The i7 mannequin of Intel’s NUC 10 Efficiency hit the cabinets already early this 12 months however the i3 and i5 fashions have solely not too long ago began to be out there. I’ve already written articles in regards to the i3 and the i7 fashions so in the event you’ve learn these there won’t be a lot new on this one for you because the fashions are very comparable.
The NUC10i5FNK NUC that I’ve in assessment right here can also be referred to as Frost Canyon i5 NUC (codename for NUC product) or Comet Lake i5 NUC (codename for CPU used).
The NUC within the assessment was borrowed to me by an area NUC specialist retailer TeraStore – many thanks!
The i5 mannequin sits between the entry-level i3 mannequin and the top-end i7 mannequin. It’s bought a quad-core Comet Lake i5 CPU with an built-in UHD Graphics 620 GPU. It’s out there in two variants: NUC10i5FNK and NUC10i5FNH. The NUC10i5FNK case is slimmer and is simply 36 mm (1.4″) in peak, whereas the NUC10i5FNH is 51 mm (2.0″) in peak. The distinction is that greater case incorporates a slot for a 2.5″ SATA drive. Aside from that there’s no distinction. The mainboard and the CPU are precisely the identical.
Specs
- Intel Core i5-10210U Processor (quad-core with HT, 25W TDP, 6M Cache, as much as 4.20 GHz)
- Intel UHD Graphics 620 GPU (as much as 1.1 GHz, 24 EUs)
- 2x DDR4-2666 SO-DIMM RAM slots, max. 64 GB
- M.2 slot with PCIe X4 lanes (2242 and 2280 type components supported), Optane help
- Show connectivity: One HDMI 2.0a port and one USB Sort-C port with DisplayPort 1.2
- 7.1 digital audio over HDMI/DP, 3.5mm headset jack on entrance panel
- USB ports: 2x entrance (Sort-A, Sort-C) and 3x rear USB 3.1 Gen2 (2x Sort-A, Sort-C); 2x USB 2.0 through inside headers
- Gigabit Ethernet port (Intel i219-V)
- Wi-fi 802.11ax adapter built-in (Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200) with Bluetooth 5
- Thunderbolt 3 on USB Sort-C port
- Full dimension SDXC card reader
- Quad array microphone, IR receiver, Kensington lock…
- Dimensions: 117x112x38 mm (for the NUC10i5FNK mannequin in take a look at), 117x112x51 mm (the taller NUC10i5FNH mannequin with a SATA slot)
The complete technical product specs can be found right here (75-page PDF doc).
So in comparison with the earlier i5 NUC (NUC8i5BEK) this one has an up to date CPU, considerably slower UHD Graphics GPU, helps 64 gigabytes of RAM, options an 802.11ax Wi-Fi adapter and has a full-size SD card reader. Dropping the Iris Professional GPU from the NUC 10 Efficiency lineup in favor of the slower UHD Graphics has been a controversial resolution that has gotten fairly a little bit of dangerous suggestions.
Connectivity Overview
Disclaimer: the images on this chapter are taken from the i7 mannequin that’s completely equivalent to the i5 mannequin from outdoors.
Meeting
As regular, the Comet Lake i5 NUC is delivered as barebones product so it doesn’t include RAM nor SSD drive. You’ll have to buy these individually and plug them into the mainboard.
For this assessment I used two 16-gigabyte DDR4-2666 reminiscence modules from Kingston’s trusty ValueRAM line (at the moment $65.00 every on Amazon) and Western Digital SN500 250G NVMe SSD drive (at the moment the newer and quicker SN550 is $43.88 on Amazon).
If you want to construct your individual NUC with your individual specs have a look our Construct a NUC instrument that may create you a buying checklist based mostly in your needs.
Along with the SSD drive and the RAM modules you will want two screwdrivers. The larger one for the case screws and the smaller one for the screw securing the M.2 SSD in place.
After eradicating the duvet you’ll instantly get entry to the primary board of the NUC. You may see the 2 DIMM slots on the decrease half of the image and the M.2 slot on the high. In the event you’d like to make use of a half-size 2242 M.2 drive, you’ll want to maneuver the holding screw and its put up to the proper location.
Insert the M.2 drive in its slot and fasten the screw that retains the drive as a substitute. Contemplating the low value of M.2 NVMe SSD drives nowadays there’s no want to make use of a slower M.2 SATA SSD any extra, particularly in smaller sizes.
Lastly, insert the RAM modules into their slots till you hear them click on on to their locations.
Tear Down
That is how the mainboard seems like when it has been faraway from the chassis.
On the opposite aspect of the mainboard you’ll discover the cooling answer that dominates the view right here.
After eradicating the fan you may see the copper warmth pipe.
There’s an excellent quantity of heat-conducting paste between the CPU and the warmth sink.
After cleansing the warmth paste out the shiny flat floor of the chip works as a mirror.
Carry on studying our assessment of NUC10i5FNK for benchmark outcomes, energy consumption and conclusions.
