Intel Nuc 5 i5 vs i3?

[pete6032]

I am looking to get rid of my ATX case and switch over to something small and power efficient.

Basically the only thing I do on my PC is word/excel/internet/email/netflix. I occasionally play a game and my monitor's resolution is 1680x1050. Right now I have an Athlon II X4 635 with a RADEON HD5450. I am wondering.

1. Can I find a system now days with integrated graphics that perform better than my HD5450?

1. In addition to the NUC, what else should I be considering as far as SFF goes?

2. How much faster is the NUC 5th generation i5 system vs i3 system with everyday things?

 

[TeknoBug]

The difference between i3 5010U and i5 5250U isn't that big, the i5 has a lower base clock (1.6GHz) but higher turbo clock (2.7GHz) while the i3 is locked at 2.1GHz. The i5 NUCs has the Intel HD 6000 iGPU which can play some games at a decent rate (can play GTA V at ~25fps) but throw in some faster DDR3L sticks to help it.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Yup. Mobile i3 and i5 CPUs are all 2-core 4-thread designs. (Unlike the desktop i3/i5 chips.)

Even some mobile i7s are dualies. Kinda lame IMO.

 

[Kaido]

I can tell you that for day to day use, the i5 is a lot better than the i3 (source: I've installed a zillion of 'em). However, if you are looking in the i5 price range, the 4th-gen desktop i5 (quad-core) BRIX with Iris Pro Graphic 5200 is on sale for the same price as a 5th-gen laptop i5 BRIX:

http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Barebone-i5-4570R-Graphic-GB-BXi5-4570R/dp/B00HYEU0C8

It is somewhat noisy (for my tastes, at least), but comes with a wall-mount if you want to hide it on a wall under a desk or something & has a really cool red color. Also includes a Wifi/Bluetooth card & a second drive slot that can fit 2.5" drives. Don't know how the IRIS stacks up against what you want to do for gaming, but it's definitely better than the regular iGPU HD graphics stuff.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

1. In addition to the NUC, what else should I be considering as far as SFF goes?

ITX. You pay a (small) premium for the motherboard and maybe the PSU, but you otherwise are using full desktop sized components. The Silverstone SG05 rig in my signature is about the size of largeish toaster. Or a smallish 4-slice toaster, depending.

They're bigger than NUCs, but they're miles ahead in terms of performance/$.

 

[Chapbass]

Theres also the brand new 5x5: http://www.extremetech.com/computing/212859-intels-new-5x5-tiny-form-factor-socketed-cpu

 

[Blue_Max]

Your needs might be very well met by the AMD 7700 APU which has much better onboard graphics but runs cooler than its 7850k counterpart. That processor in a very small ITX case would be about twice the size of a NUC but a MUCH better gamer for ~half the price.

Check Newegg's list of ITX cases that come with power supplies to significantly narrow the search - usually only the smallest come with PSU.

When it comes to gaming, it's 90% about the video performance - compare your options here (list on the right): http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-6000.125588.0.html

Checking myself, I see the 7700's graphics are almost equal to the amazing Iris Pro 5200, but only the most expensive, overpriced NUCs use that.

 

[pete6032]

What about AMD, should anything AMD be considered these days?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

What about AMD, should anything AMD be considered these days?

Several people have mentioned AMD APUs already.

You can get pretty good performance from an APU in FPS/$ terms, since the iGPU in similarly-cheap Intel CPUs (Pentiums and such) are generally pretty weak. But the Intel CPUs are generally faster, so it's kind of a pro/con thing (if you use the computer for a lot of non-gaming things too, you're probably better off having the Intel chip.)

 

[jaydee]

Theres also the brand new 5x5: http://www.extremetech.com/computing/212859-intels-new-5x5-tiny-form-factor-socketed-cpu

No word on actual product availability though. It might be 6 months (or more) before we actually see a board for sale.

 

[baydude]

What about NUC i5 vs i7?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

What about NUC i5 vs i7?

Most of them are mobile i7 models that are similar to the i5's (2-core/4-thread) but the i7 has higher turbos and/or more cache.

I seem to recall some NUCs that had proper 4C/8T i7s, but I guess they're rarer.

 

[Blue_Max]

Most of them are mobile i7 models that are similar to the i5's (2-core/4-thread) but the i7 has higher turbos and/or more cache.

I seem to recall some NUCs that had proper 4C/8T i7s, but I guess they're rarer.

As someone stated, there's a big jump in price and the fans become noticeably louder in the i7 versions. Same 2 cores / 4 threads, just a higher clock. Sometimes better integrated graphics as well.

If you truly NEED the speed boost between them, a tiny ITX machine would work better than a NUC.

 

[hemedans]

You can find gigabyte brix with i5 4570R and iris pro 5200 for as litle as $367 @amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HY...1119375&sr=8-1&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=Iris+pro It is barebone like nuc

 

[pete6032]

Your needs might be very well met by the AMD 7700 APU which has much better onboard graphics but runs cooler than its 7850k counterpart. That processor in a very small ITX case would be about twice the size of a NUC but a MUCH better gamer for ~half the price.

Check Newegg's list of ITX cases that come with power supplies to significantly narrow the search - usually only the smallest come with PSU.

When it comes to gaming, it's 90% about the video performance - compare your options here (list on the right): http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-6000.125588.0.html

Checking myself, I see the 7700's graphics are almost equal to the amazing Iris Pro 5200, but only the most expensive, overpriced NUCs use that.

I don't see many reviews of the A8 Pro 7600 or 7700 APUs. I'm specifically looking at the HP Elitedesk 705 G1 Mini which has an A8 Pro 7600B APU.

 

[TeknoBug]

I don't see many reviews of the A8 Pro 7600 or 7700 APUs. I'm specifically looking at the HP Elitedesk 705 G1 Mini which has an A8 Pro 7600B APU.

I had an A8 7600 for a while, it was a so-so system, sluggish at times but the power consumption part was nice especially when setting it to 45W TDP. But compared to the i3 5010U or i5 5250U it's a little faster and obviously has a good GPU.

 

[pete6032]

I had an A8 7600 for a while, it was a so-so system, sluggish at times but the power consumption part was nice especially when setting it to 45W TDP. But compared to the i3 5010U or i5 5250U it's a little faster and obviously has a good GPU.

Just looking at this CPU benchmark site and the A8 7600B scores 4,762 on PassMark. That seems to be higher than the i5-5300U (3,884), which I believe is what most NUCs are based on. Is PassMark a good benchmark to compare CPUs?

EDIT - at least on Tom's Hardware it looks like the 4th gen i5 beats the A8 APU pretty consistently. Which is a better gauge of everyday snappiness, the PassMark or Tom's Hardware review?

 

[TeknoBug]

Just looking at this CPU benchmark site and the A8 7600B scores 4,762 on PassMark. That seems to be higher than the i5-5300U (3,884), which I believe is what most NUCs are based on. Is PassMark a good benchmark to compare CPUs?

EDIT - at least on Tom's Hardware it looks like the 4th gen i5 beats the A8 APU pretty consistently. Which is a better gauge of everyday snappiness, the PassMark or Tom's Hardware review?

The A8 7600B seems to be a desktop CPU, so yeah a desktop i5 would beat it. The i5 5250U I mentioned is mobile CPU whih is less capable, but hey if you can find a mini PC with an A8 7600B then that'd be good otherwise the best you're going to find in a mobile size would be an A8 7410.

 

[Blue_Max]

You can find gigabyte brix with i5 4570R and iris pro 5200 for as litle as $367 @amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HY...1119375&sr=8-1&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=Iris+pro It is barebone like nuc

Dang... I'm jealous. We can't get 'em for that kind of price. I would.