Haswell Powered Intel NUC Spotted At PAX Prime

Intel’s next generation NUC has been spotted by Legit Reviews at PAX Prime 2013. The new NUC will be powered by Intel’s Haswell CPU, the particular model that was spotted – D54250WYK – uses an Intel Core i5 4250U clocked at 1.3GHz across both cores. With turbo mode the device can reach 2.6GHz and has 3MB of smart cache. The processor, being a Core i5, supports Intel’s Hyper Threading and is 64 bit capable.

Intel have also updated the graphics part on the D54250WYK by implementing HD 5000 graphics (200-1000MHz) that has one mini DisplayPort out and another mini HDMI out to support dual independent displays. In total the Core i5 4250U has a tiny TDP of just 15W.Intel will release three other Haswell powered NUC kits later on this year including the D34010WYK and Boards D54250WYB, D34010WYKB. Apparently none of them will use a Thunderbolt solution.

In terms of additional features over current generation NUCs there are a pair of USB 3.0 ports at the front, a HD audio 3.5mm jack and an IR sensor. The original NUC had just a single USB port. The overall system footprint is smaller than the Ivy Bridge based predecessors and in total the unit is about 0.19 inches smaller in heigh or about 12% less thick. This size reduction comes despite the implementation of more copper cooling fins to prevent overheating problems that the original NUC had. The rear I/O includes Intel Gigabit LAN, mini HDMI 1.4a, mini DisplayPort 1.2 (both video outputs also support 7.1 channel audio) and the power connector which uses a 65W brick. Intel say the maximum power draw of a fully loaded Intel D54250WYK NUC system would be 64.32W.

Image courtesy of Legit Reviews