Intel NUC 8 Mainstream Kit (NUC8i3BEK) - Core i3, Short, Add't Components Needed

I am really enjoying and getting a lot of use out of my Intel NUC 8 i3 (Tall). I installed Samsung 240GB SSD drive, 8GB of Corsair Vengeance RAM and Windows 10 Home. Assembly was very easy, straightforward and fast. The Intel 8th Gen i3 processor is plenty fast for my internet browsing, video and TV watching and using Microsoft Office at home. I am running two monitors and using a Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse. Intel has programs for NUCs on its website to download and keep the computer drivers and BIOS up to date. Very little fan noise. Runs cool in my configuration. I am planning to buy a NUC i5 for my use at the office and another for the house for photo and video editing. Great experience so far! No more big and bulky desktops for me!Update: I bought one of the "refurbished" 8th Gen Intel i5 NUCs from OEM XS since my original purchase of the i3 NUC, and it came in factory packaging with all the parts, accessories and documentation (still sealed). The CPU looks new and was made almost a year ago. This time I added Samsung 250gb M.2 NVMe and 250gb 2.5" SATA drives (Tall NUC) and 16gb of Corsair Vengeance RAM. It is very fast.The i3 processor is still very capable for most people. I do a little photo and video editing and web design work, so I wanted a little more processing ability and speed with the i5 version. I am using the i3 NUC as a backup, portable and home theater computer now.

This mini PC is definitely worth my money as it delivers more power than I expected. It is easy to install and has various IO ports and runs smoothly. Note that the i5 8259u used in this model is even more powerful than i3-8100! I noticed that on the benchmark websites before I made the purchase. And there has been a YouTube video comparing this NUC 8th gen i5 with hackintosh build against the i3 Mac Mini 2018. It shows that this smaller intel PC is even more powerful than the Mac mini! In some applications the NUC is almost 35% faster than the Mac mini.The cooling is ok. You can’t expect it to be as cool and quiet as a custom PC with a high TDP cooler. But it does a good job and the temperature looks reasonable. It is around 36 Celsius when idle, around 55 Celsius when running light weighted applications. And the highest temperature is around 80 Calcius for intensive computation tasks (when the fan noise becomes significant). I don’t see an obvious throttling issue, and usually it runs at almost full turbo boost speed (3.7GHz).In one word, I really love this mini computer and find it really capable and competent for my need. The only pity is that the price dropped by $40 one week after I bought it.

Added Samsung 970 Evo NVMe (250GB), 2x4GB RAM, Windows 10 Pro. Use with LG 27" 4K display (with HDMI)Amazing how fast and quiet this little thing is. This is a proper desktop class machine. Easy to assemble and works without issue. Very fast and responsive.I use it for Visual Studio and Azure programming, office docs, internet, and media consumption inc. 4K video. Handles everything with ease. Silent when it boots up and occasionally starts a light humming when under load (balanced setting in bios).Plenty of USB ports including a charging port. Unlike other machines, all the usb ports on this are USB 3.1 Gen2 so you get the full 10Gbps speed. Thunderbolt port also gives it some level of future proofing as well!Only slight negatives are: missing 3.5mm audio port on the rear so speakers must be connected to the front headphone port or to the monitor/tv if it has audio out, also would be nice to have USB Type-C port on the front of the device so can connect type-c usb sticks and phones without an adaptor.Looks nice as well!Disappointed with Amazon shipping though. I paid for expedited shipping with a guaranteed delivery date. It was missed by 3 days. To make matters worse the courier's (UPS) tracking did not update this accurately so I wasted a whole evening waiting for it. I contacted Amazon support who apologised and assured me it would be delivered over the weekend. This did not happen (UPS do not deliver on weekends) so I wasted a weekend too. Still waiting for refund of shipping costs... But this is no reflection of the item purchased hence 5 star!

Intel NUC computers are not for everyone so depending upon what you are trying to accomplish they may / may not be the right choice. I have 3 NUC's currently (Gen 5 i5, Gen 8 i3, and a Gen 8 i7). The Gen 8 i7 is my newest and the one I currently use as an everyday desktop computer. I use the Gen 8 i2 as a media server which allowed me to to eliminate / replace various streaming boxes and consolidate digital music and movies in one location. I also do some video editing on the i7 desktop but the i5 or i3 work very well as media servers. A couple pro and con notes.Pro'sVery compact (can sit behind a TV or use very little desktop space)Relatively powerful as all use Intel iCore processors (i3, i5, i7)Built-in HDMI, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Intel graphics, and USB 3QuietCon's (considerations really)Can be relatively expensive and require some computer expertiseRequires OS, HD, memory, monitor / keyboard (unless purchased pre-configured)It should be noted that he newest generations tend not to be discounted. Windows 11 requires Gen8 or above. Mine were all purchased pre-owned and all work extremely well. the Intel store on Amazon is a great place to begin looking.

Funcionalidad en tamaño reducido. Ideal para el salón.

Used daily for working purposes. The setup is really simple, add a hard drive, pick memory and you’re good to go.Running smoothly under Linux Mint, everything is working perfectly.

This is a nice kit. All parts needed to mount included. I just bought memory and an SSD drive from Samsung EVO 1TB.No issues installing operating system.End result it works well, fast boot and quick response during day to day use.The compact size is great.Love it.

Compacto y eficiente. Lo utilizo para unos desarrollos y a veces el ventilador suena demasiado con procesamiento gráfico, y aunque no está pensado para eso, va bastante bien para el demás procesamiento va sin problemas . Me agrada que venga con USB-C y WiFi integrado

I'm using it as my main pc for web development projects, which includes running databases, web server, and multiple applications. With a powerful processor under the hood, this mahine is able to take everything I throw it with ease. And, the silence is a sheer pleasure (I've installed SSD, so it has zero mechanical parts other than a cooling fan which is pretty quiet). Intel has done a fabulour job in heat management. The PC always feels cooler than the surrounding, which is amazing considering the powerful processor it's running, running so many resource hungry applications for 8+ hours everyday. I'm a software professional and am proud to endorse that this is a fabulous machine to own and be with :). Thank you Intel for making it, and Amazon for the awesome shopping experience.