Two updates for this one. This is mostly to cover the large amount of questions I’ve received about the new Intel NUC 5th Gen and if they will support the VSAN setup I’ve detailed in previous posts.
First: Intel NUC 5th Gen is coming/released and it has all the same stats as the 4th gen but with an updated Processor+GPU and another evil but performance positive change.
Web Link : http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/products-overview.html
The 5th gen NUC is still limited to 16GB of RAM even though they are releasing a new i7 version NUC. Now here is the catch, they replaced the half length and full length mPCIe slots with a M.2 slot. This removes the ability to fit in the second wired network adapter and makes it harder to find or reuse your existing mSATA SSDs. This M.2 slot does increase the “SATA” SSD speed from 3Gbps to 6Gbps if you are looking for more NUC IOPS/Bandwidth. So, if you do not care about the second wired NIC, the 5th gen NUC may be an upgrade to your SSD performance in your home lab.
Here is a quick snip to show the difference in the mSATA and M.2 SSDs:
Second : As small form factor compute is getting popular in the home lab space more fun tools and toys are released.
As an example, Lian-Li has created an Intel NUC Replacement Case. It helps with cooling and makes it look a little more fancy.
Here is a Link to a review of the case : http://www.legitreviews.com/lian-li-pc-n1-intel-nuc-replacement-case-review_2141/2
I tried to find an actual “Buy Now” link or a spec page on the Lian-Li website but I couldn’t find it.
Also, It looks like Intel had a “NUC Case Mod” competition.
http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2015/01/05/intel-nuc-case-design-competition-2014/1
http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2014/12/01/intel-nuc-design-competition-2014/1
So, if you are interested in more things “NUC,” Give those URLs a quick once over.
Find me on twitter if you have any questions or comments!