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
Networking and Storage Performance
Networking and storage are two major aspects which influence our experience with any computing system. This section presents results from our evaluation of these aspects in the Intel NUC8i7BEH (Bean Canyon). On the storage side, one option would be repetition of our strenuous SSD review tests on the drive(s) in the PC. Fortunately, to avoid that overkill, PCMark 8 has a storage bench where certain common workloads such as loading games and document processing are replayed on the target drive. Results are presented in two forms, one being a benchmark number and the other, a bandwidth figure. We ran the PCMark 8 storage bench on selected PCs and the results are presented below.
The NUC8i7BEH with the WD Black NVMe 3D SSD is surpassed only by the Samsung 950 PRO-equipped PCs in the storage bench.
On the networking side, the NUC8i7BEH presented us with an interesting challenge. The system with Wireless AC-9560 is the first we have received with support for 160 MHz channels on the client side. This is a 2x2 configuration, and the 160 MHz support allows it to claim up to 1.73 Gbps of theoretical throughput.
Our usual test router (Netgear R7000 Nighthawk) doesn't support 160 MHz channels. We have just started out with the Netgear Nighthawk AX8 as a test router, and initial results look very promising. The NUC8i7BEH is able to sustain around 900 Mbps of real-world practical TCP throughput with the Netgear Nighthawk AX8 router (configured with DFS channels in order to obtain a continuous 160 MHz block). In future reviews, we will be standardising the test setup with the new router. That will allow us to gather exact numbers that can be compared for different systems in the future.
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HStewart - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
I think a good NUC will be when Intel has Gen 11 graphics which is suppose to be around NVidia 1030 level but integrated on GPU.Irata - Thursday, April 4, 2019 - link
So the RX Vega 11 iGPU level then ?ab3cv - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
Any idea whether the graphics can support the Dell 49 Ultrasharp with resolution of 5120 x 1440 at 60Hz?Thanks
cacnoff - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
I have tried this monitor on both the Type-C port as well as the HDMI port and both seem to be able to drive the panel at the 5120x1440@60hz resolution just fine. I will have a second panel on thursday to see if it can drive both at the same time fine.jpap - Friday, April 5, 2019 - link
Glad it can drive at least one 512x1440@60 panel. I'm keen to hear if it can drive two simultaneously! That would be one awesome minimal desktop system. :-)ToTTenTranz - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
I for one think it's incredible that the 8559U with a 28W TDP and a GT3 Gen9 is getting practically the same or higher performance than the 6770HQ with a 45W TDP and a GT4 Gen9, considering they're both made on different variations of what's essentially the same node.PeachNCream - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
Yeah, its nice to see the TDP for performance do that sort of thing so clearly. It's also nice that you can now purchase Skull Canyon equivalent power without being forced to have the Skull Canyon name. I was always put off by the whole death and bones branding. It's too visceral and ugly in a world that has enough real life death in it. Bean Canyon sounds a lot better.Ashinjuka - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
I agree. I'm worn away by the mainstreaming of the Death Cult America but I guess that's what tends to happen when a society is imploding.Sailor23M - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
I have a Skull Canyon that I picked up on 25% sale from newegg 2 years ago and its been a solid SFF machine, Intel packages an extra normal (non-skull) lid if you rather use that one. There is a dedicated intel support page for the machine with all drivers and firmware. I have mine mounted behind my monitor for a very clean AIO look with a wireless mouse n keyboard.TheinsanegamerN - Friday, April 5, 2019 - link
The 90's called they want their moral panic back.