Intel's Bean Canyon (NUC8i7BEH) Coffee Lake NUC Review - Ticking the Right Boxes
by Ganesh T S on April 3, 2019 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- Intel
- NUC
- UCFF
- Thunderbolt 3
- Cannon Point
- Coffee Lake-U
HTPC Credentials - Display Outputs Capabilities
The
NUC8i7BEH Display Outputs | ||
HDMI | Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C (DP 1.2) | |
Version | 2.0a | 1.2 |
Max. Video Output | 3840x2160 @ 60Hz | 4096x2160 @ 60Hz |
HDCP | Yes (2.2) | |
HDR | Yes | No |
HD Audio Bitstreaming | Yes |
Supporting the display of high-resolution protected video content is a requirement for even a casual HTPC user. In addition, HTPC enthusiasts also want their systems to support refresh rates that either match or be an integral multiple of the frame rate of the video being displayed. Most displays / AVRs are able to transmit the supported refresh rates to the PC using the EDID metadata. In some cases, the desired refresh rate might be missing in the list of supported modes.
Custom Resolutions
Our evaluation of the
We tested out various display refresh rates ranging from 23.976 Hz to 59.94 Hz. Of particular interest is the 23.976 Hz (23p) setting, which Intel used to have trouble with in the pre-Broadwell days.
The gallery below presents screenshots from the other refresh rates that were tested. The system has no trouble maintaining a fairly accurate refresh rate throughout the duration of the video playback.
High Dynamic Range (HDR) Support
The ability of the system to support HDR output is brought out in the first line of the madVR OSD in the above pictures. The display / desktop was configured to be in HDR mode prior to the gathering of the above screenshots.
We find that the HDR configuration results in the GPU driving a RGB signal to the display.
The CyberLink Ultra HD Blu-ray Advisor tool confirms that our setup (
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StevoLincolnite - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
The only thing that hinders me from jumping onto one of these... Is the Intel Decelerator Graphics.AMD needs to apply some much needed competition in the NUC space I think!
notashill - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
Check out the ASRock DeskMini A300 or HP EliteDesk 705, not *quite* as small as the NUC but fairly close and use Ryzen APUs.Irata - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
The AT review of it should be due in a week or two according to Ganesh (he added this as a comment under the Intel based A310).Targon - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
Zotac offers AMD based solutions. I'd wait for the 7nm AMD chips if you can wait, since they will be better for very small machines.sor - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
Zotac is dead to me after teasing the MA551 (the only potential ryzen competitor to the NUC) for over a year and then canceling it. I’m not aware of any Zotac competitors at this level that have a modern AMD APU.I was on the verge of buying one of these NUCs but at the last moment the Asrock A300W came out, which is a much better deal. Far better graphics and cheaper.
Irata - Thursday, April 4, 2019 - link
I think it's good to remember companies who have let us down in the past when making purchase decisions.mikato - Thursday, April 4, 2019 - link
Yes, I kept waiting for that also. I didn't realize they formally cancelled it, I just never heard anything and when I searched periodically I just found other people wondering the same thing.sor - Thursday, April 4, 2019 - link
I came across this thread. I assume “Z_staff” speaks for Zotac.https://www.reddit.com/r/ZOTAC/comments/9af6by/zot...
mikato - Friday, May 3, 2019 - link
Ah. Well good to know finally I guess :/jordanclock - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
They get the Hades Canyon NUC with the Vega M GH? You get a fast Intel CPU and a noticeable bump in GPU performance. Granted, you're also doubling the power usage.