Intel NUC?

[Adam Greene]

Greetings all,
Well it looks like i'm going to have to replace my recording computer. While I use and prefer a laptop for mobility, I just do not have the funds right now to jump to a Macbook Pro. In "bang for the buck" how do mini systems like the NUC stack up? You can find some with some very impressive stuff inside. Anyone use one for recording?
Thanks.

 

[Pinky]

Those units do not have full desktop caliber performance processors. They're intended to be for low power, low heat output applications like smaller home theater or 'web' computers. They're optimized for up to 4k video output/streaming. Someday soon though we will all be using computers that size, even the performance ones. Just not there yet!

It's also difficult to get windows 7 running on the NUC units, so expect to be using Windows 8.1 or 10.

For example, the fastest i5 current being offered (the i5-6260u) is twice as slow as my current, almost 2 year old i7-4770 and much slower than even other older i5/i7 desktop processors:

PassMark - Intel Core i5-6260U @ 1.80GHz - Price performance comparison

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

Just because it says "i5" or even "i7" doesn't guarantee it's the best performing, proper cpu for your needs. That said, yes you *could* run a DAW and audio interface with one of these and it would record single tracks fine. It's when you're adding plugins or adding virtual instruments (especially in real time) you will be hitting the ceiling relatively quick, and possibly even having latency issues (really depends on the implementation of the onboard hardware and chipset drivers).

 

[Adam Greene]

Just to follow up, I decided to do major repair and upgrades to my laptop. Replace the motherboard (all usb ports were intermittent and all other solutions were tried). Since I use a Focusrite 18i8 usb interface... Installing a 250mb ssd. Will use the current hdd as a caddy storage drive. Since it already had a 4th gen I7 2.8ghz processor, i was looking at around a grand to get a new laptop with similar specs. I'm getting a reputable local computer shop to do the work for $530 total. May not be the best solution, but at least it is an option for me. I'm hoping to get a couple of good years out of this setup.