NUC10i5FNH Comet Lake NUC Review

The main mini PC I have been using so far is a machine with Core i7-7700 / 16GB / 500GB / Radeon RX 560. It’s been about 5 years since the Core i5-6600, which was the base, and when I was thinking of replacing it, the 10th generation Comet Lake Core i5-equipped NUC appeared. So this is my NUC10i5FNH Comet Lake NUC review.

NUC10i5FNH Comet Lake NUC Review – Intel NUC10i5FNH specifications

Processor    Core i5-10210U (4 cores 8 threads / 1.6GHz ~ 4.2GHz / cache 6MB / TDP 15W)
memory    Up to 64GB / 2 slots / DDR4-2666 1.2V SO-DIMM
Storage I / O    M.2 and SATA / 2.5 inch
Graphics    Intel UHD Graphics / HDMI 2.0a, USB Type-C (DP1.2)
network    Intel Ethernet Connection I219-V, Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201, Bluetooth 5
The interface    USB 3.1 Gen2 (Type-A, Type-C) x 2: Front, USB 3.1 Gen2 (2x Type-A, Type-C / Thunderbolt 3): Rear, Audio input / output, SDXC card (UHS-II compatible), Infrared Receiving sensor
Power supply    AC adapter type 19V / 4.74A (90W)
size    117 x 112 x 51 mm (width x depth x height)
price    50,500 yen (tax included)

As you know, the 10th generation has two types, one is Comet Lake. Roughly speaking, it is an extension of the 9th generation. The other Ice Lake will be another line with enhanced iGPU. In each case, SKU for mobile comes first. So you can’t just buy a processor, you’ll buy something built-in.

Under such circumstances, Intel’s NUC was paying attention. The first installment comes with Core i7. Performance is perfect but a little high. Next came Core i3. It’s cheap, but it’s 2C / 4T, so it’s a pass. And if you think that the Core i5 version has come out, the version that does not support 2.5 inch drive.

Only recently has the NUC10i5FNH 2.5-inch drive version been shipped. To be honest, I wanted the Ice Lake version of NUC, but sometimes I didn’t know if it would come out or not, so I decided to purchase it the other day.

The Intel NUC10i5FNH is a barebone mini PC that has a set of chassis, processor, power supply, etc., and separately prepares memory, storage, and OS (plus Mickey type power cable). According to the specifications, the memory is DDR4-2666 SO-DIMM x 2, and the storage is 2.5 inch SATA or M.2 (NVMe). 

This time I have diverted parts I have, memory is DDR4-2133 16GB × 2, storage is 2.5 inch SSD Samsung SSD 850 EVO 500GB. As for memory, since it’s DDR4-2133, I’m worried about performance, but I will prioritize the capacity of 32GB in total (although it has become cheaper recently, it will take some reason).

The SSD has a maximum sequential read speed of 540MB / s and a sequential write speed of 520MB / s, which is slower than the M.2 NVMe type, but practically no problem (for my own purposes). Please refer to the latter half of the benchmark test to see what actually happens with these combinations.

OS is 64-bit version Windows 10 Pro. I also wanted to use WSL2, so I installed Windows Insider Preview build 19041.207 (20H1, version 2004) with the Release Preview ring (equivalent to May 2020 Update).

The processor is Core i5-10210U of the 10th generation Comet Lake. 4 cores, 8 threads, clock from 1.6 GHz up to 4.2 GHz. Cache is 6MB, TDP is 15W. Memory has up to 64GB with two SO-DIMM slots. The storage has 2.5-inch SATA connection and M.2 slot, and two RAID configurations are possible at the same time.

Graphics is Intel UHD Graphics with a built-in processor. It has HDMI 2.0a and USB Type-C (DP1.2) as outputs. The network is Intel Ethernet Connection I219-V, Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201, Bluetooth 5.

Other interfaces are USB 3.1 Gen2 (Type-A, Type-C) x 2, audio input / output, infrared reception sensor on the front. USB 3.1 Gen2 (2x Type-A, Type-C) x 3 on the back. This Type-C is Thunderbolt 3. There’s also a USB 2.0 header pin inside, but you probably won’t use it. Then place the SDXC card slot (UHS-II compatible) on the left side.

The power supply comes with a 19V / 4.74A (90W) AC adapter. However, the connector on the AC power supply side is Mickey type, and it is necessary to prepare a separate power supply cable. Unfortunately, it does not support USB PD.

The size is 117 x 112 x 51 mm (width x depth x height). As you can see from the comparison photo with the iPhone X, it is quite compact. The weight was actually measured at 584 grams with no memory or storage installed.

Core i7-7700 / 16GB (DDR4-2133) / Radeon RX 560 | Core i5-10210U / 32GB (DDR4-2133) / iGPU

NUC10i5FNH NUC Review – CINEBENCH R20 benchmark results

Multi    2,084 (8th)    1,806 (8th)
Single    422 (2nd)    418 (2nd place)
GeekBench 5.1.1
Single-Core Score    1,101    1,103
Multi-Core Score    4,393    4,250
OpenCL Score    18,803    5,856

PCMark 10 v2.1.2177
PCMark 10 Score    3,963
Essentials    8,024
App Start-up Score    10,460
Video Conferencing Score    6,370
Web Browsing Score    7,754
Productivity    6,335
Spreadsheets Score    6,792
Writing Score    5,909
Digital Content Creation    3,325
Photo Editing Score    3,972
Rendering and Visualization Score    2,260
Video Editing Score    4,098
PCMark 8 v2.8.704
Home Accelarated 3.0    3,630
Creative Accelarated 3.0    3,715
Work Accelarated 2.0    4,936
Storage    4,964
3DMark v2.11.6866
Time Spy    482
Fire Strike Ultra    306
Fire Strike Extreme    587
Fire Strike    1,205
Sky Diver    4,870
Cloud Gate    9,790
Ice Storm Extreme    47,713
Ice Storm    68,713
CrystalDiskMark 6.0.0
Q32T1 sequential read    548.045 MB / s
Q32T1 sequential light    518.991 MB / s
4K Q8T8 random read    394.820 MB / s
4K Q8T8 random light    290.454 MB / s
4K Q32T1 random read    236.019 MB / s
4K Q32T1 random light    315.178 MB / s
4K Q1T1 random read    31.080 MB / s
4K Q1T1 random light    73.332 MB / s

As mentioned above, Intel NUC10i5FNH has Comet Lake’s Core i5, USB 3.1 Gen2, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, Thunderbolt 3 etc built in 117x112x51mm compact housing, 2 memory slots, 2.5 inch NUC with SATA and M.2 slots.

This time, in my case, since it was originally a replacement for the Core i7-7700 / 16GB / 500GB / Radeon RX 560, the GPU performance was reduced to about one-third, but instead space-saving, energy-saving, quiet, Other parts such as the latest interface and 32GB memory mentioned above have been greatly improved.