HP Elite Slice i7-6700T vs Intel NUC Skull NUC6i7KYK

I'm considering to buy a mini desktop to replace my Sony Vaio VPCZ1. I have two option is mind (because are small and powerful):

- HP Elite Slice (all models): is modular
- Intel NUC Skull NUC6i7KYK: more physical ports already and has Thunderbotl 3

It's meant to be replacing a tower but not for heavy gaming, only old titles. Which one would you recommend?

 

I dont either will be useful for any gaming Tbh... When you say old titles how old, any examples?

If you want something compact, build a SFX build like the the Raven ZV02, you can put a decent GPU etc in a really small case...

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

 

http://www.intel.com/content/dam/ww..._jcr_content/renditions/intel.web.320.180.jpg

That guy on the intel NUC page, his face is like "But it said it was a gaming machine, why am I getting 11 FPS?"

I'd still go with the Intel, maybe you can attach an eGPU via Thunderbolt 3 later

 

$525 for base kit, then add RAM and SSD... ~ $800? You can buy a gaming laptop for that price that can compete.

And Intel, stop marketing these as gaming machines. 1080p/60 can be marketed as a gaming machine, not 720p/30.

Now if they would add a mobile GTX 1050 in there for the same price then it'd be capable.

 

Or since they're modular, a discrete graphics module.

 

Does the HP offer a discrete module?

 

It was wishful thinking, something I've always wanted to see in a system like that.

 

When the following review was made (1 september 2016), there wasn't available any discrete graphics module:
HP's Elite Slice is a Modular Enterprise Desktop That Can Go Big When You Need It To

But in any case if the nVidia 1060/1070/1080 were available an additional power supply would be required almost for sure. The purpose of this mini-pcs is not to game current triple-A games, but do almost everything else (browse the web, develop, multimedia, office, backup & sync, NAS, maintenance, etc). You can probably game old triple-A games like Grand Theft Auto Vice City at 1080p@60Hz.

Take a look also at the Acer Revo Base, Acer Revo One and Acer Revo Build. The Revo Build has a module with the AMD Radeon R5, and such module has its own power supply.
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/models/desktops/revobuild
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/series/revoone
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/series/revobuild
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/series/revobuildaccessory

 

Looks like Zotac's got a mini pc with an unspecified NVidia card coming, as well as an eGPU. Might be worth looking at.

 

There are also the Gigabyte with Intel BRIX Chipset mini-pcs. These two have Thunderbolt (notice the T in the model name) and core i7.

• GB-BSi7T-6500
• GB-BSi7HT-6500 (same but supports also 2.5'' drives, it's a little bigger)

There are i5 versions too:

• GB-BSi5T-6200
  
• GB-BSi5HT-6200

I think the biggest difference between this Intel brix and the Intel Skull Nuc, is that the Gigabytes have full aluminium enclosure, while the Intel skull Nuc only has metal at the bottom, the rest is plastic I think, so it won't block properly magnetic fields and such:

Intel NUC6i7KYK review: This Skull Canyon NUC smashes all mini-PC preconceptions

Small form factor BRIX now offer more power than ever with the 6th Gen. Intel® Core™ processors and Thunderbolt™ 3

 

Any kind of discrete GPU, doesn't need to be high end, even a GTX 1050 or under would suffice. Better than the Iris Pro garbage they have. Just that they advertise it as a gaming PC and I don't consider anything with only an integrated GPU a gaming PC. Extra power supply would be fine.

 

It's not a gaming pc, that's true, but just compare the dedicated GPU my Vaio Z13 has (nvidia 330m) versus the Intel Iris Pro 580. Just much better performance already in the processor. I'm not saying discrete graphic cards will be obsolete one day, but Intel is doing pretty good.

http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compar...el-Iris-Pro-580-Mobile-Skylake/m7739vsm132950

 

They do have brix versions with a GTX 950 in them it looks like.

 

Newer barebones with Thunderbolt 3 over USB-C are on the way:

• Intel NUC NUC7i7BNH
• Zotac MI572

 

That Zotac looks pretty cool. You take that home, throw it on a TV, add that external GPU they mentioned, some peripherals, baby you got a stew going.

 

Those barebones with Thunderbolt over USB-C are great. You buy the Asus MB169C+ Monitor and you've got a very slim yet powerful equipment. But read carefully the Amazon reviews to be aware of potential problems.