Intel NUC powerful enough for XBMC and Steam streaming?

xeekei · 2014-06-03 00:09:41

Hello.

I was maybe planning on getting an Intel NUC. Since I'm a bit tight on funds, only the cheapest model is within my price range. Intel NUC Celeron N2820, I believe. I will run Arch Linux 64-bit on it.

Now I wonder, is this model powerful enough to run XBMC on? I'm also planning on running Steam Big Picture, but only use it as an in-home streaming client. But it needs to be able to handle this too.
Does anyone have any experience to share?

Thank you.

WonderWoofy · 2014-06-03 02:25:14

I don't know exactly what Steam Big Picture is, but XBMC runs pretty decently even on a Raspberry Pi. So I would imagine that it would do fine with a Celeron based Intel NUC.

Since you are tight on funds, keep in mind that those NUCs are barebones computers. Really all you need is a disk and possibly RAM (my Ivy Bridge NUC also needed a wifi card, but I think they come with them now), but that will inevitably up the total cost of the setup.

Hspasta · 2014-06-03 04:18:24

Big Picture: No

Big Picture System Requirements
OS OS Windows Vista, 7, or 8. Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) or newer.
Memory 1 GB RAM
Processor 3.0 Ghz P4, Dual Core 2.0 (or higher) or AMD64X2 (or higher)
Video card Required / at least 256MB memory and DirectX 10-compatible with support for Pixel Shader 4.0, Recommended / 512MB+ memory and DirectX 10-compatible
Disk space 1 GB recommended
Internet connection Broadband recommended
Controller Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows, Xbox 360 Wired Controller, or Logitech Wireless Gamepad F710 recommended. Keyboard and mouse also supported.

In Game Streaming: No

How do I improve my streaming experience?
Hardware:
We recommend a minimum of a quad-core CPU for the computer running the game. The client has more modest requirements, but should have a GPU that supports hardware accelerated H264 decoding. Any recent laptop or PC should meet the client requirements.
Network:
We recommend using a wired network for the best streaming experience. People have had some success with powerline networks and wireless N and AC networks with good signal, though your experience may vary.
Game Settings:
To improve your streaming experience, you can go into your game settings and lower your resolution and turn off vertical sync.
Steam Settings:
In the In-Home Streaming settings you can change a number of things that can affect your experience. You can change your preference for speed vs quality, limit the network bandwidth, and adjust the maximum capture resolution.

xeekei · 2014-06-03 14:13:34

@WonderWoofy: I am aware I need to buy RAM and a disk. I will probably get some cheap DIMM and a cheap SSD with like 64 GB.

@Hspasta: Maybe I should scrape together for the Core i3 version then? I figured XBMC and in-home streaming were similar workloads. Since you're basically just watching a video via the LAN and send your input back.

karol · 2014-06-03 22:49:27

I think you're talking about http://ark.intel.com/products/78953/Int … -DN2820FYK
What kind of audio output do you need?

I think Celeron N2820 is a renamed dual-core Atom, so it's a pretty weak processor with a rather weak graphics card.

xeekei · 2014-06-03 22:55:39

karol wrote:

I think you're talking about http://ark.intel.com/products/78953/Int … -DN2820FYK
What kind of audio output do you need?
I think Celeron N2820 is a renamed dual-core Atom, so it's a pretty weak processor with a rather weak graphics card.

I only need regular analogue audio, 3,5 mm jack. I have a simple stereo reciever. If I ever buy a new reciever it'll probably have HDMI, so then I could just use that.

But you guys might be right about the NUC. I do have an Acer AspireOne netbook I could try with first. If that handles it, the NUC should too.

ANOKNUSA · 2014-06-04 00:22:00

xeekei wrote:

Maybe I should scrape together for the Core i3 version then?

XBMC will run on a full-HD display just fine on low-end hardware, but Steam Big Picture is a different matter. It will automatically limit its output resolution based on the amount of video RAM available, and Intel HD graphics are pretty limited in that respect.

xeekei · 2014-06-04 00:42:01

ANOKNUSA wrote:

xeekei wrote:
Maybe I should scrape together for the Core i3 version then?
XBMC will run on a full-HD display just fine on low-end hardware, but Steam Big Picture is a different matter. It will automatically limit its output resolution based on the amount of video RAM available, and Intel HD graphics are pretty limited in that respect.

Doesn't Intel graphics use the system RAM as VRAM like integrated graphics always has?

Arch Linux

#1 2014-06-03 00:09:41

Intel NUC powerful enough for XBMC and Steam streaming?

#2 2014-06-03 02:25:14

Re: Intel NUC powerful enough for XBMC and Steam streaming?

#3 2014-06-03 04:18:24

Re: Intel NUC powerful enough for XBMC and Steam streaming?

#4 2014-06-03 14:13:34

Re: Intel NUC powerful enough for XBMC and Steam streaming?

#5 2014-06-03 22:49:27

Re: Intel NUC powerful enough for XBMC and Steam streaming?

#6 2014-06-03 22:55:39

Re: Intel NUC powerful enough for XBMC and Steam streaming?

#7 2014-06-04 00:22:00

Re: Intel NUC powerful enough for XBMC and Steam streaming?

#8 2014-06-04 00:42:01

Re: Intel NUC powerful enough for XBMC and Steam streaming?

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