# [OCN Labs] Intel "Hades NUC" (NUC8i7HVK) Review



## aliquis

Interesting review. Did you try to undervolt the cpu and gpu? I own a kaby lake R notebook, and its easy to undervolt the chip by 80-90mV. Polaris and Vega GPU's usually improve with undervolting too, possibly improving the overall performance by improving the thermals and power consumption and therefore reducing throttle.

I was actually seriously considering buying this NUC (i have a small appartment near my workplace where i often stay during the week), the small form factor would be ideal. However, i shared the same thoughts, if you add ram and ssd cost, the hades canyon NUC gets pricey. However what in the end tipped the scales against a purchase was the inability to upgrade the system (always good to have the ability to upgrade the GPU in ~2 years) at some point, so i decided for a small 2600X build instead


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## EastCoast

*Jedson3614*,

Thanks for this excellent review. I agree with the conclusion. If you still need memory, HD and OS and still pay over $950 then this is just bleeding edge tech. Intel will need to incorporate the HD and memory before this is given any serious consideration. Some know where to get the OS for less then $20 but at that point why expect the buyer to have to get it?

Overall, this is an excellent template for any future designs regarding console and home theater crowds.

Question:
Did you use the highest settings with those 1080p results?


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## d5aqoep

The price does not justify the performance.


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## STEvil

What driver version?


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## Jedson3614

EastCoast said:


> *Jedson3614*,
> 
> Thanks for this excellent review. I agree with the conclusion. If you still need memory, HD and OS and still pay over $950 then this is just bleeding edge tech. Intel will need to incorporate the HD and memory before this is given any serious consideration. Some know where to get the OS for less then $20 but at that point why expect the buyer to have to get it?
> 
> Overall, this is an excellent template for any future designs regarding console and home theater crowds.
> 
> Question:
> Did you use the highest settings with those 1080p results?


I should edit the review, and for those settings, I used "High" but that doesn't mean anything necessarily because I had to alter certain things like vsync, anti-aliasing, or just terrain distances. FarCry 5 Runs great, but even better Intel has a page that tells you what to set your game settings to (https://gameplay.intel.com/).

Firstly though, this is for Intel integrated graphics so it's just a baseline because Vega M can be tweaked a bit further for better performance and visual quality but it's a good place to start.


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## Jedson3614

STEvil said:


> What driver version?


BIOS KYSKli70.86A and Radeon Drivers from the Intel site 23.20.792.2048 4/13/2018

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/70407

Before this, I was stuck with PRESS drivers but I had updated them for the release of this review and used the current released drivers.


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## Jedson3614

aliquis said:


> Interesting review. Did you try to undervolt the cpu and gpu? I own a kaby lake R notebook, and its easy to undervolt the chip by 80-90mV. Polaris and Vega GPU's usually improve with undervolting too, possibly improving the overall performance by improving the thermals and power consumption and therefore reducing throttle.
> 
> I was actually seriously considering buying this NUC (i have a small appartment near my workplace where i often stay during the week), the small form factor would be ideal. However, i shared the same thoughts, if you add ram and ssd cost, the hades canyon NUC gets pricey. However what in the end tipped the scales against a purchase was the inability to upgrade the system (always good to have the ability to upgrade the GPU in ~2 years) at some point, so i decided for a small 2600X build instead


I had no desire to undervolt at the current time but this may be something worth going back to do and updating the review later. I actually was hoping for some more overclocking headroom but quickly hi my thermal and power limits. Not that bad though for a portable desktop experience. I am actually pretty impressed with the performance with Vega M. I would say the most disappointing this about this is the barebones idea, for the price they may want to consider just bundling this together like they did for reviewers. I am not a huge fan of the 800P because you can spend less and get an NVMe drive that performs better.


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## Jedson3614

d5aqoep said:


> The price does not justify the performance.


No, it is expensive, I agree. There are some situations though where I would want a device like this. Its perfect for a living room PC and if you're already invested in VR. I wouldn't recommend just running out and buying one to replace your desktop though. I also think the I/O makes it pretty special as well. The fact that you can drive 6 4k displays is pretty impressive but less likely that anyone can actually afford this kind of setup.

The other thing that makes this interesting is while it may be expensive, it created a situation that didn't exist before when manufacturers are at each other's throats. The fact that AMD and Intel could work together on this is a sure sign of the industry growing up.


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## Jedson3614

I actually want to update this review and do FLIR images and see how hot this sucker gets on 100% load! I just got very busy and pressed on time.


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## luisxd

Great product, killed by it's price imo. Thanks for the great review.


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## ChrisB17

There is something about this that I want it. But don't want to spend the grand to potentially be disappointed with performance


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## Pente

Why are people complaining about the price? It's about ca 300-400 bucks more than than building a normal sized PC from parts with equal performance, but then you are ignoring the form factor. After all it's only at the size of your average wifi router.


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## Jedson3614

ChrisB17 said:


> There is something about this that I want it. But don't want to spend the grand to potentially be disappointed with performance


I can tell you this if it helps, I am fairly certain you would not be disappointed on performance, just keep the expectation that is will handle pretty much any game at 1080P resolution or equal performance. Don't expect anything better past that. For a living room or VR setup its really the most interesting product, I will probably review this year.


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## Jedson3614

Pente said:


> Why are people complaining about the price? It's about ca 300-400 bucks more than than building a normal sized PC from parts with equal performance, but then you are ignoring the form factor. After all it's only at the size of your average wifi router.


I think the size of this item is what makes it so special. I believe the problem with price is going to be hard to justify because its barebones, This does not include an operating system, m.2 SSD, or RAM. It really does depend though what you're looking for, could you build a better experience for the same money in a desktop? I'm sure!


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## starliner

You should add some thermal solution pictures... 

And maybe some die shots. And have better internal component pics, the current ones are washed out and doesn't show everything.


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## MoBeeJ

Could you replace the thermal interface with a liquid metal? Am sure it can drop temps a but to allow more oc. Also the cpu plate is copper so liquid metal wont eat through.


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## Xan666

"desktop-like performance with the power of a Radeon Vega M GPU" 
LOL, thanks for the laugh... (unless you mean old used/recycled desktop performance, then I agree)

a Vega M under-performs a GTX 1060
I can put 4x GTX 1080ti's in a desktop

100W TDP 4 core processor? again, no comparison to a LGA-2066 or even a high end LGA-2011v3 processor

if we're talking Mobile hardware without even a truly top of the line graphics card, I'd take a Mini ITX pc over this ALL DAY LONG.
not too much bigger but ALOT faster, much easier to service and more upgradable. actually capable of true VR 
(45 FPS in Dues Ex at 1080p is NOT impressive) and please including comprehensive settings information when providing a review, or I assume its all graphics options are LOW-MEDIUM.

one last thing, I don't think it can maintain 80C temp under load. looking at the cooling system itself it seems "inadequate" for an unlocked processor.
even at 100W TDP

it's not as good as a desktop, and lacks the battery/display/HID to be mobile, I wouldn't buy this. especially at it's price.


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## Jedson3614

Xan666 said:


> "desktop-like performance with the power of a Radeon Vega M GPU"
> LOL, thanks for the laugh... (unless you mean old used/recycled desktop performance, then I agree)
> 
> a Vega M under-performs a GTX 1060
> I can put 4x GTX 1080ti's in a desktop
> 
> 100W TDP 4 core processor? again, no comparison to a LGA-2066 or even a high end LGA-2011v3 processor
> 
> if we're talking Mobile hardware without even a truly top of the line graphics card, I'd take a Mini ITX pc over this ALL DAY LONG.
> not too much bigger but ALOT faster, much easier to service and more upgradable. actually capable of true VR
> (45 FPS in Dues Ex at 1080p is NOT impressive) and please including comprehensive settings information when providing a review, or I assume its all graphics options are LOW-MEDIUM.
> 
> one last thing, I don't think it can maintain 80C temp under load. looking at the cooling system itself it seems "inadequate" for an unlocked processor.
> even at 100W TDP
> 
> it's not as good as a desktop, and lacks the battery/display/HID to be mobile, I wouldn't buy this. especially at it's price.


Hey, thank for the constructive criticism. I will be sure to update my benchmarks better next time. I thought I added in there, they were tested on the high "preset" for each game. I can label those adequately though. Yes, this device can offer desktop"LIKE" performance but it is not a desktop replacement by any means. I actually plan to machine a water block for this and update the article with version 2 testing. We shall see at like 4.5-4.7 what it offers with water cooling. I actually may add liquid metal as well for a comparison test. I'm just so busy preparing for Computex stuff and other articles it gets difficult to access special testing situations like this. 

I did state how cooling is decent for this but thermals do hold you back as well as power limits from the power brick. The blower style cooler is better than I thought it would perform but this guy does get extremely hot and hits close thermal limits when "overclocked". If you keep everything on stock it's a bit lower and easier to control.


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## murderbymodem

Xan666 said:


> "desktop-like performance with the power of a Radeon Vega M GPU"
> LOL, thanks for the laugh... (unless you mean old used/recycled desktop performance, then I agree)
> 
> a Vega M under-performs a GTX 1060
> I can put 4x GTX 1080ti's in a desktop
> 
> 100W TDP 4 core processor? again, no comparison to a LGA-2066 or even a high end LGA-2011v3 processor
> 
> if we're talking Mobile hardware without even a truly top of the line graphics card, I'd take a Mini ITX pc over this ALL DAY LONG.
> not too much bigger but ALOT faster, much easier to service and more upgradable. actually capable of true VR
> (45 FPS in Dues Ex at 1080p is NOT impressive) and please including comprehensive settings information when providing a review, or I assume its all graphics options are LOW-MEDIUM.
> 
> one last thing, I don't think it can maintain 80C temp under load. looking at the cooling system itself it seems "inadequate" for an unlocked processor.
> even at 100W TDP
> 
> it's not as good as a desktop, and lacks the battery/display/HID to be mobile, I wouldn't buy this. especially at it's price.


I bought one of these and have been using it for a few days now. It has replaced my old ITX build with a 4790k and GTX1060, at least temporarily while I test it out. I mainly play competitive games such as CS:GO, Overwatch, and StarCraft 2. The performance pretty much matches what I'm used to on my ITX build, but this is MUCH smaller. I have no idea why you'd try to compare the i7-8809G against high-end workstation sockets like 2066 and 2011v3, you realize these are rare even here on OCN right? Most users around here are running the mainstream sockets such as 1151.

I do agree that this is a niche product though, especially due to the pricing. As for me, I plan on throwing this little guy in a backpack and flying across the country for large LAN parties. You might say I'm dumb for not just buying a gaming laptop, but realistically I would not be gaming on a laptop keyboard and monitor all weekend during a LAN event anyway. I'd be hooking up my mechanical keyboard, mouse, and using an external monitor (borrowed or purchased after arriving for the event). This thing is MUCH more compact than any gaming laptop on the market, which is not saying much since the vast majority of them are 15"-17" bricks. I'm happy to sacrifice the portability for the reduced size and weight.

I'm absolutely amazed I own a gaming PC this small, especially one that features Intel and AMD technology together in one chip. This system is not for everyone, and none of the gripes about performance and cost can take away from how cool and different this little system is.


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## VoodooFarm

I wonder how this would perform with an external GPU using thunderbolt 3. If there would be any major bottle neck with a 1080 or 1080ti.

I'm a huge fan of the form factor and being able to just throw it in my backpack and have what's basically my desktop available to me in a hotel room as someone who travels a lot. And the GPU would be fine for gaming if I was away. But if I was using it at home I would want better performance than what the GPU provides.

Would definitely pay the price premium if external GPU's aren't bottlenecked too bad.


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## Imglidinhere

ChrisB17 said:


> There is something about this that I want it. But don't want to spend the grand to potentially be disappointed with performance


I mean... it's got that 'cool factor' going for it, since it's a tiny PC... but if you're going to do that, then just get something of equal pricing on the laptop side.  The Dell Inspiron G7 does what this box does, but includes more.


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## TUFinside

I just bought one of these, it will replace my trustworthy rig in the sig, i want a fully transportable capable PC, and this is it ! Plus it's like a piece of history, AMD and Intel on the same chip !! Yay ! Oh ! and by the way you can replace the PSU with one that is at least 230W,plug is not proprietary, for higher wattage PSU, there's an option in the BIOS ! Cheers


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