INFO: Very Affordable Intel Celeron NUC Endpoint

So I got ROCK running on it without a hitch, only thing is I don’t think this nuc has wifi, I wasn’t aware but other than that it works great. I also don’t have my library set up so I will see if that makes a big difference in performance.

The Intel NUC6CAYH does come with a wireless dual band card installed in the the 30mm M.2 slot, just as this following snip, taken from the User’s Guide, indicates:

image

[EDIT-2020/05/19] This NUC has wireless capabilities, but I’m pretty sure they are NOT supported by ROCK - so that’s a bummer. I didn’t even notice this at first, because all my Roon setup is per Ethernet as Roon recommends (except for the control, of course). I guess if one decides to use Windows OS or some Linux OS with Roon Bridge, then you could utilize the internal wireless card with the proper drivers installed. The only reason I hooked the WiFi external antennas up in my first fanless case build using this NUC6CAYH Kit is that I originally thought I was going to install either Linux or Windows as the OS but changed my mind (but I could still do that in the future should I ever change my mind back). But I’m very happy with this ROCK endpoint as is, and I don’t really foresee using WiFi with it at all.

  • john
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You’re in luck !!! – See my previous reply (above)

oh ok that’s pretty cool, I wouldn’t use wifi anyways if it’s going to be the core. If i needed it I would probably just get a usb wifi adapter and use that instead. thanks for the post!

For a RAAT endpoint that can do HDMI out, this is a great find! Thanks!

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Very tempting - out of interest what OS would you use to make it an endpoint? Rock or use something else? If you can’t use Rock I was wondering about OSX but not sure how easy that’d be…

Bill:

You’re Welcome! Just finished putting my 2nd one together and it’s working great.

You can use Windows with the Roon Bridge (or a linux distro); don’t know much about OSX for this use, but I’m sure it could be done. However, FAR better than any of the former, in my opinion, is to use ROCK itself and just not identify it as the core.

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I wasn’t able to get WIFI working with ROCK either. Roon must not have had this particular WIFI adapter setup for ROCK. Takes some of the charm away from the NUC6CAY as an endpoint. But there should be other ways to skin that cat (Dietpi, etc).

Happy to use ROCK on it to make it an endpoint. I wonder whether the 3.5mm headphone / toslink cable would work as the output to my Oppo… if I knew it does, would order one straight away!!

Just bought an Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 802.11ac M.2 card for the NUC6CAYH. It is a ROCK-supported card (in the NUC5i5ryX series) and also an Intel-approved alternate card for the NUC6CAYH. After I get it and install it, I’ll report back as to if it will actually enable wireless capability for the NUC6CAYH with a ROCK OS install.

Just set up one of these endpoints. Very happy with it looks a lot nicer than a pi and sounds pretty good with my dac.

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I think this NUC-endpoint will always be at least a little more trouble-free and reliable than any RPi setup. I was tempted to do an RPi endpoint for a long time, mainly because it was something new and NOW, and I always like keeping current and learning just a little more. But I couldn’t quite equate what an RPi could do vs. a good affordable NUC endpoint. This is the first NUC that could even approach an RPi in cost (still a little more); but it has multichannel HDMI out as well as any and possibly even more USB than most RPi’s can do. Hoping I can enable wireless as well, although, I don’t think I will ever use it - but I guess others may want to. I’ll keep you updated - will not be to the end of this week, though.

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I have a NUC DE3815 an Atom based thin client with ROCK on it, which was recommended by @Henry_McLeod works a treat as a endpoint. I recently plugged a cheap wireless dongle I had for a pi into it and rebooted and it showed up and worked perfectly fine to.

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The DE3815 is a bit of a hidden gem. It is a single core Atom powered device but with the properly engineered elements the Pi lacked. Proper gigabit Ethernet, no shared highways and unconditionally stable with ROCK. Most importantly, with a 6 watt TDP it has a passive heat sink. My only regret was I was never able to get it to boot from its on board storage but it successfully powered and booted from a SATA DOM. So no need for a full sized (2.5 inch) HDD/SSD.

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I have no idea of how to use the on-board storage, I just put in a spare small SSD I had and ram from a QNAP I upgraded the memory on. Was quite convenient in the end. It does run a little hot so best not have anything on top.

Already got the card in my Amazon cart. Awaiting your results!

Thanks for taking one for the team.

This does look like a promising endpoint. Seems the processor is minimal, but I guess you don’t need that much for an endpoint. Very compact and sleek design, and if you can load and boot ROCK w/o the additional cost of an SSD, this may be one of the most affordable and reliable endpoints. Good find.

OK, bought the Intel AC 7265 dual-band wireless M.2 card from Amazon ($14.68). It looked to me like it wasn’t being shipped from China and was authentic Intel. I received it fairly fast, so I think it shipped from within the US. Whether it is authentic Intel or not, I have no idea – actual card I received looked different than Amazon’s photo, but the card itself looked very much like the card I removed from the NUC6CAYH (obviously a different model, but it had the Intel logo on the back of the card, rather than the front, just like the one I bought). Here are photos of the card I bought from Amazon:
AC7265-front AC7265-back

Install went just fine and Voila!:

WIRELESS ENABLED !!!

PS. Be VERY careful when installing this card. The terminals are very minute and easy to damage if you don’t have the leads positioned just right and then seated correctly. I’ve previously destroyed one in the past.

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Unfortunately, the NUC6CAYH Kit went from $97 back up to $147 at B&H photo just recently; don’t know if it will come down again in the future. It’s still a great NUC for an endpoint and far more affordable than most.

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