New HTPC (Home Theatre PC)

[Alan J. Raul]

I worked with Charlie and a Intel NUC after everyone had left the SLOLUG meeting. I partitioned the SSD and configured Elementary OS, a Linux distribution, on the Intel NUC. I liked it so much I decided that my next HTPC (Home Theatre PC) would be an Intel NUC. I was most impressed with the "Intel Visual BIOS" which uses your mouse and not the up/down arrow keys, etc.

I researched the parts and ordered them from B&H. This will replace my older 2013 Shuttle HTPC which has been running continuously since it was turned on.

The parts cost $600…

I will install Windows 10 Professional and Ubuntu Mate 18.04.1 on the Intel NUC. You may ask "Why run Linux on your TV?" Because I can...

I opted not to go to an i7 or 32GB RAM since this is only a HTPC. One of the many reasons to upgrade the HTPC is that it will be 4K compatible with my TV, something my older Shuttle HTPC did not support. The Intel NUC will have 16GB of Crucial RAM and a Samsung 500GB 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2 Internal SSD which is 4 to 5 times faster than a regular SSD.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/boards-kits/nuc/kits/nuc8i5bek.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1437352-REG/intel_boxnuc8i5bek1_nuc_kit_nuc8i5bek.html
3-Year Warranty

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1454173-REG/samsung_mz_v7s500b_am_500gb_970_evo_plus.html
5-Year Warranty

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=samsung-970evo-plus

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1233407-REG/crucial_ct2k8g4sfs824a_16gb_2_x_8gb.html
Limited Lifetime Warranty

Other helpful links:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/boards-kits/nuc/kits/nuc8i5bek.html
https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/mini-pcs/NUC8i3BE_NUC8i5BE_NUC8i7BE_TechProdSpec.pdf
https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/mini-pcs/nuc-kits/NUC8ixBEK_UserGuide.pdf
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/products/126147/mini-pcs/intel-nuc-kits/intel-nuc-kit-with-8th-generation-intel-core-processors/intel-nuc-kit-nuc8i5bek.html
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/detect.html
https://forums.intel.com/s/topic/0TO0P00000018NQWAY/intel-nucs?language=en_US
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Intel_NUC
https://nucblog.net/2018/11/coffee-lake-i5-nuc-review-nuc8i5bek-nuc8i5beh/ 
https://hothardware.com/reviews/intel-nuc8i7beh1-mini-pc-review