Intel NUC - Fully Loaded

Guys,

SSD is awesome. Though I say it takes about 30 secs to boot, by the time I press
the power button, take my lenovo wireless mini keyboard and go to my chair, it is
almost ready to either play kodi or rdio. Even bringing up chrome, firefox etc is
superfast. Only thing is with my experience installing Windows in several of my
previous computers, initially the OS used to boot fast and applications used to be
very responsive, but over a period of time, the performance will degrade. This time
however the NUC will just perform HTPC duties, so I hope the performance remains
the same through its life.

Thanks musicbee for suggesting the SSD option.
 
Hey, I acheived that 30 second boot up time on my old 1995 Dell laptop using Puppy Linux installed on a USB pen drive. :) Works like a charm - vista from HDD takes a good 4 minutes to do anything useful.
 
The NUC, the HDD and the RAM came in today. I'll most likely set it up tonight (the external DVD Drive is at home) with Win 7. I've already downloaded the latest BIOS and the Win 7 driver bundle.

Before I take it to the office, I'll give it a spin for a couple of days as a Music PC (with JRMC 18) with my HDPlex Linear Supply and the iFi iLink.

This thread needs some pics:

s65d2q.jpg


m7rhwl.jpg


It's heavier than I thought it would be -- I expected that the aluminium body would be thin (which it is not) -- which is a pleasant surprise and a definite plus in the context of Music PC duty.
 
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@Hydra,

Is the HDPlex Linear supply for the NUC?. If so, where did you buy it and for how much?.

Thanks.
 
@Hydra

Very interested in hearing how it sounds as a PC Transport.
Do post any listening impressions if possible.
 
My experience with HDMI output.
If I connect NUC to TV HDMI IN (ARC) directly it works, but if I connect it through AVR then no signal message is shown. I am using HDMI 1.4 Cable.
 
Hi Pradeep,

I dont have this issue. I have my NUC connected to my Pioneer VSX-1122 AVR
directly and the signal does go through. I have the HDMI from AVR to the TV in the ARC
input, that way, I can use the TV output to be played via the AVR.

I have never owned a Marantz (as I see from your signature), so I dont know how
to set it up correctly, but please check your settings. This should be possible.
 
My experience with HDMI output.
If I connect NUC to TV HDMI IN (ARC) directly it works, but if I connect it through AVR then no signal message is shown. I am using HDMI 1.4 Cable.

Check the sequence of switching of the systems as it should be TV->ARV->NUC then make sure that you select the right source in your NUC for the audio/video pass through. In the sound settings if using Windows select the AVR/TV name that shows up. If this sequence is not maintained the AVR sometimes does not detect the PC signal, hence in those cases you need to keep your TV/AVR on and restart your PC.
 
Check the sequence of switching of the systems as it should be TV->ARV->NUC then make sure that you select the right source in your NUC for the audio/video pass through. In the sound settings if using Windows select the AVR/TV name that shows up. If this sequence is not maintained the AVR sometimes does not detect the PC signal, hence in those cases you need to keep your TV/AVR on and restart your PC.

I will try as suggested & let you know.
 
Also if you are using XBMC then once the sequence of switching happens then go to the settings and choose the correct audio/video source. If using MPC-HC it is the same process under preferences.
 
Followed the sequence TV>AVR>NUC and it worked. Now the control panel also shows my Marantz AVR. Thanks for the guidance.
 
I will be installing OpenElec on a thumbdrive and Win8.1 from SSD.
OpenElec so that I can watch movies (with HD audio) and Win8.1
for YouTube, JRiver etc.

I will update once I get all components and install everything.

Hi. Have you tried movies with HD audio through openelec ?

Please share your experience. :)
 
Has any one tried using bluetooth of Intel NUC for streaming music ?
Basically I want to know if the built in bluetooth is with A2DP ?
If yes, then how to set it to work ? I could not do it.
 
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