UltraGunner
Banned
I was thinking of getting one to basically be my new Plex server, but that dolphin performance is surprising to say the least ( I'm assuming you running regular Dolphin and not Ishiiruka). Wondering how well pcsx2 can run on this.
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So I bought a NUC Mini PC for my living room
- Thread starter mavericktopgun
- Start date
Why would you do that?
Member
Actually I stopped using Dolphin on it because I built a gaming PC, lol.
But it ran at 60 AND stereoscopic 3D at 1x resolution without DX12, or with no 3D at 1.5x. I can't imagine how much the DX12 plugin would improve it.
I'd still look into Skylake because of what I said before.
Read my previous posts.
Choppasmith
Member
And what can I say...
It's AWESOME!
Specs:
Core i5 (5th gen)
8 GB RAM
256 GB SSD
Windows 10
512 GB Extern Samsung SSD (bought it extra)
It's this size for people that haven't heard about NUC before.
I installed Windows 10 for that DX12 Goodness.
It has a 4K Hardware Decoder on board.
Some impressions (have it since today):
-Boot time is so quick. Takes just a few secs
-all seems so fast and smooth
-the little pc is just ~10x10 cm 'big' and is very well built
-silent
Some other impressions...
I installed Dolphin Emu and what can I say.. with the DX12 GPU backend and some tweaks it runs sooo good!!! (2x res)
-Mario Kart Double Dash 60fps even in 4 player Split Screen Mode
-F-Zero GX 60fps
-Smash Bros Brawl 60fps
-Wii Sports 60fps
-Twilight Princess and Wind Waker fullspeed (30fps)
-Mario Galaxy 60fps
-New Super Mario Bros 60fps
I ran the games for 5 hours straight and it didn't even throttle (or the games didn't care) and all stayed smooth.
I'm so happy that I bought that little piece.
Bought it for ~420 bucks.
Hmm I'm looking to eventually get a new HTPC for running both Kodi AND games. The PC I have now chugs along with its i3 processor and BARELY runs PS2 games at default resolution, but it's great for media. I have had three USB External Drives plugged into it for my media collection. How many USB ports do you get with this?
apieceofstrange
Member
2 in the front and 2 in the back
I've got Skyrim to run on an Atom at 720p Lowest settings and hovering around 30FPS. A desktop component like in the NUCS should do much better than that.
mavericktopgun
Member
boredandlazy
Member
I have a 5th gen in the bedroom, and a 6th gen in he loungeroom. It's a bit overkill for a Kodi HTPC but they work great. 
Unknown Soldier
Member
NUC is super nice but you need an external NAS to use it as a media PC.
mavericktopgun
Member
It's perfect for Kodi.
I was really hoping the next version of the Alienware Alpha has a TB3.0 port to allow for eGPUs like the Razer Core, to offset the lack of upgradability of the onboard GPU. Although seeing how the Razer Core works with the NUC it could be a viable, cheaper alternative to building a no-fuss system which is what I'm after. Thanks for the info OP, will be looking into this now.
mavericktopgun
Member
Short Update
Tried Pcsx2 with Kingdom Hearts 2. Is between 90 and 250+ fps. This thing rocks.
Will try some more games
I'll try Skyrim too.
Tried Pcsx2 with Kingdom Hearts 2. Is between 90 and 250+ fps. This thing rocks.
Will try some more games
I'll try Skyrim too.
Codiox
Member
Short Update
Tried Pcsx2 with Kingdom Hearts 2. Is between 90 and 250+ fps. This thing rocks.
Will try some more games
I'll try Skyrim too.
please tell me if dolphin runs in 1080p / 60fps and what exact model do you bought from amazon?
Toadthemushroom
Member
Nice one. It's a shame a new version of the HP Pavilion Mini with 5th gen Intel never happened - that was also a nice (and upgradeable) little box that ran quietly.
Edit, my bad, it does exist, though it maxes out at:
Intel® Core™ i3-5005U with Intel® HD Graphics 5500 (2 GHz, 3 MB cache, 2 cores)
But yeah, the NUC, Pavilion Mini should be fine for anything on PS3/360, either running it equivalently or better. The Surface Pro 2, with 4th gen Intel ULV (4200U and Intel HD 4400) was for the most part. Though you'd want both memory slots filled in a dual channel config to ensure more memory bandwidth for graphics.
Edit, my bad, it does exist, though it maxes out at:
Intel® Core™ i3-5005U with Intel® HD Graphics 5500 (2 GHz, 3 MB cache, 2 cores)
But yeah, the NUC, Pavilion Mini should be fine for anything on PS3/360, either running it equivalently or better. The Surface Pro 2, with 4th gen Intel ULV (4200U and Intel HD 4400) was for the most part. Though you'd want both memory slots filled in a dual channel config to ensure more memory bandwidth for graphics.
Mithos
Member
Anyone having this one, know if it can handle x265/HEVC 1080p/4K no issues ?
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
I use my Steam Link almost every day. I stream videos and play games. It was only $50. Totally worth it if you want your PC hooked up to your living room TV.
Toadthemushroom
Member
Short Update
Tried Pcsx2 with Kingdom Hearts 2. Is between 90 and 250+ fps. This thing rocks.
Will try some more games
I'll try Skyrim too.
This channel might help you identify games:
Basically any games in that list will run equal to or better on your NUC.
mavericktopgun
Member
Thanks but I'm using the NUC almost only for Emulation. I have a XOne, Wii U and PS4 next to it.
mavericktopgun
Member
Nice one. It's a shame a new version of the HP Pavilion Mini with 5th gen Intel never happened - that was also a nice (and upgradeable) little box that ran quietly.
Edit, my bad, it does exist, though it maxes out at:
Intel® Core i3-5005U with Intel® HD Graphics 5500 (2 GHz, 3 MB cache, 2 cores)
But yeah, the NUC, Pavilion Mini should be fine for anything on PS3/360, either running it equivalently or better. The Surface Pro 2, with 4th gen Intel ULV (4200U and Intel HD 4400) was for the most part. Though you'd want both memory slots filled in a dual channel config to ensure more memory bandwidth for graphics.
I have the Surface 2 Pro but most games struggle even at 720p. The HD4400 is too weak. The 6000 in the NUC isn't a beast but noticeable faster.
mavericktopgun
Member
NO. 1080p needs more GPU power than a intregated could provide.
Perhaps in low demanding games.
Codiox
Member
So at what resolution are you running dolphin?
I can run dolphin games at 1080p with an iris pro 5200. Depends on the game, actually.
I have a 5th gen NUC... and I kind of wish I got something like one of the cheaper Alienware Alphas when they were on sale. They're not bad -- they just don't provide great value, especially since you still need to pay for a HDD, RAM and a Windows license (unless you opt to use Linux). Wasn't so bad in my instance since I had spares of all of those lying around but it does hurt the value proposition a fair bit.
Or maybe it's a bit of butthurt since the 6th gen NUCs solve some QOL issues the earlier boxes have (such as having HDMI out instead of mini-HDMI out and having a SD card reader built in) while having much better GPU performance. If you're going to buy one, I would probably go with the the 6th gen i5 as apparently the i7 models have significant throttling and noise issues under load. (And yes, if you are even THINKING of doing any gaming on these things, fill both RAM slots -- the performance hit you take from memory bandwidth otherwise is insane).
Interestingly, I did manage to get the Compute Stick that Intel has for $100 (on sale) and that has been a nice Chromecast/Steam Link replacement, and it's way more flexible since it runs Windows 10 straight. Doesn't have a ton of juice to it (duh, the thing is the size of a candy bar), the write performance on the flash storage is atrocious and it has an audible fan in it that comes up under load. But for its current use case (streaming video and potato gaming), it works well enough.
Or maybe it's a bit of butthurt since the 6th gen NUCs solve some QOL issues the earlier boxes have (such as having HDMI out instead of mini-HDMI out and having a SD card reader built in) while having much better GPU performance. If you're going to buy one, I would probably go with the the 6th gen i5 as apparently the i7 models have significant throttling and noise issues under load. (And yes, if you are even THINKING of doing any gaming on these things, fill both RAM slots -- the performance hit you take from memory bandwidth otherwise is insane).
Interestingly, I did manage to get the Compute Stick that Intel has for $100 (on sale) and that has been a nice Chromecast/Steam Link replacement, and it's way more flexible since it runs Windows 10 straight. Doesn't have a ton of juice to it (duh, the thing is the size of a candy bar), the write performance on the flash storage is atrocious and it has an audible fan in it that comes up under load. But for its current use case (streaming video and potato gaming), it works well enough.
Locked? It doesn't even come with a hard drive.
mavericktopgun
Member
The NUC I have has an Intel 6000. It's weaker than the Iris Pro.
mavericktopgun
Member
I'm running at 12xx x 10xx resolution. I guess some games will perfectly run in 1080p but I prefer smooth Gameplay and it's still a higher res than the original consoles so winwin.
all of them have upgradable ram and storage i believe
and the new skull canyon model has TB3 but it's pretty expensive: http://www.anandtech.com/show/10343/the-intel-skull-canyon-nuc6i7kyk-minipc-review
The Abominable Snowman
Member
Not the full PCIex16 that the full spec of TB3 has.
It'll only go up to x4 or x8 I believe, since there's no direct shared bus with the CPU, only through north bridge.
mavericktopgun
Member
It's so awesome to play New Super Mario Bros with 4 players and 4 Wiimotes
Possumowner
Member
These are great boxes,Intels and Gigabytes.
I have a Intel one in the bedroom,dont game on it much but I use it as my media machine.Mines similar spec to yours
I have a Intel one in the bedroom,dont game on it much but I use it as my media machine.Mines similar spec to yours
Movalpolos
Banned
That thing seems cool OP.
Hmm, I'm really tempted to get it just as an emulation box.
I already have an i7 and 980ti though. Maybe when it gets cheaper I'll bite.
Hmm, I'm really tempted to get it just as an emulation box.
I already have an i7 and 980ti though. Maybe when it gets cheaper I'll bite.
mavericktopgun
Member
not at that exact size.
longnosedgoblin
Member
I have the Alpha i5 and its great, the CPU is much better running dolphin than the i3. Also having an actual gpu means you can run most modern games at acceptable framerates.
I picked mine up in a sale quite a bit cheaper than the RRP so it was pretty good value, you always pay a premium on going small so with things like the NUCs and Alphas
it worth shopping around or going second hand.
mavericktopgun
Member
So I tried Dolphin with 1080p and 3x Rendering... lol. Don't do it. The Intel GPU is too weak for it. But 720p and 2x rendering is fine.
Pancakes R Us
Member
I'd really like to get one of these and play the first two Metroid Prime games with a widescreen hack and a higher resolution.
One day!
One day!
Buy a real desktop instead.
400-500$ gets you a way better desktop if you buy the parts and build it
IbizaPocholo
NeoGAFs Kent Brockman
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