Intel NUC5i3RYK Mini PC (Broadwell Core i3-5010U) Review

The Core i3-5010U is situated in the entry-level sector of the Broadwell Core processors. It has two cores that clock at a maximum of 2.1 GHz. Like all Core i3 processors, the 5010U does not feature Turbo and can reach at most 2.1 GHz regardless of the load. The i3-5010U does not support vPro, TSX-NI or SIPP, either. However, it is Hyper-Threading capable and can thus process 4 threads simultaneously.

Our Cinebench R15 tests depict the performance that can be expected from the little Broadwell processor. The NUC achieves the same performance as the i3-5010U in Asus' F555LJ-XX110H (Test). A clear disadvantage of 16% to 20% is evident when compared to the Core i5-5250U version. The Celeron NUC based on the Bay Trail SoC is considerably slower, and that is - unlike the i3 to i5 difference - also noticed (e.g. in Internet browsing).

Thanks to the swift SSD, the i3 NUC positions itself in the midfield of all tested systems in the PCMark 8 Home test. HP's Spectre 13 with a Core i5-5500U and SSD or also Lenovo's ThinkPad S5 Yoga 15 with a 5500U, GeForce 840M, and Samsung PM851 SSD, for example, are on precisely the same level. The NUC5i5RYK based on a Core i5-5250U and HD 6000 (same height as well as memory and SSD configuration) has an edge of 9%. The NUC5i5RYH (with 2.5-inch vector 150 SSD) is 6% faster. The cheap DN2820FYKH with a Celeron N2820 is clearly outperformed. It only achieves 40% of the Core i3's performance. Although Asus' F555LJ configured with the same CPU can only offer a slower hard drive, it features a GeForce 920M, and plays in the same league with a 2% lead. The fastest system is Eurocom's P5 Pro Extreme Workstation based on a desktop Core i7-4790K, GTX 980M, and SSD RAID. It can almost double the score with an advantage of 90%.

Intel's SSD 530 installed in our review sample utilizes the M.2 port and likely operates via SATA protocol. The maximum sequential read speed of 452 MB/s in the AS SSD benchmark demonstrates that. The SSD exhibits minor weaknesses in write, and thus the total score remains slightly behind top SSDs. The SSD nevertheless helps the NUC to a high responsiveness. Applications and games load fast, copying and unpacking ZIP files usually do not involve long waiting times.

The power consumption of 6.4 to 36 watts is very moderate for a desktop system and can clearly undercut the Core i5 NUC in the bigger casing (and with a more power guzzling 2.5-inch SSD) (for comparison: 7.6 to 42.4 watts).

The i3 NUC reached its maximum power consumption of 36 watts within the first seconds of full load via Prime and Furmark. However, it quickly dropped to a moderate 26 watts because the i3 started to throttle. The same phenomenon became obvious in Furmark (from 33 to 36.5 watts), so it is not just processor throttling. That is unlikely due to the temperatures seeing that the internal sensors only recorded a maximum of 73 °C in HWInfo 64.

Like in the previous test of the Core i5 NUC, we can draw a positive conclusion for the Core i3 version in the smaller casing (RYK). The little dwarf scores with its compact casing, appealing design, and good build. The components are easy to access and to maintain. The small desktop is very suitable for office and video (mainly 1080p). The performance of the installed components is, as expected, good. Stutters might turn up only in games because the CPU cores throttle. A somewhat quieter fan would also be pleasing when used in the living room, even if the one installed is not noticed adversely.

Intel can fulfill the promise of "good" performance in the home entertainment and productivity fields. However, unfortunately, some compromises have to be made in gaming since not only the theoretical performance of the Core i3 is limited, but also because the processor cores are clocked down during graphics load.

Linux on the i3 NUC
According to Andrey of our Russian notebookcheck-ru.com, the Core i3 model runs Linux with an up-to-date Kernel (3.13 and newer) without issues (he tested e.g. Ubuntu 12.03).