Intel NUC 5PPYH

Good performance ; Tiny form factor ; Connectivity ; QuickSync

Not much gaming grunt ; No internal SATA port ; A bit pricey when additional extras factored in

The NUC gives us the hots as a general purpose system. With the Intel 520 SSD, it's slick and super responsive to use. And while the Intel HD 4000 graphics fail the fragging test, you do get QuickSync. Within certain limitations, then, you could even...

Large stock storage capacity ; Good performance, despite its 4GB of RAM ; Very light and portable

Performance doesn't match the price tag ; Could be improved with more RAM ; Better competitor designs out there

Coupled with an ultra-compact plug-in power supply, which includes international adapters, the NUC could still be a winner for anyone who needs the ultimate in portability from their next machine.

+ Small-footprint + Decent media performance + Opportunity to expand + Charging port + Low-temperatures + Low-noise + Comes with Windows 10 + 3 years Warranty

- Limited 3D capabilities - Stiff competition from rival offerings

After spending some time with Intel’s NUC 8 Mainstream G, we can safely say that it’s a neat piece of kit that will be ideal to use as a home theatre configuration or family system.

Fast and simple hardware setup ; Great performance for common tasks ; Small size, VESA-mountable ; Barely audible fan noise

No native USB 3.0 ; Pricey once you factor in all the components

Now, it's time to address the question that we put out there at the very beginning of this review: is the NUC really deserving of its "Next Unit of Computing" title? Absolutely. The NUC stands as proof that traditional, mid-tower PCs deserve to go by...

It’s super small ; ALL THE PORTS ; Powerful enough to game with ; Easy expandability of RAM and storage

It’s expensive ; You have to provide your own RAM, storage, and operating system ; Not as future-proof as a full-sized gaming PC

Mostly though, the NUC 8 isn’t supposed to be something that many people buy. It exists to show off what can be done with a small form-factor PC. And thanks to Intel and AMD’s new partnership, it turns out you can do quite a lot.

The NUC8i7BEH does have scope for improvement, though. The platform itself is excellent. However, the fan noise / thermal performance is disappointing. It is no doubt challenging to keep a 28W TDP SiP properly cooled in a UCFF machine. Eschewing the...

Thge smallest, most powerful PC on the planet

A tad expensive

With putting Win 7 on this machine its easier to set up the hard drive using another pc. Then download the NUC Win 7 drivers from Intel open USB 3 driver and install it then transfer the drive to the NUC 5PPYH, when you boot it, the mouse and keyboard...

It can be a bit slow .

Good basic, small & quiet CPU that one can then add to.

A bit tricky to get WIN10 on the Samsung SSD.

Very small, very quiet, very efficient, very fast. Stable now and regularly updated (though I found 1 BIOS bug, turning off USB legacy caused all sorts of weird issues but restoring the BIOS back to defaults sorted everything out again). WiFi reception...

Intel could test the BIOS a bit better.. but this model is now the best it's been in a while (earlier models were plagued with suicidal firmware).