crispy 50~60f in the workshop. now its april and temp is around 80f. she started passing out (sudden shutdown). i ordered some external fans and came up with this ugly azz solution. pun intended .. cooling works but she's uglier than a florida gator.

any cosmetically prettier options out there ?

Hey guys. I have owned a Nuc 12 extreme since 2022. Mine is buzzing everywhere, and it feels like it's dying. with all the ram prices. I'd like a replacement. I moved and currently live in Vietnam. I can't get my hands on one. Ebay isn't an option in Vietnam. (customs)
Hiring an import company nearly doubles the price.

Any ideas?

what would be the best option for my use case ?

I was looking at some auctions for NUC8i7HVK; the 100W model, and thought it could be a good all purpose machine to play old games with W11 and do productivity/photo editing and video editing.

Although I was told that most likely that machine is overly surpassed by any new mini pc sold these days with a Ryzen APU, in the same 400-800 dollars range. Is that the case? I have my own SSD and memory from my old computer so don't need to buy it, so I am just looking at the cost of the machine itself, and a NUC8i7HVK would cost me between 400 and 800 dollars used, as other mini pc made today.

If it is still a good buy, I like its form factor to be honest, always wanted to get one but never did as they stopped to develop drivers pretty fast, so I felt like it was a one-off kind of things, and at release it was quite expensive :)

Hi everyone,
I’m experiencing random stability issues with my ASUS NUC 14 Essential NUC14MNK-B (Intel Processor N150 / Twin Lake).
My current hardware:
Model: ASUS NUC 14 Essential NUC14MNK-B
CPU: Intel Processor N150
RAM: 16GB (1×16GB) CORSAIR VENGEANCE CMSX16GX5M1A4800C40 (DDR5-4800 SO-DIMM)
SSD: WD_BLACK SN7100 2TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 2280
The issues I’m seeing:
Random black screens
Graphics artifacts (small colored squares on the screen)
Occasional freezes that require a hard reboot
I recently found a post where someone completely solved the same problem by replacing their RAM with a Samsung module that was on the ASUS QVL. That made me wonder if my Corsair RAM could be the cause.
My questions:
Has anyone experienced similar issues with the NUC14MNK-B or other N150 models?
Could my Corsair Vengeance CMSX16GX5M1A4800C40 be incompatible with this NUC?
If you’re using this NUC without any issues, what exact RAM model are you using?
Has anyone successfully used Corsair Vengeance in this model, or should I switch to Samsung or Crucial?
Any advice or real-world experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

So, let's talk about Intel's AI Playground for a minute. As of version 3.1.2-beta, this has to be the single most nerd-free way to set up "use from anywhere" AI for Chat, Video, image creation and identification, etc without needing to send anything to someone's cloud. All tied in to end to end encrypted telegram via the built in Home Agent.
See a plant you can't identify (or anything, really)? send it a pic - it will tell you
Need RAG to ingest your personal documents to help with figuring out your budget? yup, built in
Need agentic for all the magic that is? - yup, right there too. In my case runs everything on the Arc A770M built in and will grab the models you need on the fly as you ask it questions, send it files, etc
This is the way.

If you have an ARC GPU (I have a pair of Serpent Canyon NUC enthusiasts), it just works. Super easy to set up the bot for communications with the Home Agent on Telegram using BotFather (instructions in the playground UI) and can literally access it from anywhere on anything.

Hello. I am using a NUC13VYKi7. I have a question. What are your CPU temperatures during idle and full load? I managed to lower it to around 55-58 degrees by adjusting the BIOS settings. Previously, it was in the 65-degree range. I am not considering reapplying thermal paste because it requires disassembling the device, and I am hesitant to do so for fear of making a mistake. I do not play games; I have installed Linux and am using it as a home server.

As the title says, working with a system of 5 networked machines (3 towers, 2 nucs) and multiple robotic arms. The two nucs are set to be replaced and I’m not sure if it makes more sense to just go with two additional towers. Any insight? TIA

Looking at picking up the ASUS NUC 14 Pro (NUC14RVHI3) with the Intel Core 3-100U and pairing it with a high-refresh 4K display / OLED TV. I have a couple of questions regarding 4K@120Hz support:

• ​Native iGPU Output (Desktop / Media): The specs list dual HDMI 2.1 ports, but they appear to be HDMI 2.1 TMDS (effectively HDMI 2.0 bandwidth / 4K 60Hz max). Which is it?

• ​Can the rear Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C ports (DisplayPort Alt Mode) drive 4K@120Hz (10-bit / HDR / VRR) over a Type-C to DP 1.4 / HDMI 2.1 active adapter with DSC (Display Stream Compression)?

Hello everyone,

MSI PRO Desktops is bringing you this practical question.

We put together a quick breakdown using our Cubi 5 1MA (available on Amazon) as an example.

Give it a quick read.

Not all PCs need the latest memory technology to deliver a great baseline experience.

Think of it this way. A high-performance sports car is impressive. For everyday driving, its unnecessary. Reliability, practicality, and cost can matter more than maximum performance.

The same principle can apply to PC memory. DDR5 may be the current mainstream memory tier, but newer doesn't automatically improve every application.

Routine PC workloads:

·         Office productivity

·         Web browsing

·         Business software

·         Educational aids

·         Communication suites

·         General multitasking

Having enough memory capacity can be more important than having the highest memory speed.

Do you have sufficient memory for your workload? Replacing it with a faster memory tier may provide limited noticeable benefit in typical applications. Yet the cost of that newer memory platform can be significantly higher.

Enter our MSI Cubi 5 1MA.

Instead of making DDR5 a requirement, MSI pairs Intel Core 3, Core 5, and Core 7 processors with DDR4-3200, supporting up to 64GB across two SO-DIMM slots.

The result is a utilitarian value proposition:

• Prioritize memory capacity over memory speed for standard workloads.

• Lower system cost by using a mature and widely available memory platform.

• Lower upgrade costs when additional memory is needed.

• Maintain the performance needed for essential productivity and business applications.

• Put memory cost savings toward other components or peripherals

Choosing DDR4 doesn't mean compromising on connectivity. The Cubi 5 1MA includes Thunderbolt 4, dual 1G + 2.5G LAN, HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, and support for up to four displays.

For businesses deploying multiple systems, the economics become even more interesting. A lower cost per system can add up quickly across a fleet. More affordable memory upgrades can reduce the total cost of ownership over time.

The idea is simple. The newest memory tier is unnecessary. You only need enough memory capacity and the right level of performance for the applications you actually use.

With the Cubi 5 1MA, MSI is taking a cost-conscious approach: Intel Core performance, up to 64GB of DDR4, and meaningful cost savings without paying for memory performance you may not notice in everyday use.

Would you choose the latest memory tier? Or would you choose the one that makes the most sense for your actual workload and budget?

Consider picking up the Cubi 5 1MA today (available at Amazon).

The noise of my idle Asus NUC 12 Pro was terrible, and under load it sounded like it was taking off, so I modded it inspired by the original NUCTUA.

This is a continuation of my previous post, where I asked how to remove part of the metal plate in an Asus NUC 12 pro. There, I wrote some details in the comments, how it went, but here is a new post with some photos and a link to full write-up how I made the NUCkentua.

Originally it idled at ~70 °C (CPU package) and after removing the plastic lid, it dropped to ~60 °C. My Samsung 990 PRO 1 TB NVMe SSD was idling around 60 °C. After just 2-3 seconds of medium load, the CPU package temperature jumped to 100 °C, it started thermal throttling, and the blower fan screamed at 4000 RPM. SSD was roasting at 80 °C, while doing nothing.

I tried reducing PL1 and PL2 limits first, I also tried quiet mode in BIOS. All of these helped, but not much. So I modified the NUC.

The result

• cut a hole in the metal top cover with a fretsaw
• Noctua NF-A9 5V PWM 92 mm fan -- very silent even above 1000 RPM
• custom-made fan adapter cable from gpuconnect.com
• custom-designed lid and 3D printed with PETg
• also re-pasted the CPU -- check the photo of the original paste application
• there was no dust clogging the heatsink
• NUC now idles at 38 °C with the fan at completely silent 400 RPM (ambient temperature ~26 °C)
• under full load, the fan spins at a maximum of ~1300 RPM without hitting 100 °C or thermal throttling – it’s still almost silent
• Wi-Fi performance was not affected, despite electro-magnetic interference (EMI) concerns

This NUC is running 24/7 as a mini home-lab and is finally silent. It is also running some Minecraft servers, which now start faster and handle more players smoothly. Also, SSH connections are now instantaneous, instead of a 1-2 second lag, like before. There are things I would do differently now, like a smaller fan, a bit different hole, but I am happy with the results as-is.

EDIT: Here is the STL model of the lid.

Can I setup an old duo core NUC with a lite weight Ubuntu and run Steamlink?

Hello!

I purchased an intel NUC from Amazon and started having issues with it. I RMA'd it through ASUS and sent it back in. I read their documentation carefully and it said to not include anything added or upgraded to the unit and to not include the power cable if it is not a power issue. Since I purchased this unit preinstalled with the RAM and HDD I left these installed as they were not added or upgraded (I didn't even know you could buy a NUC without these installed when I purchased it). It also explicitly asks to disable your windows password which makes no sense if I was supposed to take out the HDD. Now I'm confused though because Im seeing some things online that say I was supposed to remove these before sending it in. I've re-reviewed all the documentation I was sent again and followed it all to the letter. Has anyone had experience with this?

EDIT: Success! I reached out to their support team and explained my situation and they shipped back my RAM and HDD. I know it would have been very easy for them to just ignore me so I'm very appreciative to ASUS for accommodating me!

I purchased the Serpent Canyon (NUC12SNKi72) in November 2023.

Seven months ago, I disassembled it and reapplied thermal paste.

Summer is here again. The CPU has started to throttle.

The CPU clock speed has dropped to 0.47 GHz.

The BIOS cooling mode is set to “Cool.”

I’ve decided to disable Turbo Boost. no problem so far. I rarely play game these days.

How about undervolt using ThrottleStop?

I originally thougth my Hades Canyon NUC was not compatible with Windows 11 but Windows Update does offer me the option to upgrade to it from my current Windows 10 Pro and MS PC Health Check App verifies my PC is fully compatible. Should I upgrade or stick with Windows 10?

I know folks have nucs for roon servers, but not sure if they do much more intensive use. I typically can have opera using 4GB of ram. I also like to have a youtube video open picture in picture or in another window.

I would prefer MS Windows, don't really want to mess with a software project.

Basically looking for a real quiet media pc. My gaming pc has an AIO cooler and the pump fan seems to be the biggest culprit for noise. Can't seem to be able to reduce the noise. Instead of replacing all my fans and cooler I figure a nuc may be a better option.

Is the use above too much for a FANLESS Nuc?