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Mini-Desktop PCs (Intel NUCs) as an A/V source, and for managing/editing files.

Timbo2

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Or you can do like I did with every workstation in my office... buy Akasa passive cases for them and they are 100% silent under every condition. I got sick and tired of having projects constantly derailed by inane end-user support issues (it's a very small company - so I'm the entire IT department, as well as lead developer, operations manager, DBA, and so on). Basically, if it's not a human resource... it's my problem - and even many of those are actually, as well.

So I bit the bullet (both time and money-wise) and built a set of these for everyone. Only went with 5th gen i5 versions (NUC5i5RYK) and the cases were $2K by themselves (for all of them - not each)... but now I've got 3 of them for every 2 employees... all images deploy and restore latest copy if they're replaced... so I never have more than a 10 minute interruption if someone's workstation dies. So far only had one die and the board was replaced with one from a stack I bought on clearance when the 6th gen NUCs dropped, and is in the backup pool now.
View attachment 37947
No more dusting, fan failures, noise complaints, etc. Plus a stupid-cheap UPS ($100 APC unit) will run a NUC and 27" LED display for about 2 hours - probably longer (I just sent everyone home at that point... and moved offices when the lease ended). :mad:

I wouldn't play games on any of them (but I wouldn't on the Hades Canyon NUC's either). There's a reason a real gaming PC will never have an external PSU... because whether you're talking PC gaming hardware or audio amplification... the real fun starts around 1kW. :p

One of those cases has been my HTPC for the past six years running an Intel 4130t. It ran my HD a little hotter than I would like purely passively as Windows Media Center needs a spinning drive for data it doesn't play well with SSDs. So left the back plate off it and have a USB 120mm powered fan on low speed blow across the case. Works great and dropped temps down something like 15C on the HD.

I still lament the death of WMC as it remains the only way to record encrypted Cable Card streams.
 

digicidal

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I still lament the death of WMC as it remains the only way to record encrypted Cable Card streams.
Me too. I wish there were more viable alternatives as well, although I think Kodi, JRiver, and Plex are workable at least. Granted, I'm not trying to record CC streams so that definitely changes the criteria I'm sure.
 

Timbo2

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Me too. I wish there were more viable alternatives as well, although I think Kodi, JRiver, and Plex are workable at least. Granted, I'm not trying to record CC streams so that definitely changes the criteria I'm sure.

I moved over to a Servio. I now run Nvidia Shield TV clients. I can watch encrypted content live, but still no encrypted recordings. I have a lifetime pass for Plex, but found it too buggy and surprisingly resource intensive even when not transcoding. I use Kodi now as my HTPC app with my media stored on a NAS. I don't archive TV so the Servio works fine for that.
 

digicidal

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That was my original plan - I've also had issues with Plex... but to be fair to them, I only ran it on my Synology NAS so it's not like it really had any "horsepower" behind it. After a few months with Netflix streaming, I'm mostly done with everything else - and my LG OLED handles that one anyway. I basically can't watch anything made by the networks any longer... it's all rehashed stuff, preaching politics, or infomercials dressed up as entertainment.

With domestic market productions like Stranger Things and Mindhunter I'm pretty much won over to their side completely. Even their original anime productions are eclipsing the traditional Japanese studio's works IMO. Plus with some great foreign market series like Dark (Germany), Peaky Blinders & Black Mirror (UK), Black Spot (France), etc. I'm pretty much set for years with as little time as I have for TV watching.
 
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Xulonn

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Or you can do like I did with every workstation in my office... buy Akasa passive cases for them and they are 100% silent under every condition. I got sick and tired of having projects constantly derailed by inane end-user support issues...

I live in a little rental casa and have a very noisy refrigerator in the next room that runs a lot. Also, even with the windows closed, the almost constant strong winds from mid-November into April increase the ambient noise level. My situation is a bit different that that of you who live in sealed, double-glazed, heated and/or air conditioned houses in the mid-latitudes can enjoy extremely quiet interior environments where you prefer dead-silent PC's. I , OTOH, absolutely love living in a high-altitude temperate mountain rainforest where neither heating nor A/C is needed, and my windows can be left open day and night.

But back to Akasa. They appear to make excellent, well-designed NUC accessories. However, when I looked at the options for the 8th Generation "Bean Canyon" NUCs, the size required to make them fanless with good cooling would defeat the primary goal for my desktop NUC - an absolutely minimum size case. LINK

The Akasa "Turing" case, pictured below, is targeted at audiophiles. For anyone wanting a totally quiet 8th Gen Bean Canyon NUC who will not be attaching and detaching to USB port connections frequently as I do at my desktop, it would appear to be an excellent choice.

Akasa Turing Case.jpg


(The Akasa video showing "How to Install 8th Gen NUC in Akasa Turing Fanless Case" is one of the best DIY videos I have ever viewed, with non-obtrusive music and appropriate sped-up segments.)

Although I am not interested in the big, fanless case, there was one Akasa product that caught my attention - the M.2 SSD heatsink ($7.79 at Amazon). Apparently M.2 SSD's can get quite hot and lead to CPU speed throttling. Since my new NUC has a 1TB M.2 SSD, I will probably get an Akasa SSD Heatsink for it. LINK

Akasa M2 Heatsink.jpg
 
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Xulonn

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Duplicate post from another thread - should have posted it here rather than there.

My NUC desktop system is finished and just what I had hoped for - fast, small, efficient and trouble-free.
================

I have been into audio since my father bought me my first amplifier - a monaural tube amp - when I was a high school junior in 1958. I have been into personal computers since I bought an IBM PC with two 360Kb floppy drives in 1984. I worked my way up to senior network administrator in the 90's and was an independent contractor hired to do the desktop computing Y2K mitigation at the Pacific [Stock] Exchange, which took all of 1999. I stopped working in desktop support and network administration in 2001, but then - and now - I was never as astute and proficient as many of my colleagues over the years, especially the younger ones. And now, nearly 20 years later, I am living as a expat/retiree in a small mountain resort/agricultural town in Western Panama - with 160Mb internet. Below is my computer setup which includes a decent, bass-limited audio system. I hate to admit it, but I am an Intel NUC fan-boy (fan-geezer?)

DVH Workstation 02-2020..JPG

Case Size and CPU Speed: My Intel NUC8i7BEH with a 1Gb M.2 SSD boots in 15 seconds and benchmarks faster than my previous - and much bigger - Lenovo M900 SFF, also an Intel i7-powered PC. (Click the below image to enlarge it)

Lenovo M900 SFF.jpg
Fan issues: With a slight breeze outside my window and the refrigerator running in the next room, I cannot hear the NUC fan - but it would likely be audible during very quiet passages of music or video in the evening with the window closed and the fridge not running.

USB Ports: NUC's are notorious for not working [edit] sometimes do not work well with Logitech unifying receivers for mice and keyboards that are plugged into a front or back USB port unless you use a USB extension cable. To eliminate that inconvenience, but I just installed an aftermarket "Gorite" lid with two rear USB ports that connect to the two internal auxiliary USB 2.0 connectors - works great and does not take up one of the five USB 3.1 ports (two in front and three in back).

NUC8's also have a HDMI 7.1 digital (HDMI mDP) port, and one of the USB 3.1 ports is a Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C port providing DisplayPort 1.2 or USB 3.1 connectivity.
Gorite NUC8 USB Lid.jpg


I transferred an old copy of Windows 10 Home from a dead laptop to my NUC8i7, but if you want a "free" non-Microsoft OS, you can run any of several Linux flavors. I do a lot of A/V (MP3, MP4, FLAC, MKV, M4V) re-encoding, subtitle extraction, translation and manipulations - all with a collection of excellent freeware that is currently available. My NUC is pretty fast at encoding and re-encoding.

When 4Tb SSDs drop to a price point that I can live with, I will get two of them - one to install in the NUC, and an external one that I can first back up to, and then afterwards sync to via the high-speed USB ports. My experience with 3.1 USB flash drives is that they are at least 10 times faster at transferring data than USB 2.x storage devices. I now own a few 32-128Gb USB 3.1 flash drives for transfers and daily use, and periodically back up any media files that cannot be easily replaced to my older, slower mechanical 4Tb external drives. With the high speeds available using the latest USB formats, I will probably eliminate my ethernet-based NAS in the near future.

NUCs vs applications: Unless you are a serious gamer or a 4K/8K, 16-channel videophile needing slots to plug in power-sucking monster video cards, I believe that NUCs are excellent PCs for everyday use. I really, really like my desktop computer/audio system (see the top photo). Combined with an excellent I.AM.D DAC/amp (probably 40wpc and not the laughable 150wpc that is advertised), and a USB audio connection that was instantly recognized by my Win10 NUC, everything runs flawlessly - and the NUC is fast and cool running.

I also have an old NUC5CPYH, an Intel Celeron-based unit that I use as my HTPC - but I only do two-channel 1080p video and up to FLAC audio. I dual boot the Celeron NUC - to Daphile on the internal SSD, or LibreElec/Kodi on a USB stick, and it plays any of my A/V files with no issues. Just be aware, that as Intel explicitly states, "Intel® NUC products don't allow you to boot directly from SD cards". But I don't care, because they boot just fine from a tiny USB drive.

I am retired and don't travel, and do not want or need a laptop - my relatively new Lenovo 10" Android tablet works perfectly for the rare occasions that I want to use a "computer" away from home. I decided a few months ago that I wanted to miniaturize my primary working computer/desktop audio. Since the prices for new hardware had come down a lot, I spent a bit to modify and upgrade my system last year, and I think that I have succeeded magnificently. My biggest desktop computing component is now my HP 24" monitor - with 1920x1080 resolution and a bezel on the top and sides that is less than 2mm wide.

For anyone who can afford it, I recommend an Intel NUC8i5 (or 8i7) or later with high speed USB 3.1 ports and Thunderbolt-Displayport compatibility for 8K/60fps video. And a $20-30 Gorite aftermarket lid if you need a couple extra ports of any kind. You can use your old 2.5" mechanical HDD, and add a small SSD for super-fast booting - or do like I did, install a tiny 1Tb M.2 SSD and be done with it. I suggest 8Gb of RAM, 16Gb gives you a bit more performance, but except for rare applications, more than 16Gb will probably not do much.

I did a lot of research - and a bit of trial and error - to finally get to a computer and desktop audio system I have no desire to "upgrade". I hope that this information will help a few others on their own personal paths to a similar goal.
 
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Jinjuku

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NUC's are notorious for not working with Logitech unifying receivers for mice and keyboards

Really. I've sold about 200 of the NUC's for point of sale applications with the Logitech K270's. Not a single issue.
 
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Xulonn

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Really. I've sold about 200 of the NUC's for point of sale applications with the Logitech K270's. Not a single issue.

Based on your comment, I've modified my post to reflect that this might not be a wide-spread problem - but the problem does exist for me with both a NUC5CPYH and a NUC8i7BEH, and my Logitech K330 and K360 wireless keyboards and my M185 wireless mouse.

Either a USB extension cable or a USB lid solves the problem for me, so I will leave it at that.

It is possible that there for some locations, there may be installation and electrical environment issues involved. Our mains here in western Panama run high - 125-127vac@60Hz vs. a more standard 120vac.

OTOH, your post reinforces my opinion that NUCs are good, reliable small computers that do well in commercial applications. What country are you in?
 

Jinjuku

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OTOH, your post reinforces my opinion that NUCs are good, reliable small computers that do well in commercial applications. What country are you in?

The U.S. The NUC are promoted for digital signage applications so my take away is 24X7 operation.
 

Neddy

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So...quick update on my NUC6i7 install - I LOVE THIS THING!

This is the Skull Canyon configuration as pictured above, so very very sleek - essentially invisible in my rack.
I did get the W10 refurb license for about $5 on Ebay, worked like a charm.
It came with a 250GB M2 SS drive in it, and has room for another, but for now I'm just using a 4TB USB drive for music files - I'll upgrade to an internal SSD when those get more affordable.
Hm. I suppose I should check into how much 'use' the installed SSD has on it - anyone know how to do that?
(yes, I can google it, but just now thought of that..!)
I also attached an external DVD/BRay drive like pictured above - with PowerDVD so far it's played 2L Bluray Audio discs just fine (in multi-channel, even), haven't tried any movies yet, but assume they'll be at least 'ok'.

Funny, the comments about Logitech!

I actually ordered a new one, but decided - after it arrived - to try rejuvenating my old DiNovo Edge, which works fine, though the battery in it is getting old. This is a Bluetooth only one, so doesn't use the 'unifying receiver' - which also sucks up a USB port.

Anyway, it works really well, so maybe look into the current Logitech BT keyboards?
(Can't say I'm a huge fan of touchpads, but don't want the clutter of a mouse or trackball, either.)

The NUC itself appears to be nearly dead silent, though I know it has a fan in it, and think I did actually hear it running at one point.
I have one other piece in the rack that has a horridly loud fan that I'm working to quiet, when that's done I'll know more about the NUC noise.
The noise issue is largely moot, since I have a door on the rack and so can't hear it when that's closed anyway.

The DiNovo is really convenient, as the (illuminated!) touch pad and volume/mute sections fall readily to hand with it set vertically next to my chair! (See pic.)
Also have a MS 'media center' remote, but it's IR only (works fine with the NUC!) so can't 'emit' through the rack door, but is kind of handy for a quick pick up for Mute or volume/track change if I'm not seated in the chair.

So now I'm down to just a few small remotes! (Charging cradle for the NiNovo to the right.)

Anyway, thanks for all the good tips and suggestions - in fact I'm still so stoked by the value of this NUC that when it comes time to upgrade/replace my 10yr old huge gaming PC tower, I'll probably 'go NUC' for that as well.
IMG_20200211_123636801 - Copy.jpg
 
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Xulonn

Xulonn

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in fact I'm still so stoked by the value of this NUC that when it comes time to upgrade/replace my 10yr old huge gaming PC tower, I'll probably 'go NUC' for that as well.

I am not into gaming at all - except for an occasional few rounds of the online "Bubbleshooter," a modern derivitive of the ancient 1976 Atari game "Breakout". :rolleyes: However, it appears that Intel is developing NUCs like the NUC 9 Extreme kit specifically for gamers [LINK] as well as a "NUC 9 on a PCI board" component PCs.

I Googled for NUC gaming PCs and stumbled across a Razer PC build using one of those "NUC 9 on a PCI board" computers (video below). It looks like many gamers who are not hard-core DIY'ers or totally into "REALLY BIG" customized and lit-up tower PC's can move to NUC-based PC's. The NUC gaming systems are bigger than regular NUC's, but much smaller than traditional tower case based gaming PCs.

 
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