Intel has debuted four new NUCs, each sporting hardware from its new line up of Skylake CPUs, making them more powerful and energy efficient than ever before.
The new NUCs come in four distinct configurations, utilising two different CPUs, to offer different levels of performance. The first, the NUC613SYK, offers entry level power with its i3-6100U two-core, four-thread CPU, running at 2.3GHz with a thermal design power (TDP) of 15 watts.
It is of course paired up with DDR4 memory, though it does not feature space for a 2.5 inch SATA drive. The larger NUC512SYH has the same CPU and the same memory configuration, but it also comes with that extra bit of headroom for a full size storage drive.
At the higher end of the spectrum are the NUC615SYH and NUC615SYK, both of which use the much more capable Core i5-6260U CPU, which has two cores and four threads. Its base clock speed is a little lower at 1.8GHz, but it can be boosted up to 2.9GHz when it’s needed. More impressively, it features the same 15W TDP as the lower powered part.
Much like the less performance-focused NUCs however, the SYH model has the space for a 2.5 inch drive, whereas the SYK model does not.
Whichever NUC you opt for, there is space for an M.2 solid state drive, and they all have gigabit Ethernet ports and support for 802.11ac Wi-Fi, so cloud or network storage is always an option. Additionally, there are four USB 3.0 ports, as well as a single HDMi 1.5 and Mini DisplayPort 1.2.
Although there is some height difference between the different models, the tallest of them maxes out at 1.9 inches, so they are still very small. Their desk surface footprint is also minuscule at just 4.5 inches by 4.4 inches, though TechReport does state that as per previous generations of NUCs, these too will come with an external power brick.
No pricing or availability details have yet to be released.
