Intel has been offering NUC mini-computers for a few years, offering a tiny PC with the guts of a decent laptop computer. But up until recently, most NUC systems have been sold as barebones computers: they come with a processor, but no memory, RAM, or operating system.

Now you can buy an Intel Grass Canyon NUC for $255. It’s a complete mini PC which ships with Windows 10 pre-installed.

grass canyon

The Grass Canyon NUC has a quad-core Intel Pentium N3700 Braswell processor, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of eMMC storage. There’s also a 2.5 inch drive bay if you want to add an extra SSD or hard drive for additional storage.

Other features include four USB 3.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, VGA, HDMI, a headset jack on the front, and a headphone/TOSLINK jack on the back with support for 5.1 channel audio output. There’s an SDXC card slot and the system supports 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth.

If you think you might need more memory, the system supports up to 8GB of RAM, and you should be able to perform upgrades pretty easily by popping off the top of the case.

While the system ships with Windows 10, Intel says it also officially supports Windows 8, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Fedora, OpenSUSE, and Android.

The computer measures about 4.5″ x 4.4″ x 2″.

The Grass Canyon NUC also comes with 3-year warranty.

While there are certainly cheaper mini PCs on the market, this is one of the most affordable models Intel has offered to date, and one of the first to ship with everything you need to get up and running as soon as you plug in a keyboard, mouse, and monitor.

Or you could opt for a barebones model, which sells for about $185.

via FanlessTech

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16 replies on “Intel Grass Canyon NUC is a Windows 10 mini-PC for $255”

  1. Not really that small. Still needs display and keyboard. A lot of cheap laptops seem like a better option…

    1. I believe PC sales are dropping because of their upgradeability, which encourages owners to hold onto them for 3 years or more. While some laptop and tablets are cheap enough to be considered, (throw away) replaceable. This is why I personally consider Chromebooks to be wasteful.

      1. Chrome devices are a bit weird when compared with traditional PCs. They’re like cell phones or tablets in a traditional PC form factor. More appliance than the traditional concepts of PCs, and as you’ve implied, quite disposable.

    2. It may seem so at first, but it depends on your viewpoint. Laptops take up more horizontal real estate and are not as configurable. There’s also the matter of the waste of the screen and keyboard for a device that some would leave permanently connected to a large screen TV. You could argue that the laptop is mobile and can be disconnected and carried around, but then if that is your usage case, you really want a laptop and not one of these ultra mini desktops. The Intel NUCs are available in preconfigured and barebones. Of course, I’m also still waiting on the Asus EEE e202 as a low cost laptop using the same SoC. 🙂

  2. I would go for the bare bones version since I am not a fan of Win 10. I have it on a laptop and not a big fan of it. I am glad they support other operating systems.

    1. I’d go for the barebones just on the principle of the hardware provided. 2GB of ram and 32GB of emmc? Seems a bit limiting.

      If you’re happy with the hardware/pricepoint, there’s really not much difference whether it comes with some version of windows or not, you’re going to install your own OS anyway.

    1. * Disclaimer – I am an Intel employee *
      Yes you can boot from the included eMMC or from a user installed HDD or SSD.

  3. Interesting, this could actually make a decent little htpc, or a pretty nice mame machine. Added to my wishlist.

    1. Another product showcasing Intel’s Cherry Trail SoC. I’m very tempted to pick one up for test purposes myself, just don’t like the decor of those Intel NUC cases. Hoping for something a little more stylish like the Gigabyte Brix.

  4. “While there are certainly cheaper mini PCs on the market…”

    Is there a link you could provide to a list of mini PCs you favor?

    1. they must have read your comment since it says ‘Intel’ now.

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