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

So I bought this and love it. I got it sale, but it was over $500 to complete. Having the ram, wireless, cord, and windows copy lying around, made it worth it. But you need: windows ($100+), ram (4GB $40), wireless ($20ish), msata ssd ($100 for 128gb), and a "mickey mouse" style power cord ($5). (it comes with the ac adapter but not the cord that goes from the ac adapter to the wall) So if you need all this, add $300 to what you paid for this!There are overheating complaints. Intel released firmwares to try and fix this and finally updated the product. The newer versions have a rubbery heat drawing block under the ssd. The cpu doesn't overheat, but the ssd stacked on the wireless causes the ssd to overheat. The airflow is on the opposite side of the motherboard so there is no airflow to draw heat from the ssd. If you did not get the rubbery heat block, you can get it for free from Intel. I just ordered it in November 2013 and didn't get the heat blocks. Intel sent them to me very quickly and I haven't had issues yet. I never tried it without the heat blocks.This is a great tv box or mini-desktop. If there was a 2.5 slot and usb3, it would be perfect. There are other NUC versions closer to perfect, and there's a slower cpu one coming with a 2.5 slot, but the low price of this version made it right for me.So I love the size--just an handful, even smaller than I thought. I love using it with my tv for streaming from the internet and from my Synology. It works. The two year Intel warranty seems nice--I just hope I don't need it!

My setup is as follows:NUC4GB Crucial 1333 DDR3 SODIMM (1 stick)120 GB Crucial SSDWhat you need: Wifi card - get one of the suggested ones - I am sure I saw a $10 dual-band wireless-n from Intel for the NUC.Wireless keyboard with touchpad (already had).All told, this box cost us a total of about $320. I had a USB network (ethernet) adapter lying around, so that didn't cost me anything extra. I would probably get a Thunderbolt ethernet adapter, if I didn't have the other one lying around. In fact, I might get one anyway, since the throughput would be much fast than USB and I'll never use the Thunderbolt (mini display port) port for anything else, anyway. Really impressed with Intel's design.And let's talk about that. Right now I am watching recorded TV via XBMC (.wtv files) - using a USB-ethernet adapter, streaming 1080p. No hitches, no wacky audio sync. Perfect playback.I am not sure I would use one of these to replace a Windows-based HTPC, but you could certainly set it up that way. Couldn't get at the performance with Windows 7, but may give it a try, just to see. With Win7 professional, you're adding another $150 to the price tag, though.Installed Kubuntu without a problem and it runs fast - very snappy performance. And this is a very small box. My wife actually wanted to confirm that the little red square was what was running our home theatre at the time. The ports are easy access and no frills. memory and mSATA SSD pop in easily. The bottom cover comes off without any issues.If you have a few extra dollars, set this up with Kubuntu, Steam and XBMC and you have a great, cheap Xbox 360 replacement that still functions as a complete computer.I really can't say enough positive things about this product - really worth the minor extra effort to pop in memory, wifi and SSD and install your own OS. Powerful elegant and small. Make sure you have a wireless keyboard/mouse combo, or wireless keyboard with touchpad.

Update May 1 2015. All my network problems turned out to be my router.(I try 4 different routers..all old b.g ones)(I think these old routers handle there arp cache differently.. Bought a new one Archer C7.. now a bit dated. Everything is rock solid now. The Apple thunderbolt to Ethernet has work flawlessly under Windows 7(caveat, problems may have been due to auto-negotiation for 10/100 on this old routers. Since the Archer is 1GE and the Apple adapter are is 1GE we have a reliable network.)-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Been a rocky road with this one as a Windows Media Center server. I added a Apple thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter to hard wire the Ethernet. I tend to get a lot of ip address conflicts every week. This is the adapter being reset and re-initialize with a new Mac address. You might want to a nuc with a real Ethernet port. Other wise this has been a great box.

I bought this, memory, wifi/blue tooth card, and 240G SSD on Wednesday. Received it on Friday. Total cost was about $350. I plugged the pieces together and loaded Windows 8.1. Assembly and OS loading took all of an hour.The unit seems snappy enough. Assembly is obvious and easy. All the parts were recognized by Windows 8.1 without any hunting around.The only issue is the unit comes without an AC power cord. That was a WTF moment for me, but sure enough - it says right on the box - no AC power cord. Luckily it uses the same cord as my HP laptop. So I was able to get running. Now I need to buy a replacement for my Laptop.I indent to use it as a music and video server. Later I intend to hook it up to a TV tuner and turn it into a DVR.

I really love this computer I am now using but It is NOT for anyone who has never built their computer before. I live close a major computer parts catalogue store so I was able to get most of what it needs to run in one trip but to sum it up you will need the following: (Note this is purposely vague just to give you an idea not step by step instructions) SS hard drive (the tiny size not the big 2 inchers) Network device wireless card or USB based. Operating system Power cord (not the power supply just the cord between it and the wall ~$4) RAM Heat sink upgrade kit free from Intel

I bought this to replace an old dual core desktop PC and it out performs the classic desktop machine by a wide margin. Plus it's so small that it just sits behind the TV freeing up loads of space otherwise cluttered by the old mini tower.I've installed Ubuntu 13.10 and use it to stream media to various devices by running Plex Media Server on it. It's able to start and shutdown in around 5 seconds. It handles streaming HD content with processor power to spare. Very low power consumption too as I've hooked it up to an energy cost monitor which reports that it's using £0.55 per month. My old desktop PC was costing £9.50 a month!It comes without RAM, disk drive, network hardware, or power cable (the clover leaf kind). It comes with a wifi antenna built in but you'll need to purchase a wifi card separately to use that. I bought the following items to complete the setup:Plextor PX-64M5M M5M 64GB 6Gbps 2.5 inch M-SATA Internal SSDhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B5KGHRO/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 1.35V/1.5V SODIMM 204 Pin Memory Module Kithttp://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005LDLVAO/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1Anker® USB 3.0 to 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN Network Adapter for Windows, Mac and Linux (White)http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00DNU8Y20/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1I opted for a USB ethernet adaptor to get a network connection which worked straight out of the box, so I can't speak for which WiFi cards are compatible.This model has a design fault with ventilation as some SSD's produce more heat than they had intended it for. Intel have provided a thermal pad solution to this problem which can be ordered here:[...]I've installed the thermal pad and leave the machine switched on at all times, it's been running for over a month now without any problems at all.Highly recommended!

First bare bone pc for me. I was a bit worry this would end up in disaster with a bunch of hardware pieces that I could not really set up. Not the case, all worked as a charm. I am using:Crucial CT120M500SSD3 120GB M500 mSATA 6Gb/s Internal SSD including ScrewsAnker® USB 3.0 to 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN Network AdapterIntel Centrino Advanced-N 6235; Wireless; PCI-E; 300 Mbit/s; 4.0;Asus VE228HR 21.5-inch Widescreen LED Multimedia Monitor (1920 x 1080, 5ms, VGA, HDMI, DVI)Perixx PERIDUO-707B PLUS UK, Wireless Mini Keyboard and Mouse Set - Piano...Power Parts C5 Cloverleaf Power Cord / Mains Cable Lead / UK Type Plug for...Wired-up HDMI to HDMI Gold Plated Connectors 1.8m Cable v1.3AKomputerbay 8GB 204 Pin 1600MHz PC3-12800 DDR3 SODIMM Laptop Memory with...Ended up returning the wireless card (no dual channel)Multimedia monitor is a good idea as there is no audio jack from the pc. The ASUS one I used will only work for this pc via HDMI.Do not forget the C5 cloverleaf power cord.I am using openSUSE 13.1 and virtualbox with centOS and Oracle Linux.It is very quick.All worked fine out of the box, no addtional drivers needed.

I bought this as I wanted to build a home media server which could connect directly to my TV. I also wanted it to double up as a web and application server. You need to buy a few additional components to complete the build (mSata SDD, RAM, Wireless card), which adds to the overall price. It is worth it though. It has been extremely reliable and performs so well that I could see myself using it as a desktop PC. If you check out the reviews on amazon.com you will find a lot of recommendations on components that work well with it.

I've been looking for a NUC for awhile, and saw these cheap on sale. I didn't really do my research properly and when they arrived I now understand why they're on sale. There's no networking on these at all, so you either need a mini-PCIe WiFi adapter, or a USB dongle. Other than that a really great box.

mine came a little broken but it was mostly aesthetically i only noticed this a week or so after it came so i couldn't return it.i wouldn't definitely recommend this to anyone looking to shrink down on the space there computer occupies, its cheap and cheerful too! The average total for this PC is about £200 (from looking at other reviews).