We seem to be getting closer and closer to a time when, due mostly to the increasing acceptance of cloud storage, the box we use to access our cyber lives is becoming less of a focus and maybe even less important.
As long as we can upload, download and stream at a timely pace, considerations like storage space and graphics capability have become slightly niche.
So when Intel offers us their NUC (Next Unit of Computing) in a box claiming it to be a "complete mini PC," it's probably worth a test drive.
The NUCFPGYH is not a very catchy name but it is tiny - about the size of a can of spam and significantly lighter.
There's nothing flashy about this at all. In fact, it's probably the most inconspicuous computer I've ever seen; it even includes a bracket that allows you to screw it to the back of your TV or monitor so you can't even see it.
In spite of that, I was surprised to discover how many ports and slots there are available to plug things into this thing. Unlike some other similar devices, there is still a VGA plug if your monitor is not HDMI capable. You can choose to connect via ethernet or wifi. There are audio options too; headphone jacks, Toslink jack or of course you can go HDMI for full 7.1 effect. There are even 4 (count 'em FOUR) USB 3.0 ports.
So many options. This seems to be what Intel is trying to achieve with this NUC line, something you can use the way you want. Of course, a lot of that depends on what's under the hood.
It's all about the processor really and Intel's quad-core Pentium N3700 is pretty grunty given what my performance expectations were. Multi-tasking doesn't seem to be an issue and I was actually really impressed with what Intel has squeezed out of an integrated graphics module. Video playback is flawless and I was even able to participate in a first-person shooter melee with no noticeable lag (other than my own useless reaction time, obviously) Admittedly I kept the display settings for the game on low and it took a while to load, but I still had fun.
The real limitation with the NUCFPGYH is storage. Now I know at the start of this review I claimed that storage is becoming less of an issue, but there's a happy medium Intel has missed here. There's only 32GB of on-board memory pre-installed. These days that's low even for a smart phone, let alone something that claims to be a "mini PC."
Because the NUCFPGYH runs the full 64bit version of Windows 10, almost half that storage space is eaten up in system files alone. This meant updating Win10 to it's latest version was virtually impossible, as the update preserves the original files in case you decide to revert back.
Of course, a lack of physical memory also leads to other performance issues as there's less space to cache running operations and services.
The solution?
Review Number 2: The newest SSD from Crucial, the MX300.
Thanks to this latest innovation from Crucial, I suddenly had 750GB of extra storage to play with, more than enough to help with my updates and to give me somewhere to store first-person shooter games to.
You see, the NUCFPGYH comes with a mount and a connector so you can install a 2.5inch drive like the MX300. Not what you want to hear if you are too scared to unscrew the cover from a computer, but music to the ears of an upgrade addict like me.
The bad news is, a drive as cutting edge, as quiet and as fast as the Crucial MX300 isn't cheap. In fact, by adding it to the NUCFPGYH I turned a sub-$500 PC into over $800 worth of kit. But man does it fly now. (I was going to say it purrs, but the SSD runs pretty much silently so there's almost no noise at all.)
Of course, you can always save some coin by going old school and there are perfectly adequate 2.5inch hard drives out there for under $100 that will do the job. Let's not forget the SDXC slot too, although obviously the transfer speeds to a memory card won't stack up to the impressive rates offered by the Crucial SSD. The MX300's spec sheet boasts a life-span of 1.5 million hours, so that should give me plenty of time to upskill on my first-person shooter techniques.
In the end, Intel's NUCFPGYH really does live up to it's claims of being a genuine home PC. It's fast, it's powerful and the graphics are better than expected. You will definitely need to add in some extra storage though and Crucial's MX300 SSD will turn Intel's useful little box into a rocket ship.
Click here for more information on the Intel NUCFPGYH mini PC
Click here for more information on the Crucial MX300 SSD
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