Intel NUC i3/i5

[silberdrachi]

Im looking to replace my laptop that refuses to die that i have hooked up to my tv as a semi game and media center pc. Currently i am looking at the Intel NUC because i already have an MSATA 250gb chip that will offset the cost a little bit, and it gives me a lot of freedom in what i can install on it.

 

Question is, is it worth it to get the i5 version for stuff like SteamOS streaming/game playing, or would streaming be about the same if i was using an i3? Everything in my house is wired with cat6 so i dont have to deal with wireless delays. Streaming to my 7 year old laptop seemed to work well, but it has a deadicated graphics card in it. Can anyone point me to some reviews of actual performance on integrated?

[ViruZ_HUN]

YEs get a i5

[silberdrachi]

YEs get a i5

 

Any reason other than its more powerful? Trying to find a reason to justify the extra 80-100 on the price for it.

[ViruZ_HUN]

Any reason other than its more powerful? Trying to find a reason to justify the extra 80-100 on the price for it.

Well its more powerfull in gaming since it got 2 more cores then a i3, and dont ever buy a i3 for gaming.

 

This is the cheapest low-mid gamign CPUs i recommend

 

AMD:

 

FX 8320

FX6300

 

Intel:

 

I5 4670k

[Victorious Secret]

You can buy an i3 for a gaming...

 

And you sure as hell don't need a 4670K for gaming either. 

 

Lulz. 

[silberdrachi]

And you sure as hell don't need a 4670K for gaming either. 

 

Though this isnt actually a 4670k in a NUC, they use a i5-4250U

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-D54250WYK1-i5-4250U-Processor-Power/dp/B00H3YT8CC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1396371073&sr=8-2&keywords=intel+nuc+i7

[Victorious Secret]

A i5-4250U paired with a eGPU if you could get one to work would be pretty nice. 

 

Even off integrated graphics with that processor, its not like you can't game. You won't be doing 1080p, but you'll be able to play games nonetheless.

 

I just laugh at people who have this "If it isn't above this tier, it isn't worth it" mentality. A i3-4130 paired with a decent GPU would actually work well for a lot of people for gaming. Of course, if you want to go further getting something more beefy is nice, but not remotely required. 

[silberdrachi]

A i5-4250U paired with a eGPU if you could get one to work would be pretty nice. 

 

Even off integrated graphics with that processor, its not like you can't game. You won't be doing 1080p, but you'll be able to play games nonetheless.

 

I just laugh at people who have this "If it isn't above this tier, it isn't worth it" mentality. A i3-4130 paired with a decent GPU would actually work well for a lot of people for gaming. Of course, if you want to go further getting something more beefy is nice, but not remotely required. 

 

Only problem is that on a NUC i cant have a gpu, and im not really looking to game directly on the device itself. More like running SteamOS (once its not beta) so i can stream games off my desktop. Im sure an i3 or an i5 nuc could play simple stuff but that isnt the goal.