Your opinion? - NUC5i7RYH

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Your opinion? - NUC5i7RYH

ping182nz

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#173214 15-May-2015 10:28

Hi,

What is your opinion on running a NUC Next Unit of Computing BOXNUC5i7RYH as a HTPC?

This one is an i7 and has a fan, but I have read reviews saying it is quiet for general use....

What do you think, I know it is overkill but it has the best grahpics out of the NUC's

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#1305659 15-May-2015 10:32

is it just for a HTPC or for gaming?

If its just an HTPC, that is way too much overkill.

ping182nz

188 posts

Master Geek

#1305672 15-May-2015 10:43

reven: is it just for a HTPC or for gaming?

If its just an HTPC, that is way too much overkill.

I know it is over the top... but i normally buy top of the range so I have a long period of time using a device, i.e. not having to upgrade because I want to change the use of the device.

If it were for running Kodi, you tube, spotify and possible PVR at some point, what model NUC would you recommend?

reven

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#1305677 15-May-2015 10:47

for those things, i would say the cheapest. A raspberrypi 2 can basically do all those things and look at those specs. You certainly don't need an i7 to do those things (now or in the future).

the hp stream 200-010 might do the job or any i3 NUC.

reven

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#1305678 15-May-2015 10:48

HTPCs have been doing those things for years, I was doing that on an old celeron duo like 10 years ago. Those aren't demanding tasks and intel integrated graphics can easily handle the video playback.

dan

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#1305679 15-May-2015 10:49

i use 2 intel nuc core i5 works as htpcs in kitchen and bedroom, works great

you are not really going to find alot of noticeable difference in those apps using a i7 over a i5, the video playback you want to use hardware decoding anyway, so it runs cooler/quieter,

CYaBro

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#1305692 15-May-2015 10:55

I've got a Celeron NUC and it plays everything I've tried without a problem, up to 1080p.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

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sidefx

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#1305693 15-May-2015 10:57

As reven says, all the uses you mention are not demanding at all. I very much doubt even in the mysterious future anything will come along that would make buying an i7 or even i5 NUC now worthwhile. I suspect a celeron NUC would probably do fine for what you seem to want. And even if something amazing arrived in say 2 years, I think you'd be better off just using the cheaper NUC until then, then selling it and getting the up to date NUC at that point, than trying to future proof for some mysterious future use case.

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Inphinity

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#1305705 15-May-2015 11:21

I have a Celeron-based NUC doing all sorts of HTPC tasks, and it's absolutely fine.

timmmay

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#1305709 15-May-2015 11:30

Waste of money. Unless you need to stream just get a Raspberry Pi 2b. It runs Kodi perfectly - the Pi1 did as well, the interface was a bit slow but things played file. The Pi2 using openelec is almost as fast as a PC.

kiwitrc

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#1305716 15-May-2015 11:32

dan: i use 2 intel nuc core i5 works as htpcs in kitchen and bedroom, works great

you are not really going to find alot of noticeable difference in those apps using a i7 over a i5, the video playback you want to use hardware decoding anyway, so it runs cooler/quieter,

I use an i3 NUC and sometimes playback is a little jerky on fast action. I am running Linux Mint which may be the issue. How do you run hardware decoding rather than software?

ajobbins

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#1305721 15-May-2015 11:41

I use a many years old Dell Zino HD with an Atom (I think) processor for my HTPC.

Plays back 1080p without missing a beat, as well as acting as my download and media server at the same time.

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dan

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#1305729 15-May-2015 11:53

kiwitrc:
dan: i use 2 intel nuc core i5 works as htpcs in kitchen and bedroom, works great

you are not really going to find alot of noticeable difference in those apps using a i7 over a i5, the video playback you want to use hardware decoding anyway, so it runs cooler/quieter,

I use an i3 NUC and sometimes playback is a little jerky on fast action. I am running Linux Mint which may be the issue. How do you run hardware decoding rather than software?

I use windows on mine as i run mediaportal, never have any problem with video preformance, see if you can find a way to enable DXVA native in the codecs somewhere, on windows you would do this in the LAV Video Filter properties for example