back to article Intel plans Core i7 bare bones mini-PCs

Intel has launched the first unit in a range of bare bones mini-PCs it says will first appeal to system integrators creating digital signage solutions and then eventually excite businesses of almost any size. The new device is part of Chipzilla's Next Unit of Computing (NUC) range. Intel currently plans three NUC devices, each …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

    Intel NUC: 65W, active cooling

    Raspberry Pi: 3.5W passive cooling.

    To be fair, I think that 65W includes power for 2 mini-PCIe cards and full power out of the USB connectors. It is not a in any way competitor with a Pi. If you really need PCIe and Windows 8 then a Pi wont fit, but Intel have a long way to go to get near Pi price, power and silence.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I3 for signage?

    I game on a c2d!

    An ultrabook is overpowered for the application. Apart from anything else you want passive cooling and cool-running in a hot climate.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I bet that they're not as cheap

    as a Raspberry Pi.

    1. Neil 7
      Facepalm

      Re: I bet that they're not as cheap

      $300-$320, and that's before you add to two SODIMM RAM, and mSATA storage.

      It might have been interesting a couple of years ago, but today - given the cost fo ARM devices that can, in many cases, perform a similar function - but today it is just a massively overpriced PC, and shows how out of touch Intel are while they fight a losing battle to maintain their big fat margins against ARM competition.

  4. Detective Emil

    Sincerest form ...

    May I be the first to wish Intel as much success in promoting clones of the Mac Mini as they have had with their Ultrabook alternatives to the MacBook Air.

    1. Neil 7
      FAIL

      Re: Sincerest form ...

      With a base price of $300-$320, once you've forked out the extra dough for memory and storage (another $200 or so), you might as well have bought the base Mac Mini for $599 (4GB RAM, 500GB HDD).

      The Mac Mini even comes with an operating system, is even smaller (with self contained power supply), and also more powerful (dual-core 2.5GHz i5 compared with 1.8GHz dual-core i3).

      Like this Intel, the Mac Mini has Thunderbolt, but unlike the Intel, the Mac Mini also has USB 3.0 rather than just USB 2.0.

      Why would anyone buy this Intel over a Mac Mini (which will happily run Windows 7 and 8 natively)?

      1. Mark 65

        Re: Sincerest form ...

        My thoughts exactly. I saw it and thought it'd be a cheaper alternative. Then I spotted i3 and thought, why?

  5. Fuzz

    power supply

    Once again Intel set off on the wrong path.

    The power supply should be internal, especially if they are targeting markets like digital signage. Apple manage to get a PSU inside their mini and they still have enough room for two hard drives.

  6. Neil 7
    FAIL

    Total joke!

    A Raspberry Pi is more than cable of running digital signage. The Videocore IV GPU in the Raspberry Pi is at least as capable as that in the Intel, and the Raspberry Pi is already being targeted at the digital signage segment as the hardware is cheap, cool running, and more than up to the job. Also, there are now several operating systems already available (or under development, including bare metal).

    This bare-bones device from Intel is expected to cost between $300-$320, so about the price of 10x Raspberry Pi ($35 each). Then you need to add memory (at $40-$80, another 2-3x Raspberry Pi), plus mSATA storage (say another $150, or 4x more Raspberry Pi).

    Where are we up to? Lets call it the cost of 20 Raspberry Pi for one Intel PC, not to mention electricity running costs that will dwarf those of the Raspberry Pi. Just so it can do the same job as a Raspberry Pi.

    This Intel product is a joke, a total, absolute joke.

    Sure, in terms of pure compute it is a more capable product than the Raspberry Pi, but for the suggested market - digital signage - it's complete overkill and bested all ends up by the Raspberry Pi.

    This "Next Unit of Computing" smacks of desperation from Intel before the onslaught of ultra cheap, ultra small, ARM powered computers. The real "Next Units of Computing". :)

    1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

      Has a big advantage over a Pi

      My local bus station has a blue screen of death display terminal. You cannot get anything like that with a Pi. For a proper authentic BSoD you need Intel and Microsoft. Surely that is worth an extra $300.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What is ..

    digital silage ?

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Would be very nice for my home vSphere lab though!!!

  9. This post has been deleted by its author

  10. ShadowedOne
    Meh

    Anyone else think of the Three Stooges?

    NUC NUC NUC!

  11. b166er

    For less than that, I could buy a Zotac Zbox.

    1. JEDIDIAH
      Linux

      Not just that....

      ...but you would have a mounting bracket ready to go in the box. Just bolt it onto an old monitor and you've got your dirt cheap iMac knockoff.

      1. Robredz
        FAIL

        Re: Not just that....

        For a cheap cheap solution, an android pc on a stick, with a Rockchip dual core Arm CPU with full HD video capability, , or even a tablet via the HDMI. add a wireless mouse/keyboard dongle, into the tablet USB, and you are good to go

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Megaphone

    Mini PC's

    Mainframes were big; computers. Then they got smaller; minicomputers. Then they fitted on your desk; microcomputers we called the IBM's with BSoD equipped MSmalware and the Apple Macintosh computers. They became subsequently known as PC's and Macs. In the beginning these really were actually both known as MICROcomputers. Now let's call the nextgen downsized computers appropriately NANOcomputers, please. So mini barebones, minimacs and Rpi are to be in the category nanocomputers from now on. If they are going to fit on a poststamp they become PICOcomputers. If they can get stuck under your nail we will have entered the FEMTOcomputer era. Then there will be a paradigm shift into the quantumcomputer era. Please let us be consistent in naming our iron in the future.

This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like