The Intel NUC kit DE3815TYKHE works fine with Ubuntu server 12.04.5 LTS and 14.04.2 LTS, both 64-bit operating systems. When it arrived I noticed the plastic tape seal was broken, and I considered sending it back because it looked like somebody opened it. But beyond that it looked new and undamaged. The power button is a little flaky; it takes 2 or 3 pushes for the unit to power up. The NUC is used as a Samba file server for Windows workstations in my house, and it works quite well connected to a wired network. There was a message from the Ubuntu installer that worried me: "Some of your hardware needs non-free firmware files to operate."
It referenced the Realtek gigabit ethernet controller. But that message can safely be ignored. Everything works fine. A 2 TB, 2.5 inch SATA drive (Seagate) is installed for the OS and Samba share, and another 2 TB SATA drive (3.5 inch) is connected using a StarTech HDD docking station for nightly backups. 4 GB of memory was installed (Crucial CT51264BF160BJ) as advised by Intel. It's a little tricky updating the BIOS. Do it before installing the hard drive, otherwise it will be troublesome. Store the BIOS update file on a FAT32 formatted USB flash drive, then follow the instructions from Intel. I don't know how well Windows runs on this NUC, but Ubuntu server is a very good choice.
Now some performance statistics using a 4.31 GB ISO file. The file copied from the NUC 2.5 inch drive over a wired gigabit network to a Windows 7 laptop (2.5 inch SATA) in 51 seconds (84.5 MB/sec). The same file writing to the NUC took 70 seconds (61.5 MB/sec). Slower writing speed of course, but pretty decent. Certainly adequate for a home network. The product delivers good performance at a fair price.
| Standing screen display size | 2.5 Inches |
|---|---|
| Processor | 3.7 GHz atom |
| RAM | 4 GB DDR3 1333 |
| Hard Drive | Embedded MultiMediaCard |
| Chipset Brand | Intel |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 5 |
