Mini-review: Intel Haswell i5-4200U Powered Msecore Protable Fanless Mini PC Host

The Core i5 version of the box is definitely faster than the Core i3 version. Especially if you were already considering the tall NUCs with 2.5-inch drive support, it's worth looking at the i3 version if gaming or CPU performance is especially important to you.i5-4200u Fanless Mini PC Host

That said, the idea of a performance-focused mini PC is a hard sell. It's only really justifiable if you want something as fast as possible that's also as small as possible—if size is more important, the Core i3 and i5 NUCs will do basically all of the same stuff for quite a bit less money. If performance is more important, a larger desktop will probably give you more bang for your buck. And then there's the still-much-faster Brix Pro, which at $600-ish isn't all that much more expensive than this one. Wait a couple of months and we'll probably see a Broadwell version of that, too.

The Core i5 NUC is a good thing, if only because it's nice to see Intel and others offering a wider variety of mini desktops. All three of the Broadwell NUCs—Core i3, i5, and i7—support similar features. All can drive a 4K display at 60Hz over DisplayPort, and all will accept fast PCI Express SSDs. All of them are tiny PCs with decent performance and power consumption for what they are. All of them help to scratch that system builder itch for people who don't really care to build their own hulking ATX desktops anymore. Decide what you'll use the NUC for—desktop workstation, HTPC, mini game console—pick the one that offers what you need, and go from there. You've got options.

The good

Small.
Upgradeable and expandable.
One-year warranty.
Quiet unless you're putting a lot of stress on it.
Good blend of size, performance, and power consumption if all these things are equally important to you.

Make sure you buy DDR3 if you want the box to live up to its full potential.