The Hades Canyon Intel NUC is the primary machine we’ve had the chance to correctly check that bears the fruits of the unholy union between Intel’s CPU cores and AMD’s graphics silicon, the Intel Kaby Lake G. But, whereas it’s way more highly effective that any NUC that’s preceded it, we’re nonetheless making an attempt to determine who’s going to purchase it.
However good your CPU and GPU are, when you can’t hear your video games you’re lacking out. So try the best gaming headsets round at this time.
First, although, what the hell is an Intel NUC? It stands for Next Unit of Computing and was launched a few centuries in the past now, which makes it extra of a Current Unit of Computing. But we will’t go round calling it a CUC as a result of that has slightly completely different connotations in these instances of other tolerance.
Since its inception the NUC has been Intel’s own-brand mini PC, sporting a cut-down cell board squeezed right into a tiny chassis. This Hades Canyon variant, nonetheless, will not be so tiny and that’s due to what’s inside.
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Intel NUC Hades Canyon specs
This model of the Hades Canyon NUC is the highest-specced of the 2 gadgets out there with the brand new Kaby Lake G processor inside. There’s the decrease tier NUC8i7HNK, with the Core i7 8705G chip, priced at $799, and this NUC8i7HVK, sporting the Core i7 8809G, for $999.
The Core i7 8809G is essentially the most highly effective Kaby Lake G chip, with 4 cores and eight threads, and a max turbo frequency of 4.2GHz. It’s all just about commonplace 14nm Kaby Lake tech so far as the CPU goes. Considering we’ve had the six-core Coffee Lake advance since October final 12 months it does really feel somewhat odd getting given the earlier era structure in a model new processor.
But it’s not the CPU element that makes the Kaby Lake G vary attention-grabbing; it’s the actual fact there’s an embedded multi-die interconnect bridge (EMIB) connecting that to the connected AMD graphics silicon.
It nonetheless appears bizarre having AMD and Intel elements dwelling collectively in concord on a single chip, particularly within the face of Intel poaching a lot of AMD’s outdated guard, in addition to their intentions in the direction of creating their very own discrete graphics processors. But these are a manner off nonetheless, so Intel needed to flip to AMD to offer them some related graphics {hardware}, as a result of there was no manner they have been going to look in the direction of Nvidia…
The AMD half in query known as the Vega M GH, and comes with 24 CUs and due to this fact 1,536 GCN cores inside it. It’s additionally rocking 4GB of second-gen high-bandwidth reminiscence too. That basically makes it round half the GPU that the Vega 56 is. There has, nonetheless, been some questions on simply how Vega the Intel customized chip really is, with some suggesting it’s extra Polaris however with some HBM2 strapped on.
It’s lacking a couple of Vega-specific options which can be current on each the AMD discrete playing cards and the Raven Ridge APUs, particularly DirectX 12.1 assist and Rapid Packed Math(s). Intel declare that the high-bandwidth reminiscence cache controller and ROP-enhanced compute items make it functionally much like AMD’s Vega graphics playing cards.
Outside of the graphics and processing capabilities you additionally get a bunch of USB connections, some Type-C (three, actually) and 6 speedy commonplace ports. There are additionally two mini DisplayPort connections and front-and-back HDMI ports, y’know, for VR enjoyable instances. And that’s just about it.
That’s as a result of the NUCs are at all times barebones items (of computing). You have so as to add in your personal storage, reminiscence, and due to this fact working system. To facilitate this you’ve got a pair of M.2 slots for SSDs and a few SODIMM slots for laptop-y reminiscence.
Intel NUC Hades Canyon benchmarks
Intel NUC Hades Canyon efficiency
Back within the mists of time Intel introduced the Kaby Lake G chips promising efficiency that may ship GTX 1060 Max-Q ranges of efficiency from their shiny new silicon. Okay, it was again in January, however that looks as if a lifetime in the past now, proper?
Anyways, you may see from our exams above that these excitable Intel claims don’t essentially ring that true. In truth, we struggled to measure gaming efficiency from the Vega M GH GPU that supplied real competitors for a cell model of the GTX 1050 Ti.
Pitted in opposition to the cell (non Max-Q) GTX 1060 of the Gigabyte Aero 15W the Hades Canyon NUC may be very a lot off the tempo, and never by the 10% {that a} Max-Q model can be. It’s not essentially dangerous, it’s undoubtedly playable at 1080p, however contemplating the money you’re dropping on this top-end NUC, it’s not what you’d be hoping for.
On the CPU aspect, as anticipated, it’s all fairly commonplace Kaby Lake fare. The CPU may be very a lot a identified amount, delivering the kind of middling processing energy we now anticipate from a quad-core, eight-thread chip. Which is ok, although in these post-Ryzen instances of ours that appears somewhat pedestrian when put up in opposition to the may of a cell Ryzen 7 1700 CPU with 16 threads of processing energy.
Our evaluation unit had some respectable 3,200MHz DDR4 inside it, and an Intel 800p Optane SSD, which each carried out effectively, however they’re add-ons to the barebones NUC so don’t really matter.
Intel NUC Hades Canyon verdict
The highway to hell is paved with good intentions, and Intel becoming a member of forces with their long-time silicon rivals, AMD, with the intention of toppling Nvidia’s dominance within the cell graphics house is unquestionably that. But the highway to Hades Canyon has been an costly one, which implies the prices are being handed right down to the buyer.
In quick, the Hades Canyon NUC is ludicrously priced. At $1,000 for the barebones unit it’s already mighty expensive, however when it’s important to add in costly reminiscence (as a result of reminiscence is frickin’ costly proper now for some reason…), some M.2 SSD storage and an working system the worth goes by the roof. You’re speaking $1,740 for the evaluation unit that Intel despatched us, and you then’re high-end gaming laptop computer pricing.
And a high-end gaming laptop computer will simply outperform this NUC, and have better utility.
Intel have been speaking about this top-end NUC as VR field, and I’ve performed round with it utilizing an Oculus Rift with out vomiting, however for the very best VR expertise you want a laptop computer. That’s since you want one thing that’s moveable (until you’ve received a devoted room you may go away your desktop rig and VR setup in place) and one thing with a display screen and keyboard connected to it.
If you’re after one thing with the identical scale because the Hades Canyon NUC then that’s more durable to emulate than the efficiency. It is spectacular that Intel have this efficiency squeezed right down to the footprint of the NUC, however you may nonetheless construct a very small PC that may include a full spec GPU inside it for close to half the worth of this machine. And have sufficient left over for a pair bottles of Dictador so that you stop to care in regards to the dimension of your PC.
It’s a disgrace the worth is so unconscionable as a result of the precise machine is kind of beautiful. The construct high quality of the Hades Canyon is superb and it has a severely weighty really feel that provides you a reassuring sense of excellent, stable {hardware} churning away inside. I imply, it must be that heavy due to the cooling wanted to maintain each chilled contained in the cramped case.
But that cooling is efficient and surprisingly quiet contemplating the scale of the machine. At full chat it could possibly get a bit apparent, however not more than a gaming laptop computer.
And if we’re speaking about tech porn right here, simply have a look at that attractive motherboard. That is a factor of technological magnificence, and the Kaby Lake G itself doubly so. And when the Kaby Lake G know-how is baked into a high quality, light-weight machine, such because the Dell XPS 2-in-1, then we’ll be way more excited.
But as an Intel NUC it is not possible to advocate. Buy your self a high quality gaming laptop computer for lower than the worth of a completely kitted out Hades Canyon NUC and also you’ll be far happier.
SE7EN.WS verdict: 6/10
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