Anyone put Mint on an Intel NUC?

[MurphCID]

I have been looking at the Intel NUC as a little computer for the wife to watch YouTube, email, and surf the internet while she is doing her sewing and quilting. Has anyone here put Mint on one of these devices? https://www.amazon.com/NUC7i3BNK-Dual-C ... 2Bnuc&th=1

[Reorx]

Unless you already have the NUC, a Mint Box Mini 2 might be a better idea...

[MurphCID]

I like that idea, I am wanting something small, with reasonable ram, that I can hook up to an inexpensive monitor so the Spouse-Unit can surf the net, watch Netflix, and YouTube while crafting. I would like something with 8 gb of ram, and 120-256 gb ssd. I don't need really high specs, just something that is better than a Chromebook.

[JerryF]

I like that idea, I am wanting something small, with reasonable ram, that I can hook up to an inexpensive monitor so the Spouse-Unit can surf the net, watch Netflix, and YouTube while crafting. I would like something with 8 gb of ram, and 120-256 gb ssd. I don't need really high specs, just something that is better than a Chromebook.

IMHO, I find those units not worth the price. If your spousal-unit (love that term) is just going to surf the net, watch Netflix and YouTube, my advice is to get a refurbished laptop. You can find good, inexpensive ones at www.tigerdirect.com

[Citizen229]

or just build a mITX pc and save money with better video capability.

[acerimusdux]

I've been thinking of trying this one:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product. ... 6856102204

With a 120GB SSD and 8GB RAM it comes in about $290.

[JerryF]

That's a much better price and you get a Pentium.

If you're set on getting this type of system, I don't think anyone is going to persuade you on anything else.

Good luck!

[MurphCID]

I'm still thinking, and have not made any decision so far. I need more data before I decide.

[MurphCID]

I like that idea, I am wanting something small, with reasonable ram, that I can hook up to an inexpensive monitor so the Spouse-Unit can surf the net, watch Netflix, and YouTube while crafting. I would like something with 8 gb of ram, and 120-256 gb ssd. I don't need really high specs, just something that is better than a Chromebook.

IMHO, I find those units not worth the price. If your spousal-unit (love that term) is just going to surf the net, watch Netflix and YouTube, my advice is to get a refurbished laptop. You can find good, inexpensive ones at www.tigerdirect.com

Good idea, she has a good laptop, but wants a bigger screen, so I might just get a monitor and HDMI cable?

[JerryF]

Good idea, she has a good laptop, but wants a bigger screen, so I might just get a monitor and HDMI cable?

Sounds like a great idea!

[silvatech]

One advantage on laptop if you get an HDMI cable and a monitor is she would have 2 monitors that way. Downside if she wants a real keyboard and 2 bigger monitors.

[alexa9]

I have the Pentium NUC and the i3 NUC both running Mint 19. They are great looking small boxes for HTPC or office. The i3 NUC (year older) I believe allows 32GB RAM otherwise is slower. I believe the Pentium max is 8GB although some claimed they got 16 to work. The i3 also allows NVME SSD (I used Samsung 960). The Pentium I used Samsung 860 (SATA) which is not noticeably slower. Both are probably overkill for a browser/music player on Linux but they are lightning fast so why not?

I would go Pentium all the way unless you need RAM and want to dual boot Windows. It is actually faster than the i3 in speed tests in an article I read. I have them both hooked up to HDTV's in living and bedroom.

I also have a cheap Dell Laptop that is just as good in the office with a monitor and it came preinstalled with Windows 10 for dual boot that was similar specs as the NUC with a screen and keyboard built in for portability/travel for about the same price as the NUC.

Don't be afraid of unscrewing the NUC and installing memory and SSD. Just be sure to tilt the RAM sticks at an angle when installing. A tiny magnetic Phillips screwdriver comes in handy for the HD screws.

[Citizen229]

Whats the video capability on R.PI3? Might be something to look at.

[Ozo]

I've been thinking of trying this one:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product. ... 6856102204

With a 120GB SSD and 8GB RAM it comes in about $290.

That Pentium processor is the latest version, Pentium Silver, which has shown benchmark results similar to i3 and i5. Of course, the RAM and SSD must be installed by you as it is a barebones unit.

I bought one but it was defective so I sent it back and decided to stick with my old reliable MSI mini with Celeron processor. That is plenty fast and cost less too..

[MurphCID]

I have the Pentium NUC and the i3 NUC both running Mint 19. They are great looking small boxes for HTPC or office. The i3 NUC (year older) I believe allows 32GB RAM otherwise is slower. I believe the Pentium max is 8GB although some claimed they got 16 to work. The i3 also allows NVME SSD (I used Samsung 960). The Pentium I used Samsung 860 (SATA) which is not noticeably slower. Both are probably overkill for a browser/music player on Linux but they are lightning fast so why not?

I would go Pentium all the way unless you need RAM and want to dual boot Windows. It is actually faster than the i3 in speed tests in an article I read. I have them both hooked up to HDTV's in living and bedroom.

I also have a cheap Dell Laptop that is just as good in the office with a monitor and it came preinstalled with Windows 10 for dual boot that was similar specs as the NUC with a screen and keyboard built in for portability/travel for about the same price as the NUC.

Don't be afraid of unscrewing the NUC and installing memory and SSD. Just be sure to tilt the RAM sticks at an angle when installing. A tiny magnetic Phillips screwdriver comes in handy for the HD screws.

Thanks! I was thinking of something small with a 21-23" monitor for the Spouse-Unit to watch YouTube and Netflix on while she is quilting/sewing. This device with 8gb of ram, and 120-250gb of ssd seems to be the perfect item for that with Mint 19.

[alexa9]

Thanks! I was thinking of something small with a 21-23" monitor for the Spouse-Unit to watch YouTube and Netflix on while she is quilting/sewing. This device with 8gb of ram, and 120-250gb of ssd seems to be the perfect item for that with Mint 19.

For that purpose you might consider a Smart TV or a dumb TV with a Roku.

https://www.amazon.com/LG-43UK6300PUE-4 ... dpSrc=srch

Obviously a computer is smarter than any TV or TV box though and I prefer a computer.

[jhoffman100]

Hi, I'm not sure if posting links to outside websites is acceptable, but I did a full write-up on this on my site. Here's the link: https://techsterweb.com/2019/03/03/linux-mint/

The quick answers is yes, I've installed it and am running it on several NUCs and it works great!

Thanks!

[murray]

I've got Mint running just fine and very speedy on a NUC8i5.

[MurphCID]

I just got a new NUC (well sort of new), it comes with Windows 10, but since all I am going to be doing on it is iTunes, YouTube (via Chrome), and Netflix, and iTunes music will run on Rhythmbox quite nicely, I am thinking either Mint 20.3 or even LMDE 5.

I know thread necromancy.

[Hoser Rob]

Can't speak 100% as to whether it'd be powerful enough but it should be IMO from the OP.

It's loaded with Intel hardware and for compatibility that's exactly what you want. NO ONE has better Linux compatibility. I can't say it'd be completely bug free but all their drivers are open source. You don't have to deal with reverse engineered ones.