Which is better laptop or nuc?

[revzephyr]

I'm trying to decide which to purchase and I would like to hear your comments as to which is better between the below laptop and nuc. Excluding the display, I believe that is can be a fair comparison. It is for home use. Internet and youtube mainly, and some photo editing with Canon's software (DPP) [*system requirements at the end]. I don't want a tower desktop because of space. Which is why I am choosing in the portable category.

In terms of:
• overall performance
• value (cost performance)
• durability
• daily usage (office, internet, youtube)
• photo editing
• gaming
• which do you recommend more and why?
• In real-life situations (daily uses and some photo editing) am I going to experience a significantly notable difference between i7-7500U vs. i7-7567U and GeForce 940MX vs.Iris Plus 650? Or in what kind of situations will it become significantly notable?

Thank you very much in advance, your comments are very much appreciated.

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Laptop: Dell Inspiron 14-7460 (approx. 1,000 USD)

• Intel Core i7-7500U
• NVIDIA GeForce 940MX 2GB GDDR5 (benchmark)
• 2 DDR4 SO-DIMM sockets, 8GB, (up to 32GB, 2400MHz)
• 1TB 5400 rpm + 128GB SSD
• 1 HDMITM 1.4a
• 1 USB 3.0
• 1 USB 3.0 with PowerShare
• 1 USB 2.0
• 1 Noble lock slot
• 1 SD card reader
• wireless 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.2, Dual Band 2.4&5 GHz, 1x1

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NUC NUC7I7BNH (approx. 1,100 USD)
*price includes OS, 2 x 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, 256GB PCI-e SSD

• 7th generation Intel® Core™ i7-7567U processor.
• Intel® Iris™ Plus Graphics 650 (benchmark)
• 2 DDR4 SO-DIMM sockets (up to 32 GB, 2133 MHz).
• 1x SATA3 port for connection to 2.5" HDD or SSD.
• M.2 slot with flexible support for a 42 or 80 mm M.2 SSD.
• Intel® Optane™ Memory ready.
• Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265 and Bluetooth* 4.2.
• 1 HDMI* 2.0 display port supporting 8 channel audio (7.1 surround sound)
• Intel® Gigabit LAN.
• 2 USB 3.0
• 1 Thunderbolt™ 3 port with support for USB* 3.1 gen 2, DisplayPort* 1.2 and 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt.
• Micro SD card slot.
• Consumer infrared sensor.
• 2 USB 3.0 ports (including one charging port) on the front panel.

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Canon DPP system requirements

• Windows 8.1, Windows 7
• Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz or higher (recommended Core i series or later)
• 2.0 GB or more of RAM (4.0 GB or more recommended)
• Installation: Min. 200 MB of available space
• Operation: Min. 256 MB of available space
• Resolution: XGA (1024 x 768) or more (1600 x 1200 or more recommended)
• 16 bit color (65536 colors) or more

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[superninja12]

a laptop is better but google for a 256gb ssd+ i5 7300hq + gtx 1050+ips panel.

 

[TJ Hooker]

Do you already have a display that you would use with the NUC? If you don't actually need portability, and just want something compact, I'd consider an all in on PC, where the monitor/computer are integrated into a single package.

 

[Solandri]

A NUC basically is a laptop, but without a keyboard, trackpad, and display. They use laptop components and an external power supply (AC brick) just like a laptop. I've seen a few which can take more than one drive, but the vast majority only have room for a single drive just like a laptop.

So IMHO they're just an overpriced partial laptop. Their main advantage is their form factor is closer to a cube, so they're able to pack everything into a smaller box (in terms of external surface area). In particular, they will fit into the specially designed VESA mount holders that screw into the VESA mount holes on the back of most monitors and TVs. So they might be a good choice for a HTPC that you plan to leave always-attached to a TV. But IMHO you're still better off buying a laptop. Get a cheap wire cage for holding manila folders from an office supply store, screw that into the VESA mount holes, and just slip the laptop in the holder like it was a folder.

 

[revzephyr]

a laptop is better but google for a 256gb ssd+ i5 7300hq + gtx 1050+ips panel.

Thanks for your comment. Can you give more details why you consider a laptop better?
I appreciate your suggestion for specs, are there any model that you do recommend?

 

[revzephyr]

Do you already have a display that you would use with the NUC? If you don't actually need portability, and just want something compact, I'd consider an all in on PC, where the monitor/computer are integrated into a single package.

Thank you for you additional option. I did look into all-in-one as well, only lower specs were found for similar price.

 

[revzephyr]

A NUC basically is a laptop, but without a keyboard, trackpad, and display. They use laptop components and an external power supply (AC brick) just like a laptop. I've seen a few which can take more than one drive, but the vast majority only have room for a single drive just like a laptop.

So IMHO they're just an overpriced partial laptop. Their main advantage is their form factor is closer to a cube, so they're able to pack everything into a smaller box (in terms of external surface area). In particular, they will fit into the specially designed VESA mount holders that screw into the VESA mount holes on the back of most monitors and TVs. So they might be a good choice for a HTPC that you plan to leave always-attached to a TV. But IMHO you're still better off buying a laptop. Get a cheap wire cage for holding manila folders from an office supply store, screw that into the VESA mount holes, and just slip the laptop in the holder like it was a folder.

Thank you for your comments. I do understand that nuc uses laptop components (aside from the motherboard form factor). As for price, I agree that nuc are generally a bit more expensive especially if you want a better GPU inside. the DIY wire cage mount is very interesting and probably much more simple to most fancy mounting options. I will keep that in mind.

How about in term of specs and performance for the 2 products mentioned above? For example, in real-life situations (daily uses and some photo editing) am I going to experience a significantly notable difference between i7-7500U vs. i7-7567U and GeForce 940MX vs.Iris Plus 650? Or in what kind of situations will it become significantly notable?

 

[Solandri]

You can see the quick summary of the two processors here:

https/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i7_microprocessors#.22Kaby_Lake-U.22_.28dual-core.2C_14_nm.29

Both dual core, same cache. The 7567U is 3.5 GHz with 4/5 turbo, so 3.9 GHz on two cores, 4.0 GHz on a single core. The 7500U is 2.7 GHz with 8/8 turbo, so basically 3.5 GHz. So the 7567U is about 11%-14% faster, but burns 28W vs 15W for the 7500U. Personally I consider a 10% difference barely noticeable, so I'd consider these about the same unless you're going to be doing lots of processor-intensive tasks.

As for the GPUs, you can compare them here. (Can add different games and benchmarks to the comparisons.) They look pretty closely matched.

https/www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphics-Cards.13849.0.html?type=&sort=&archive=1&or=0&itemselect_7023=7023&itemselect_7655=7655&gameselect%5B%5D=480&gameselect%5B%5D=476&gameselect%5B%5D=468&gameselect%5B%5D=464&gameselect%5B%5D=460&gameselect%5B%5D=448&gameselect%5B%5D=434&gameselect%5B%5D=430&gameselect%5B%5D=424&gameselect%5B%5D=420&gameselect%5B%5D=409&gameselect%5B%5D=407&gameselect%5B%5D=402&gameselect%5B%5D=398&gameselect%5B%5D=396&gameselect%5B%5D=386&gameselect%5B%5D=384&gameselect%5B%5D=377&gameselect%5B%5D=375&gameselect%5B%5D=371&gameselect%5B%5D=366&gameselect%5B%5D=332&gameselect%5B%5D=329&gameselect%5B%5D=293&gpu_fullname=1

https/www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html?type=&sort=&showClassDescription=1&archive=1&perfrating=1&or=0&itemselect_7023=7023&itemselect_7655=7655&showBars=1&3dmark13_ice_gpu=1&3dmark13_cloud_gpu=1&3dmark13_fire_gpu=1&3dmark11_gpu=1&gpu_fullname=1&architecture=1&pixelshaders=1&vertexshaders=1&corespeed=1&boostspeed=1&memoryspeed=1&memorybus=1&memorytype=1&directx=1

I use Lightroom as my RAW processor by the way. The library management features are pretty important when you have 20,000+ photos. But if you use Canon DPP, it only supports Nvidia CUDA on GPUs with 1+ GB of VRAM for GPU acceleration of conversion. Since I don't use DPP, I can't say how much the GPU will help. But it'll only be accelerated with the Nvidia 940mx, not the Intel Iris 650.

http/support-th.canon-asia.com/contents/TH/EN/8203456100.html

Edit: Going over your original specs, HDMI 1.4a on the laptop will support up to 2560x1440 @ 75 Hz, or 3840x2160 @ 30 Hz. So if you intend to use a 4k monitor @ 60 Hz, the laptop won't cut it.

 

[revzephyr]

You can see the quick summary of the two processors here:

https/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i7_microprocessors#.22Kaby_Lake-U.22_.28dual-core.2C_14_nm.29

Both dual core, same cache. The 7567U is 3.5 GHz with 4/5 turbo, so 3.9 GHz on two cores, 4.0 GHz on a single core. The 7500U is 2.7 GHz with 8/8 turbo, so basically 3.5 GHz. So the 7567U is about 11%-14% faster, but burns 28W vs 15W for the 7500U. Personally I consider a 10% difference barely noticeable, so I'd consider these about the same unless you're going to be doing lots of processor-intensive tasks.

As for the GPUs, you can compare them here. (Can add different games and benchmarks to the comparisons.) They look pretty closely matched.

https/www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphics-Cards.13849.0.html?type=&sort=&archive=1&or=0&itemselect_7023=7023&itemselect_7655=7655&gameselect%5B%5D=480&gameselect%5B%5D=476&gameselect%5B%5D=468&gameselect%5B%5D=464&gameselect%5B%5D=460&gameselect%5B%5D=448&gameselect%5B%5D=434&gameselect%5B%5D=430&gameselect%5B%5D=424&gameselect%5B%5D=420&gameselect%5B%5D=409&gameselect%5B%5D=407&gameselect%5B%5D=402&gameselect%5B%5D=398&gameselect%5B%5D=396&gameselect%5B%5D=386&gameselect%5B%5D=384&gameselect%5B%5D=377&gameselect%5B%5D=375&gameselect%5B%5D=371&gameselect%5B%5D=366&gameselect%5B%5D=332&gameselect%5B%5D=329&gameselect%5B%5D=293&gpu_fullname=1

https/www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html?type=&sort=&showClassDescription=1&archive=1&perfrating=1&or=0&itemselect_7023=7023&itemselect_7655=7655&showBars=1&3dmark13_ice_gpu=1&3dmark13_cloud_gpu=1&3dmark13_fire_gpu=1&3dmark11_gpu=1&gpu_fullname=1&architecture=1&pixelshaders=1&vertexshaders=1&corespeed=1&boostspeed=1&memoryspeed=1&memorybus=1&memorytype=1&directx=1

I use Lightroom as my RAW processor by the way. The library management features are pretty important when you have 20,000+ photos. But if you use Canon DPP, it only supports Nvidia CUDA on GPUs with 1+ GB of VRAM for GPU acceleration of conversion. Since I don't use DPP, I can't say how much the GPU will help. But it'll only be accelerated with the Nvidia 940mx, not the Intel Iris 650.

http/support-th.canon-asia.com/contents/TH/EN/8203456100.html

Edit: Going over your original specs, HDMI 1.4a on the laptop will support up to 2560x1440 @ 75 Hz, or 3840x2160 @ 30 Hz. So if you intend to use a 4k monitor @ 60 Hz, the laptop won't cut it.

Thanks for the additional comments. It is a great advice. I believe that I can assume there won't be noticeable difference overall given that I don't plan to stress it.

As for DPP and GPU, it was a great note and I didn't notice it. Although I do wonder how much will the performance differ. Without test results, 940MX should perform better than Iris Plus 650.

Thank you for the additional note on HDMI output. I wasn't familiar with the 4K support. Although my monitor is not 4K, but I may change it in the near future and it is good to know that it doesn't support it before the purchase.

I guess with your option, it won't differ if I don't use DPP. However, if I plan to use DPP a lot the laptop will probably perform better.