This year Intel will launch its first NUC mini-desktop computer to feature an Intel Core i7 processor.

The NUC line of computers are tiny desktop PCs with Intel chips. They’ve been around for a few years, but up until now you haven’t been able to find one with anything more powerful than a Core i5 chip.

intel nuc

Intel recently updated its NUC website with a few details about the upcoming NUC5i7RYH. It’ll be available in the second quarter of 2015 and the system will feature a 5th-gen Intel Core i7 “Broadwell” chip.

FanlessTech reports that chip will probably be a Core i7-5557U processor with Intel Iris 6100 graphics.

That’s a laptop-class processor rather than a more power-hungry desktop chip. But it’s still fast enough to make the new NUC one of the most powerful to date.

Intel unveiled new designs for its NUC computers at the Consumer Electronics Show this year. There’s a slim model featuring an M.2 solid state drive slot and a slightly larger version with room for a 2.5 inch hard drive. Both feature HDMI and mini DisplayPort, Ethernet, and four USB ports.

The new Core i7 model will be one of the larger systems with a hard drive bay.

While this will be the first Intel NUC system to feature a Core i7 chip, it’s not the first tiny desktop to sport one. A few years ago Gigabyte launched its own BRIX line of mini-computers with support for up to a Core i7 chip.

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23 replies on “Intel unveils NUC mini PC with Core i7 Broadwell”

  1. Seems like a good time to start planning for a free sync/gsync-like Intel HD video driver. Mini display port is great as this i7 should be fast enough for 4k. But does Intel have anything of the sort. I read vblank works with displayport 1.2a and works without and or nvidia with compatible new monitors.

  2. Fanless? That would great for my bedroom! Wonder how much memory it will allow? 64GB? I already have a small spare 256GB SSD for it already. I don’t expect much from Intel however. Will it be capable of 5K resolution since I have brand new 50″ 4K TV. Wanted 5K for future PC monitor.

  3. Let me guess? $999. Sometimes these prices push me to support ARM more and more. Yes its an i7 but it will cost a fortune because Intel charges a premium since its inside a mini pc.

    A i3 costs 280 USD without all the parts, a complete package is almost 400 USD for a basic i3…

    1. That is probably the worst comparison I’ve ever read. An ARM box and an i7 PC.

      Enjoy watching Youtube videos and surfing the web on your ARM box, while the people that this product was intended for will be busy gaming, editing/transcoding video, and running any software they need.

    1. The SITE is called Fanless; nowhere in the post does Brad say it’s fanless. In fact, in the video it’s made quite clear it has a fan.

      1. The video did not make it clear at all. In fact the soundtrack was of such poor quality due to background chatter and hubbub that I could gleen very little information from the video. By not explicitly clarifying the fanless issue but mentioning FanlessTech, Brad gave me a strong inference that the subject of his post is a fanless device. The FanlessTech site did not make it clear either: just an overexcited declaration that some vaguely described product due out in a few months is a “reality”. Well, excuse me if I don’t share the exuberance about Intel’s aspirations. I’ll applaud when the product is on the street and deserving of applause.

        1. The FanlessTech post says:

          “Most passive NUC chassis will not handle 28W TDP though, and dedicated fanless solutions will have to be implemented.”

          That probably means they are posting about this as a candidate for transplanting the guts of the computer into an aftermarket fanless chassis, and that the stock NUC chassis will not be fanless.

          1. It might mean what you suggest but I think it’s a load of meaningless doubletalk. They don’t rule out a passive NUC chassis and they don’t rule it in. If, by “dedicated” they mean a non-NUC special chassis for use by Core i7 only then it’s not a NUC product, is it? Perhaps Brad and FanlessTech should go and have a cold shower and wait until Intel have a real product with real thermal management, a real specification and a real price to announce.

          2. An incorrect assumption was made.

            Perhaps the existence of a fan could have been mentioned explicitly, but nowhere does it even try to state that this NUC is fanless. Even the original i5 NUCs had fans.

            For you and maybe others, perhaps just linking / discussing it on Fanless Tech is enough to suggest a fanless solution, but don’t expect it that all would expect such.

            FT has discussed NUCs before, ones w/ fans on their stock chassis, because they have had the potential for transplants to aftermarket cases, not because they are fanless stock.

            I would agree with you to not applauding the i7 option before it’s released, but it’s still an interesting option to be highlighted (as similar tech products these days are). I expect all agree that we should / can wait to see how it pans out before either bashing it or lauding it.

        2. “The video did not make it clear at all.”

          Well except for the fact that he explicitly says in the video “It’s not a fanless system, you can see that there are some ventilation ports here so that you can help keep the system cool”.

          Next time it might be better to actually watch the video rather than jumping to conclusions and throwing out claims of what the author did or did not imply.

  5. Wow an i7 in a miniPC is impressive, Intel finally did something nice.

        1. The i7 5557u NUC will have Iris 6100 graphics. But I think the 4770R will still be a more powerful CPU than the 5557u.

          1. The 4770r will walk all over the 5557u in most scenarios, It is essentially a 65w desktop part.
            These solutions from Gigabyte and Zotac feat desktop I7’s arent great though, heat is a real problem with them hence; throttling.
            For that reason, a ULV Core I would be the best solution for tiny PC’s.

        2. For a Mini Server – Yes
          For a Living Room PC – No

          Have you heared the Brix Pro with 4770R? If you put load on the CPU it sounds like a vacuum cleaner. Unless that thing is in another room or you use it with noise canceling Over-Ear Headphones, that thing is just horrendous.

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