Intel D54250WYKH Haswell NUC Kit with 2.5" Drive Slot Mini-Review
by Ganesh T S on May 18, 2014 10:15 AM ESTPerformance Metrics - I
The D54250WYKH was evaluated using our standard test suite for low power desktops / industrial PCs. We have recently revamped our benchmark suite (after the publication of the D54250WYK review). We reran some of the new benchmarks on the original NUC also, but some of them couldn't be run on loaner samples. Therefore, the list of PCs in each graph might not be the same.
Futuremark PCMark 8
This is one of the new tests in our test suite. PCMark 8 provides various usage scenarios (home, creative and work) and offers ways to benchmark both baseline (CPU-only) as well as OpenCL accelerated (CPU + GPU) performance. We benchmarked select PCs for the OpenCL accelerated performance in all three usage scenarios.
Miscellaneous Futuremark Benchmarks
3D Rendering - CINEBENCH R15
We have moved on from R11.5 to R15 for 3D rendering evaluation. CINEBENCH R15 provides three benchmark modes - OpenGL, single threaded and multi-threaded. Evaluation of select PCs in all three modes provided us the following results.
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osamabinrobot - Sunday, May 18, 2014 - link
I just built this unit for myself at work and have been digging it.kgh00007 - Sunday, May 18, 2014 - link
Just some further information for anyone looking to buy one of these.This nuc can actually run 2133MHz RAM (G.Skill Ripjaws) and the TDP can also be increased in the bios or using the Intel Extreme Tunig Utility. Its possible to increase the TDP from 15W to 25W or 30W by adjusting the Sustained Mode Power Limit in the bios. This can also be done dynamically with the Intel XTU and be set to load different TDP's on a per app basis.
This is pretty cool and improves gaming on the nuc considerably as it allows the iGPU to sustain higher clocks. Temps remain the same, around 80degC, but the fan noise does increase a lot as the fan ramps up. I have it set to increase the TDP to 25W for games but to remain at 15W the rest of the time. As far as I know only the i5 versions of the nuc have these adjustments.
I'm really happy with my nuc hooked up to the living room TV, its an awesome little machine.
And mine did come with a power cord!
Aikouka - Sunday, May 18, 2014 - link
Amazon actually has a toggle to switch between units with and without a power cord. When I bought my first i3 Haswell NUC, it came without a power cord, but Amazon was rather generous in giving me a partial refund on it, which was more than enough to buy a cable.ganeshts - Sunday, May 18, 2014 - link
Thanks for the extra info. Pretty sure readers would love to experiment with this feature. To be frank, I wasn't even aware of this and Intel never advertised in their briefings / brochures.kgh00007 - Tuesday, May 20, 2014 - link
No worries!skiboysteve - Monday, May 19, 2014 - link
Wow I am doing this for sure. I have my NUC in a very loud industrial rack.MonkeyPaw - Monday, May 19, 2014 - link
I have an i5 Haswell Yoga 2, and it even has a "dust cleaning" mode. I haven't had to use it, but my guess is it ramps the fan up to clean out the cooling area. Pretty nice if it actually works.extide - Monday, May 19, 2014 - link
Typically dust cleaning modes actually run the fans in reverse for a little while.SeanFL - Sunday, May 18, 2014 - link
Built one of these a couple months back for audio editing and it works great. Quite pleased with the performance and the size is amazing. Went with the Samsung 840 evo msata on a recent build and it's even more impressive.Aikouka - Sunday, May 18, 2014 - link
Ganesh, what Wi-Fi drivers did you use? I'm curious because I own two i3 NUCs, and while I use the same Intel card in both and the same router (FW V1.0.3.24_1.1.20), the performance is awful. It only connects via 802.11n, and while the performance might be alright for a bit, it usually degrades into 1-5Mbps -- but it doesn't actually transmit anything. I've been tempted to try different drivers, but I just end up getting annoyed by the whole thing and plugging in an Ethernet cable. =POn that note, I have noticed some odd issues with the Nighthawk. For example, I use a rather awkward generated password for my WiFi, and I don't feel like typing it in on devices like a PS Vita or a 3DS. So, I use WPS to set it up. Unfortunately, WPS on the Nighthawk seems to wreak havoc on the router's WiFi system as it just becomes incredibly unresponsive after using WPS.