Intel’s Five New NUCs Feature Kaby Lake; Some With Thunderbolt 3 And Iris Plus Graphics

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Intel debuted its new lineup of NUC small form factor (SFF) PCs at CES, which now sport new 7th generation (Kaby Lake) processors, some of which will also come with Thunderbolt 3 support.

The five new SKUs offer three different CPUs and two varying sizes and storage configuration options. The NUCs can feature an Intel Core i3-7100U, i5-7260U, or i7-7567U processor. All of the devices sport a Type-C interface, but only NUCs with Core i5 and i7 CPUs support Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gbps) data rates via the USB Type-C port, with Core i3 models supporting USB 3.1 speeds up to 10 Gbps. Additionally, only Core i5 and i7 versions of the new NUCs feature Intel Iris Plus Graphics, with the i3 offering only HD 620 graphics.

The I/O between the new NUCs is the same, with two USB 3.0 ports on the front and back (for a total of four, with one front port offering charging power) and the aforementioned Type-C interface. You can also connect to a display via the Type-C port on all of the NUCs, or by using the HDMI 2.0 interface. The DisplayPort that adorned previous versions of the Intel mini PCs has been removed in the new models.

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There are two versions of the Core i3 and i5 offerings, one short (BNK) and one tall (BNH). However, the Core i7 is offered in only the larger chassis. The taller NUCs support 2.5-inch drives (and, therefore, Intel Optane) and an M.2 SATA or PCIe x4 SSD, whereas the shorter models can only accommodate an M.2 slot (Optane-free). Networking for all of the new Intel NUCs includes the company's I219V Gigabit Ethernet and its Wireless-AC 8260 NIC, which sports internal antennas to keep the overall footprint of the device low. The bigger NUCs measure in at 115 x 111 x 51 mm, and the shorter ones shrink the height down to 35mm with the same length and width.

The chassis also got a refreshed look in the form of a dark gray metal case. The previous versions were light gray, and the new look adds a cool factor to the lineup of Kaby Lake-equipped NUCs. Exact pricing and availability of the NUCs is not yet available, but they are set to launch in Q1 2017, so we shouldn’t have to wait long to find out.

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Intel NUCNUC7i3BNKNUC7i3BNHNUC7i5BNKNUC7i5BNHNUC7i7BNH
ProcessorIntel Core i3-7100UIntel Core i3-7100UIntel Core i5-7260UIntel Core i5-7260UIntel Core i7-7567U
GraphicsIntel HD 620Intel HD 620Intel Iris Plus 640Intel Iris Plus 640Intel Iris Plus 650
MemoryUp to 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-2133
StorageM.2 PCIe x4 or SATA SSD- M.2 PCIe x4 or SATA SSD- 2.5” HDD/SSDM.2 PCIe x4 or SATA SSD- M.2 PCIe x4 or SATA SSD- 2.5” HDD/SSD- M.2 PCIe x4 or SATA SSD- 2.5” HDD/SSD
Display Output- USB Type-C (DisplayPort 1.2)- HDMI 2.0
Ports- USB 3.1 (Gen 2) Type-C- USB 3.0 x 4- USB 2.0 x 2 (Internal Header)
Networking- Intel I219V Gigabit Ethernet- Intel Wireless-AC 8265
Power19V 65W AC-DC
Dimensions115 x 111 x 35 mm115 x 111 x 51 mm115 x 111 x 35 mm115 x 111 x 51 mm115 x 111 x 51 mm
Derek Forrest
Derek Forrest
Derek Forrest is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He writes hardware news and reviews gaming desktops and laptops.
12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • bloodroses
    I wonder how the new iris plus 640 and 650 graphics perform?
    Reply
  • CaedenV
    Come on Intel! Where are the fanless versions of these? Where are the PoE versions of these? I have schools waiting for these things to come out, and they were supposed to hit market LAST year... so where are they?
    Reply
  • Groza_
    Not all poe devices support 65w of power
    Reply
  • Eximo
    *Neat*

    If you want fanless, plenty of companies offer solutions. Not Kabylake, but last time I looked I found a few skylake models. Also plenty of Atom type ones out there, how much power do you need in a NUC?
    Reply
  • nzalog
    Wonder if these are capable enough to tackle 4k with HDR playback at full speed.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    19148414 said:
    I wonder how the new iris plus 640 and 650 graphics perform?
    You'd probably be disappointed. It didn't seem like a substantial leap over the previous gen, from what I recall. They need to stop playing around with these eDRAM buffers and go full HMC.

    19148447 said:
    Where are the fanless versions of these? Where are the PoE versions of these?
    Yeah, I'd love a fanless, Apollo Lake-based NUC. Go ahead and solder in the RAM, while you're at it.

    A PoE NUC is an interesting idea, not that I'd have a use for one.

    19148655 said:
    Not all poe devices support 65w of power
    Well, if we're talking about fanless, then we're obviously not at 65 W. Most NUCs are like 15 - 30 W. Fanless should definitely be somewhere under 10 W. I actually wonder just how loud a 65 W NUC would be, under full load...
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    Speaking of Thunderbolt 3, I've seen specs stating it operates at 20-40 gbits likely depending on controller choice (x2 or x4 lanes). PCIe 3.0 tops out at 8Gb per lane, not counting overhead (which thankfully is fairly small). So are there any controllers that use more than 4 lanes for a single TB 3 connection? Because if not, you're looking at 32Gb/s max. That's a good chunk less than the advertised 40Gb/s. Ditto for the two-lane controller, that's 16 max, not 20.
    Reply
  • hixbot
    Wipe off your fingerprints and hire a photographer.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    19150681 said:
    That's a good chunk less than the advertised 40Gb/s. Ditto for the two-lane controller, that's 16 max, not 20.
    That's an interesting point. Since Thunderbolt can be used as a display interface, it seems like there's got to be at least some minimum sustained bit rate an implementation must provide.
    Reply
  • Skylix001
    How many people do you thing are going to plug a security lock in the USB3.1 port?
    Reply