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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imaheadcase - Sunday, April 7, 2019 - link
Why would you compare to a laptop. This isn't even for that market, its for Home Media/dumb computer you never look at.Samus - Thursday, April 4, 2019 - link
Man this thing is a beast. It's practically the same speed as my brand new full size desktop (Core i5-9400)DimeCadmium - Thursday, April 4, 2019 - link
Umm, what? There aren't currently any Atom NUCs and the Bean Canyons are half a year old.Pisi - Thursday, April 4, 2019 - link
Haven't been able to find this RAM (G.Skill RipjawsV F4-3000C16-16GRS DDR4 SODIMM) anywhere. Are you sure there's no typo involved?eastcoast_pete - Thursday, April 4, 2019 - link
Ganesh, thanks for including the HTPC-relevant tests and benchmarks in the review. Many (most?) NUCs end up serving as HTPCs, and that information is key for selecting the right one.DroidTomTom - Friday, April 5, 2019 - link
I wish someone made one with 3 HDMI outputs and high quality analog audio (Note after 2015 even so so quality analog audio is hard to find in these, have to tie up a USB port for external audio). Only need a Core i3 and 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD would be fine.fackamato - Saturday, April 6, 2019 - link
Most people either use an AVR (audio via HDMI) or a DAC, why on earth would you want good onboard audio?bill44 - Saturday, April 6, 2019 - link
“Unfortunately, stereoscopic 3D is not supported in this configuration.”Are there any DP 1.2 or TB3 to HDMI adapter/converter that works with FP 3D?
Also, why not Titan Ridge controller with DP 1.4?
Naxxy - Sunday, April 7, 2019 - link
Did the 3000 mhz ram work just like that?? I have the Intel NUC8i7BEH and i first bought 16gb Ballistix Sport DDR4 @ 2666 and there was no way to boot the system...... had to switch to 2400mhz ram.....Talked to an Intel support and they told me that having no XMP profiles that NUC would only work with ram up to 2400.
Mr0czny - Friday, April 26, 2019 - link
Im also interested cause im going to replace desktop to this NUC 8i5 ...does 3200 MHz ram add some performance or advantages are negligible
And does it works without problems like Naxxy wrote