On Wed, Feb 19, 2025 at 4:27 PM D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:

> From: William Park via talk <talk@gtalug.org>

> Man, I'm so behind. Have you compared with Intel's NUC? Is Beelink still
> better value?

Kind of different.

- Intel no longer makes NUCs: they sold the business to Asus

- NUCs (at least used to) only contain Intel processors, an inferior
choice

There is an AMD-based NUC in the works. The lag is likely due to the reality that Intel invented the form factor and the NUC brand. There have been AMD-based SFF systems in the past but from lesser-known brands.

I subscribe to a Youtube channel, ETA PRIME, that regularly does reviews of SFF PCs along with gaming devices and SBCs down to the Raspberry Pi and clones.

- NUCs are expensive

The Intel-branded ones were overpriced but that has stabilized with Asus and competitors involved.

- Bee-Link is a Chinese brand that doesn't pretend to be anything else

and ... so? Do any of them pretend to be something else?

- there is some after-sales support but an unknown amount.

It's unknown until you buy one and need support. The best support is the one you don't need. :-D

One other difference often found is that many NUC-sized systems use laptop CPUs and RAM. While that might mean higher cost for upgrades or reduced performance, it also means that their power bricks usually consume far less than the supplies on equivalent PCs.

- the price varies. Mine was a steal the fall before last. More expensive now, even though it is no longer the newest model. Amazon has coupons that lower the price, but only at random times.

ca.camelcamelcamel.com is your friend.

- Evan