Intel Next Unit of Computing Kit with HDMI, Thunderbolt, Core i3-3217UDC3217BY

CUSTOMER REVIEW



My first review to help out other newbies wading into system building i.e. someone who hates the cable company charging ridiculous fees for a commodity cable box that they actually want to do something about it. I purchased this to build out a HTPC.



Bottom line - this is not the same as getting a box from dell. Be prepared to spend some time ironing kinks out. BUT if you are willing and able (including tolerance for the risk of not having a single vendor to go after if you have issues), this is the best small form factor system with i3 processor that you can build/find. My total cost was ~400 (NUC + SSD (60 GB) + Memory (4 gb) + thunderbolt ethernet adapter + Windows 7). You can get rid of windows 7 but note that there is a multitude of issues with cablecard/DRM that linux based solutions (Mythbuntu etc) will (probably) never support. Also you might find a Acer Revo i3 for the same price but with base windows 8 -- this requires you to spend additional $$ to upgrade to windows 8 pro + WMC if you want to use WMC with cablecard support.



As other posters have said - you need mSata (MydigitalSSD works fine), memory (kingston worked for me) to have a working system. Optional (well, not really): Wifi card or USB to ethernet (only upto 480 Mbps as this has only USB 2) or Apple thunderbolt to ethernet adapter (GigE). See links at end for exact SKUs and other helpful links. I am also assuming you have a monitor/TV, keyboard & mouse somewhere and you don't need to buy them.



Steps are as follows:

1) install memory, msata. Optional: install the wireless card. This goes below msata.

1.1) Go to intel site to request a thermal pad. This is a fix from Intel for heating issues that affect msata. I did not have any issues without the pad but ordered to be safe.

2) Connect to output (HDMI to TV works fine. I also used a HDMI to DVI adapter to work on my desk to finish installing this in comfort. You should see a nasty message asking you to put in a boot device.

3) If you see no output but see the power button on the device blinking - check the bios blink codes on the intel website. It is likely you have not installed the memory stick correctly. If you have had to force the memory stick in, you HAVE installed it incorrectly. Push the stick into the slot at approx. 30 degrees and push it down. It should go in smoothly and you should hear a click (like some springs are being locked in place not some plastic breaking)

4) Create a bootable USB of the OS (Windows 7). I am not sure why - there are online instructions to create a bootable USB from ISO image file but none directly from the windows install CD. I went the route of creating an ISO image from the disk and then using the MS provided software to create the bootable USB. It seemed to create the exact same file structure as the original disk. I did not have time to research but perhaps this step can be compressed to just transferring the files from the install CD to USB with some formatting step thrown in.

5) Login to windows, complete formalities. Note: At this point - if you run the windows experience index now, you will see no graphics score. You need to go to the intel site and install the drivers available.

5.1) Install windows updates, driver updates etc.

6) [optional] Install the drivers for apple thunderbolt ethernet adapter. Search for broadcom netextreme drivers. Note: The driver has to be installed manually. If you open the device manager, I saw something along the lines of 'unidentified ethernet device'. Rightclick on this, pick 'update driver software' and manually point it to the driver files (unzipped) . If you see performance issues with this, you need to tweak some settings. Right click on the device, properties, advanced, large send offload (IPV4) and disable this.

7) If you are using this as a HTPC with live tv, install the tuner related software (HD Homerun prime in my case)

8) If you start seeing flickering during live tv/recorded tv in dark scenes, it is most likely due to the data stream not playing nice with the graphics. Go to the intel graphics & media control panel and turn adaptive contrast enhancement to off. This can be tricky as this option is hidden (the top left is actually a pull down menu). This step appears trivial but it is huge in terms of selling this to skeptical family members :)



Now you have a working system to enjoy.



So why did I give this a 4? Although I am happy with the end result, I had huge problems with installing the memory stick and had to call intel support (twice -- chat and in person). The blink codes did not map to anything on the intel site. The support team assumed I had installed the stick correctly but the box was defective. Perhaps they are not used to novices calling them. Whatever the reasons, it was not solved by them but by me trying it one last time before boxing it up to return.

Among other things - there are three USB ports. Now for the most part, in my laptops I have had a max of 2 usb ports occupied so thought it would be fine for me. But - with this device, you will have 1 Usb for keyboard + mouse (in install/maintain) phase, 1 USB for external hard drive (See reviews about not using SSD with Windows media center), 1 USB for IR receiver/remote (needed if you want to use it as set top box - Good luck convincing significant other to use the keyboard and mouse to watch tv) and 1 USb for ethernet adapter (if you want to save $30 on apple ethernet adapter). So if you want other things (like an external sound card to hook up receiver, you will need to invest in a hub.



Helpful links/part numbers:

MyDigitalSSD 60GB 50mm Bullet Proof 4 BP4 50mm mSATA Solid State Drive SSD SATA III 6G (60GB)(64GB)



Kingston: Kingston ValueRam 4GB PC3-10600 CL9 204-Pin SODIMM Notebook Memory KVR1333D3S9/4G



Intel tested memory: http://ift.tt/1btRGRU



Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter



List of Intel tested/approved peripherals etc:

http://ift.tt/1jlfUxS



List of customer tested peripherals reported to intel:

http://ift.tt/1jlfUxW



Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter driver:

http://ift.tt/1dPqIiw



Description of thermal Issue:

http://ift.tt/1btRGS2



Request for thermal pad:

http://ift.tt/1jlfUy0



NUC Drivers etc:

http://ift.tt/1btRGS4



UPDATE: I did not stress this in original review -- If you want to record HD shows, the 60 GB SSD is simply not enough. Windows Media Center complained about not enough space for 2 hour show (about ~32 gb left after OS install). You will need to evaluate other options - buy bigger mSATA, (or) investigate/invest in NAS Servers with iscsi (or) other USB storage options or [non option] thunderbolt hard drive



Caveat Emptor: There is a reason that this product is much cheaper than the one with the gigabit ethernet port. Intel is most likely phasing this product out/getting rid of inventory. The Thunderbolt technology peripherals are primarily targeted at Apple ecosystem (and priced for that market) not someone trying to build a quality system on the cheap.

CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra GUA880 Desktop (Black/Blue)

Shop the Windows Store for the full selection of Windows 8 PCs

• AMD FX-4300 Quad Core Processor 3.8GHz (4MB Cache)


• 8 GB DDR3 RAM


• 1024GB 7200rpm Hard Drive


• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit


• 
  

CUSTOMER REVIEW



*EDIT* All of those bad reviews, the ones on ALL the cyberpower pc's on amazon, I know what those all are. There is literally only ONE thing very bad about this computer, the power supply. It's a crappy power supply and fails very often, people should be partly blaming cyberpower for this, but not completely. Yes, cyberpower should have made a better choice in the power supply for this build, but it's also the fault of the people who made those reviews, they didn't do enough research, didn't check what kind of power supply and look up reviews on it. Which are all horrible. I had one of the same problems, random shutting down. But unlike them, I didn't give up and return the computer only to get another one with another fualty power supply. I looked into the problem, replaced the power supply with a 40 dollar 500w one by cooler master. This solved all my problems and I've been happily gaming and video editing for the past 6 months now. So no, cyberpower is not a bad company, they have GREAT customer service (I had to get a new hard drive and I had them send it to me because my faulty psu fried it, no big deal though, it was here in less than 2 days) they have great computers, and most importantly great prices, I would recommend them to anybody who knows what they're doing with computers. And if you don't, maybe you shouldn't be buying one just yet.



Here's my full review: (to see a video review, search "s0steezy cyberpower gua880 review" on youtube, it will be the first one and the thumbnail is the rear exhaust fan. Right under it will be my unboxing, and feel free to view my channel for more videos about this computer, mostly how it games but I also did upgrades and such on it, so go check that out and subscribe :) Anyway here's the full review:



Okay, I'm gonna start with saying I'm VERY happy with this desktop. The ONE AND ONLY flaw (besides the power supply), is that there is no built in wifi :( so order a pci wi-fi card (not pci-e unless you plan to keep the gt610, because any card that takes up 2 slots will cover the pci-e slot)or do what I did and get a usb wifi adapter.So that's the only flaw, now I'll go through all the important things as best as I can.



SHIPPING: This took like 5 days to process for shipping, (3 business days) that is my only complaint but after it left the factory it traveled across the U.S from Tennessee to Wisconsin in 2 days and delivered. So I am very satisfied with who ever ships this. Also it said "Amazon.com LLC" was the seller and I didn't know what that meant so I was worried, but it's fine. It's just regular amazon.com. Keep in mind this is ONLY with free super saver shipping, if you order regular shipping it will come in the usual 3-5 days but with free super saver it could take up to 3-5 months, at the longest. Didn't happen to me thankfully but I've heard of it happening to many people, so just keep that in mind and PLEASE don't complain about that when you make your own review, that's not the fault of the product or of cyberpower that's the fault of the buyer.



PACKAGING: Very nice packaging nothing got damaged and there were no loose components in the computer what so ever, the mail man could have thrown the package to my door and it would have been perfect. Also when I opened it all the cables were tied with cable ties and tucked back or hidden, cable management looked very professional and I can tell the computer will pretty much never overheat.



OUT OF THE BOX: It worked PERFECT out of the box, the windows product key for activation and registration is on the top left of the right faceplate, very easy to find and type in to activate your copy of windows. Also when you're all setup on the desktop and everything, like before you activate windows, or after, it doesn't really matter, but you should be sure to install the drivers it comes with, there are many free applications on one of the discs along with important drivers and there are other important drivers on the other disc. And the third disc is your copy of windows. Which you can obviously re-use if you get viruses or something on yours you can put in the cd and run windows off of that and then reset everything to factory settings with no viruses.



UPGRADES: there are only 2 ram slots, and it the motherboard it comes with can only hold 8gb ram so that is kind of disappointing, but honestly 8 is enough. There is one extra pci slot for a wifi card or something, and then a pci-e slot for whatever you would like to use it for. (extra usb 3.0 ports for example) The power supply DOES come with extra cords for plugging into like the hard drive or whatever so you're good there if you get a graphics card with an external power supply all you need to do is get a molex to 6 pin adapter, but I do highly recommend switching out the power supply which you will here about multiple times in this review because I can't stress enough how awful the power supply is that it comes with. Anyway there is A LOT of extra space in the tower so if you're looking to completely upgrade the motherboard and everything (which I did and there are videos of me doing that on my youtube channel) after awhile, you could. So that's it for upgrades, overall, not the best for upgrading because of the motherboard it comes with, but it'll do the job if you don't need a bunch of extra pci/pci-e slots, and also you can't run sli or crossfire on this mobo because there is only one pcix16 for a graphics card.



COMPONENTS: The 1tb hard drive is nice, although mine was 930. I know they're usually not completely 1024, but usually they're around 990 so that was a bit disappointing too. The ram is great I've head no problems with it ever and it's quite fast, I'm not sure what brand it was but like I said I never had any problems so I'm satisfied there. Next, the dvd drive is very nice, opens and closes smoothly, the dvd and hdd drive are both connected via SATA 3 cables so they are fast. the graphics card isn't the best, it is decent. I can play some games good like dishonored and minecraft of course but a lot of the newer games don't even play at all, even on low settings on 1024x768. But I'm going to be doing a lot of gaming so I'm upgrading. I'm getting something without an external power supply like a radeon 7770. [EDIT, I got a gt630 and that's still not the greatest so I'm getting a gtx 650 ti boost when I get the money] Next, the motherboard is pretty good. Definitely could be better but not a big deal to me. The processor on the other hand is a beast, the amd fx 4100 has four cores and all that nice multi-threading for video editing or whatever else you may need it for. I'm very happy with the processor for sure. My biggest complaint is the power supply. I looked up reviews on youtube and on other sites and a lot of people have a variety of problems with this psu. It's actually very likely that you will have a problem with it, I can estimate that about 70% of people do. And I was unlucky enough to be one of them, the fan didn't work in the psu, and I didn't know that. So it got really hot and ended up frying my hard drive. I thought it was just a bad drive so I replaced it and my computer just started shutting down whenever the psu got too hot, so I troubleshooted it and ended up replacing the psu completely. That was a real bummer, I didn't get to game for like the first 2 months I had the computer. Lastly, the fans. I love the blue LED's they make it look amazing. They also do a very nice job keeping it cool I can always feel the air coming through the vents so the case fans are very nice. The CPU fan also does its job real nice. I was amazed at how cool it kept it, I think I had idle temps of about 10 degrees and 50 under load so it was aamzing. Keeps it nice and cool inside for the other fans to keep it even cooler. The cooling in this machine is overall great, and the hardware is all good except the psu and graphics card, and mobo depending on your preference really.



PERFORMANCE: I was completely AMAZED by the performance of this desktop. The first thing I did was transfer my old files via flash drive and they took about 40 minutes to go from my laptop to my flash drive. (Toshiba satellit a205-s5855) And about 2 minutes to go from my flash drive to the new computer. It is so fast and I never close anything, I always have at least 5 or 6 things open and it never so much as takes a second to load anything. Video editing is great, rendering is incredibly fast and I can preview in good (best) in sony vegas pro 12 which if you don't know is very good. I have not done any gaming on it yet. I'm in the process of getting minecraft and need for speed and we'll see how it goes with that. But so far I'm very happy with the performance. *UPDATE* I did some gaming and I really needed to upgrade the gpu. After that it plays almost every game (with the exceptions of things such as crysis 3 and battlefield 3 and sniper elite v2, and probably a few more) on my gt630 2gb.



OVERALL: Overall I am MORE than satisfied, it is so much better than what I had expected ESPECIALLY for just a little over 500 dollars. (it was 520 when I got it, maybe prices have changed by the time you're reading this) But If you're contemplating whether or not to get it, GET IT. It is amazing.



Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy your new desktop ;)

Remember! s0steezy on youtube :)

Lenovo Thinkcentre M72e 0967B5U Desktop Windows 7 Pro

CUSTOMER REVIEW



Short review of the ThinkCenter 72e - I'll update later if any salient issues / comments come.



Comes with Win 7 Pro loaded and the Win 8 recovery disks if one wanted to go in that direction.

A 3 year warranty too.



Solid compact construction yet room for some expansion - very clean inside, relatively open to add other boards or update memory, the last requiring adjusting two components to get better access. Just two thumb screws to take off the side cover.



Quiet. At start up you hear the fan rush - quite loud, but I have not heard it while running - basically silent. I did not realize how noisy my old desktop was until I turned it off to do the setup and updates of this unit for Win7. Shows how we acclimate to our environment - totally surprised on how quiet the machine is. It has reasonable scores on the Windows Experience: Processor 7.5, Mem 5.9, Graphics 4.8, Gaming Graphics 6.3, and HD 5.9 - adding a second 4 GByte dual channel board would improve the memory index. The built in graphics HD 2500 does OK too - not sure one could add a graphic card that offers a lot of improvement in place of it due to the 240 watt supply. Very snappy as is.



The few programs that I have run are noticeably faster, especially the screen updates, especially Google Chrome which is very slow on my other computers, both Win7 and WinXP.



Bottom line, very happy with the purchase. Having Win8 recovery discs for 'free' as an update path is a plus.

Dell Inspiron Desktop (i3847-4616BK)

Increase your storage and your possibilities. With powerful processors and graphics, this expandable desktop packs big performance into a compact design.

• Intel Core i5-4440 Processor 3.1 GHz( cache)


• 8GB DDR3


• 1 TB 7200 rpm Hard Drive


• Windows 8

Apple iMac ME088LL/A 27-Inch Desktop (NEWEST VERSION)

The stunning all-in-one iMac features a beautiful 27-inch widescreen display. Fourth-generation quad-core Intel Core processors and superfast NVIDIA graphics make it the most powerful iMac yet. And it comes standard with 8GB memory, a 1TB hard drive, and advanced, high-speed I/O, including two Thunderbolt ports and four USB 3 ports. All in an impossibly thin enclosure that’s only 5 mm at the edge.

• 3.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 Processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz) with 6MB L3 Cache


• 1 TB (7200-rpm) Hard Drive, 8GB (two 4GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 memory; Four User-Accessible SO-DIMM Slots


• 27-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit Display with IPS Technology; 2560-by-1440 Resolution


• NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M Graphics Processor with 1 GB of GDDR5 Memory


• Mac OS X Mountain Lion


• 
  

CUSTOMER REVIEW



I have just switched back to a Mac after years of using a PC. The difference is night and day. The Mac is so much easier to use (although it took me a short while to get the hang of it), and has many more options and abilities. I am an artist, so I had to switch all my art files from PC to the Mac. It was easy to do and the Mac is so much more art friendly. I have to write quite a lot of documents, so I needed the Mac to handle that too, and it does.

I happen to own an iPhone and iPad Air as well. My son set my iPad Air (he's more tech savvy than me) to show and act as my Mac's desktop. So when I am away from my Mac, I can use the iPad as my computer and work with it as if I had a mini desktop! All in all I wouldn't go back to PC if you paid me. I love it.

HP Slate 21-k100 21.5-Inch All-in-One Touchscreen Desktop

CUSTOMER REVIEW



Beautiful touch screen. Fast performance. Video chat. Nice keyboard and mouse. Millions of applications, movies and songs via Google Play Store. Boxed up the old windows computer. Absolutely love it.

Apple Mac Mini MD387LL/A Desktop (NEWEST VERSION)

CUSTOMER REVIEW



First off, I'm a high school student. I'm using this computer for word processing, web browsing, some gaming, and I'm learning programming.



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Design:

Pros:

-This computer looks excellent. The Mini's body hasn't changed since late 2010- and for a good reason. The desktop is tiny, fitting right under my monitor with room to spare. It's sleek and looks good anywhere.

-It's very simple, it's just a box. The removable cover on the bottom is a soft rubber (the same as the panel with all the ports). Due to the removable cover's height and size, the computer appears to be floating about 1/3 an inch above the desk.

-Looks great anywhere and feels nice as well.

-Removable cover makes the RAM easy to upgrade and also gives you more access to the inside so you can clean it out.



Cons:

-The ports on the back (i.e. headphones) are a bit difficult to access- you have to lean over to look behind the computer or move it.

-The monitor does occasionally flicker during active use (about once a day), but Apple and Intel are aware of the problem and are releasing a fix. It's not very bad.



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Performance:

Pros:

-The 2.5 GHz i5 is pretty speedy. I've had 15+ tabs running with music playing and a game running (Bastion) and it doesn't slow down.

-Write speed for the HDD is pretty good. 5400 RPM isn't ideal, but it works well for the price.



Cons:

-4 GB of RAM is a little lacking, but it is easily upgradable. For $85.00 you can get 16 GB of RAM and easily install it yourself: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory (CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10)

-Integrated graphics. 3D rendering slows it down considerably.



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Hardware:

Pros:

-Comes with a DVI to HDMI cable. Useful if you don't have an HDMI monitor available.

-The computer feels very sturdy.

-4 USB 3.0 ports and a SD card slot.

-Bluetooth compatible.



Cons:

-The power cable is a bit short.

-No Thunderbolt cable.



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Software:

Pros:

-Comes loaded with OS X 10.8.2 (Mountain Lion) which is a very sleek OS.

-No bloating with things like antivirus programs, etc.

-The software is all integrated with the company, so you're guaranteed support.

-Comes with Bootcamp, so you can put Windows 7 on the computer (either dual boot or full switch).

Cons:

-Gatekeeper- you actually need to go into System Preferences and allow 3rd party programs to open (not downloaded from the app store).



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Overall, the 2012 Mac Mini is a very good, reasonable priced (surprising from Apple) computer for any casual user. If you're looking for something a bit more powerful, consider the more expensive Mini or an iMac.



Source: I own this computer.

Dell Inspiron Desktop (i3647-1231BK)

With powerful processors and high-capacity hard drives, you can count on full-size desktop performance in a slim, space-saving design.

• Intel Pentium-G3220 Processor 3.0 GHz( cache)


• 4GB DDR3


• 500 GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive