So, i purchased a new NUC7i5BNH to serve as HTPC instead of a dying old PC (x10 bigger than NUC ) that could not handle newer content, and below are my first impressions.
1) The NUC looks very nice and sleek. I connected it to my LG plasma TV, via Yamaha RXV671 receiver and turned on.
2) First i wanted to enter BIOS screen, pressed F2 but all i was presented was a black/blank screen....tried few times for 15 minutes when switched to google...google was full of reports of the same issue, each suggested different solution...I tried to update BIOS to latest for couple of times using F7 method, but it did not work...every time i pointed it to BIOS file the system just restarted without updating and without any notice...I have owned many many PC's in my life and never observed something like that...anyway, after few more tries i was able to update the BIOS via Recovery BIOS procedure....however it did not solve blank BIOS screen issue
3) OK, so time to more google...i noticed people complained about the same issue when connected thru receiver, so i tried that next (although it wa not easy)...i disconnected my plasma TV from the receiver and connected it directly to the NUC and voila! The BIOS was there!......Now, i own several devices connected to the receiver(set-top box, XBOX 360, and one more PC), and all can show any output to the TV thru the receiver without any problem...so how come 2018 manufactured NUC (not some legacy device invented 10 years ago) cannot transmit its BIOS screen thru the receiver? Its definitely not resolution issue, after installing Windows 10 on it, i switched the resolution to 1024x768 inside Windows, and it was perfectly visible....somehow BIOS video output does not play well with receiver, and this is very sad - i dont want to go through PITA each time i want to update setting in BIOS....
4) Next i noticed the fan noise, so while in BIOS already i switched the Fan profile to Quiet, restarted but did not saw any difference in Fan noise! The Fan is audible close to the unit, even when NUC does nothing....i will try Fanless profile next, however i need again to disconnect the TV from receiver and connect it directly
5) In Windows 10, after installing all drivers (validated with Intell support tool) i still have some unknown device without driver...need to figure it out
6) I configured the NUC for HDMI CEC control....however this thing is unpredictable....when NUC turns on it turns on the TV but receiver remains in standby...when i turn NUC off, it switches off the receiver, but TV stays on! Moreover, the NUC waked up from sleep by itself at night and switched on the TV ...and thats how i found it in the morning..i hope my plasma TV did not get burned..i am going to turn off HDMI control feature until I understand how to operate it reliably...
All and all i got mixed feelings...i am a tech enthusiast, owned many PC's and streamer's and out of the box NUC experience is not that great and even a bit disappointing... It would be great if Intel representatives can relate to the issues i pointed out
Thanks