Overview:
So I'm thinking about getting on of the Intel NUCs for a small Linux box. It would be something that I was hoping to replace my current Linux setup. (I have two main computesr 1 for Windows/Gaming and 1 for Linux/Programming/General-Purpose use). I'm not looking for balls-to-the-wall power nor speed. Just something that I might be able to turn into a media center later in the box's life, and this small form factor PC fits the bill quite nicely.
Specifically I'm planning on purchasing the 6th generation i3 'Tall' version (model: NUC6i3SYH).
Intel's Specs
Amazon Link
A Little More Specifics:
I'm also being lazy with the installation and will be running Ubuntu since I'm not planning on doing anything too crazy with this box. My biggest worry that I don't quite know is running Linux at a semi-HiDPI. This is an area that I'm not too familiar with (set up services, no problem. Spin up a dozen EC2 instances with cloudformation script as an auto scaling group, done by lunch. Graphics on Linux .... ummm ...).
So I'm wanting to purchase a 1440p monitor for the NUC which leaves me with two questions can a NUC 'power' a 1440p monitor and does Ubuntu have any issues with a 1440p screen resolution. From everything I've researched I couldn't find a major known issue. There seems support for Intel's 520 Graphics in the Linux Kernel and that through mini Display Port the little NUC can, supposedly, display a 4k monitor at 60hz.
If you've played around with a NUC or own one please feel free to offer your opinions. Or if you have used Gigabyte's BRIX or Zotac's ZBOX with Linux.
1440p at 27" is not hiDPI at all. Shouldn't need any scaling. Any new graphics output should be able to handle 4k 60hz , so 1440p is fine so long as you aren't going to be gaming or rendering or anything. Now the linux stuff, I don't really know about. And you might be able to get away with a raspberry pi for something small like this. Not sure what you are doing with it, so maybe not, but saving some money is always good, so keep it in mind if it a possibility for your use case.
I was thinking about finally having some redundant storage on the computer. I'm moving from a laptop that I have two HDDs and a m2 drive in with an external hard drive plugged into it constantly. Sadly a RaspberryPi doesn't have oomph to power multiple drives like that for my storage needs. I could always get a powered hub for it, but I felt like splurging for something a little more powerful than a Raspberry Pi. (I actually have one already that I use for projects and the like). Plus I wanted a higher resolution monitor than 1080p which a raspberry pi will power, but it'll just scale the 1080p up to fit the pixels.
Well, if you want a lot of storage, then you are going to want something in a tower so you can slap in hdds, not a NUC. I would recommend a mini ITX or microATX APU based build and a case with support for enough hdds.
See I have been thinking about that. Plus it would keep all the HDDs internally too. I would just feel a little silly with two towers, but then again here I am with a Laptop, Desktop (so happens to be a mini ITX build). So Two small Desktops wouldn't be too crazy :P
You could also considering building a dedicated NAS, but that is likely a good bit more expensive than you would want. I think that cheapest solution is MicroATX, 5ish hdds (or however many you need), and and APU or Pentium based build.
Thanks for letting me bounce ideas off you! I've got more options that I thought I had ... sigh ...