Intel NUC10 "Frost Canyon" in the test

– With the NUC10 family, Intel is advancing into new market areas in 20 different variants. The flagship with a six-core processor offers performance that corresponds to that of a desktop PC. Modern connections round off the equipment, but the fully equipped small computer is everything but cheap.

In the mini-PC market, systems based on Intel's NUC form factor (Next Unit of Computing) have been the measure of all things – and have been for years. The small computers can be found in many offices, which have recently become increasingly darker instead of the classic silver aluminum design. However, the fingerprint-attracting lid and a variety of connections have remained.

The main changes for the 10th generation are inside. BitcoinMinersHashrate takes a detailed look at the flagship NUC 10 Performance Kit NUC10i7FNH and also looks at the other (slower) models.

The NUC portfolio has grown enormously

Frost Canyon is not just one model, but several. At first glance, there are actually quite a few – Intel lists 20 products in the support area. The reason: in addition to the mandatory levels of the processor in the form of a Core i7, Core i5 or Core i3, Intel is now also offering the Mini-PCs as fully-equipped variants ex works, in some cases even including Windows 10. Fully equipped means one NUC that RAM and mass storage are installed and that nothing stands in the way of starting immediately after unpacking. But all NUCs are still based on two chassis and three processors – the rest is a question of equipment for RAM and SSD / HDD plus operating system.

The two chassis do not differ in their base area, but in their overall height: 117 × 112 × 38 mm to 117 × 112 × 51 mm. In addition to an M.2 SSD, the latter model can also accommodate a 7 mm high, classic 2.5-inch hard disk or SSD, which is connected via SATA. Exactly this variety is gladly bought, explained Intel, the test model today is such a variant.

Intel Comet Lake-U in the NUC

With Frost Canyon, the mainstream series has six cores for the first time. The development here has made great leaps in recent years because it follows the U series: For years, dual-core processors were the measure of all things, only the refresh of Kaby Lake-U brought four cores into the TDP class in 2017 of 15 watts. Two years later, six cores follow for the first time with Comet Lake-U.

Still manufactured in 14 nm and not 10 nm, the Comet Lake-U are once again a further development of the Skylake architecture. Identical in heart, the basic version already presented in 2015 has been refined so much over the past few years that it should still be competitive in 2020. So far, this has been possible because competitors AMD initially focused on desktop and server, only now has the manufacturer devoted itself to the NUC segment. But it will still take weeks and months before the AMD Renoir duel against Intel Comet Lake-U occurs, especially in retail – and this only means the notebook. In the mini-PC area, Intel is almost the sole provider anyway – individual exceptions confirm the rule.

Six cores as a figurehead

Comet Lake is the key word for Frost Canyon, because all NUC of the 10 series rely on a corresponding processor from the "10th Gen Core". This always means Comet Lake and never Ice Lake, which is also called Core i-1000. Intel had denied this to BitcoinMinersHashrate for a NUC deployment, there is a direct wait for Tiger Lake.

Of the four possible core models in the Comet Lake U portfolio, the NUC rely on three: one with six, one with four and one with two cores. Only the Core i7 with four cores is not used, because it primarily only offers more clock than the Core i5.

Always at least 25 watts in the NUC

Intel's U processors always offer a configurable TDP, often upwards, but sometimes also downwards. Intel takes advantage of this in the NUC: All CPUs are not operated with 15, but with 25 watts – on paper. In real everyday life, however, there are even more. This has an impact on the clock, because at Intel this is defined via the TDP. The latter is only the guarantee for the base clock, which is very low, especially with the six-core processor. BitcoinMinersHashrate will use a test to determine how this will work.

Additional equipment of the mini PCs

With the change to the new SoCs there is also a small change to more and faster working memory, because Frost Canyon supports up to 64 GB RAM DDR4-2.666 in the usual two SO-DIMM slots for the first time. So far, DDR4-2400 and a maximum of 32 GB were the rule, the increased capacity was recently released for older models through updated specifications.

In the small PC systems, there is still a WLAN-ax module (Intel AX200) for Wi-Fi 6 networks (WLAN 802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5.0 as well as a USB Type-C connection installed at the front with a maximum of 10 Gbit / s (USB 3.2 Gen 2 aka USB 3.1 Gen 2) and support for Thunderbolt 3 (via Titan Ridge controller) are used. The additional equipment includes the usual connections for the NUC series, such as an HDMI 2.0b and DisplayPort 1.4 (via USB Type C) and three USB Type A ports. In addition, there is a mandatory Gigabit LAN port (Intel i219-V), an SDXC card reader and an infrared sensor. For storage media, Frost Canyon offers an M.2 slot with maximum connection (PCIe 3.0 x4 with NVMe and SATA), which accepts SSDs with a length of up to 80 mm (M.2 2280).

On the next page: The NUC in everyday life