Broadwell NUC Roadmap Revealed
by Ian Cutress on February 20, 2014 6:05 PM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- CPUs
- Intel
- NUC
- Next Unit of Computing
The Next Unit of Computing (NUC) from Intel is becoming a part of the PC roadmap like never before. Anand reviewed the first generation of the NUC, the DC3217BY, featuring a dual core Ivy Bridge ULV CPU (Core i3 3217U, 17W TDP, 1.8 GHz, HD 4000). Ganesh got the Haswell NUC, the D54250WYK, with a dual core Haswell CPU (Core i5-4250U, 15W TDP, 1.3 GHz/2.8 GHz Turbo + HD5000), as well as the GIGABYTE BRIX Pro, with a full on quad core Haswell CPU (Core i7-4770R) featuring Crystal Well and Iris Pro HD 5200 graphics. The next batch in line will be the Broadwell models, and the road maps for these have just become available courtesy of FanlessTech.
On the consumer side, we have the DN2820FYKH Bay Trail platform coming out in Q1 2014, under the Forest Canyon code name. This gives a Celeron CPU, HDMI, USB 3, 2.5” drive support, an Ethernet port and infra-red/audio capabilities.
For Q4 2014, the Broadwell NUCs should be upon us. If this roadmap is correct, we should expect an i3 and an i5 kit to come to market, under the Rock Canyon code name. Features for Rock Canyon include:
- Mini HDMI
- 4K and Triple Display via miniDP
- M.2 and 2.5” drive options
- USB 3.0 ports
- WiFi and Bluetooth built in
- Replaceable lids for NFC and Wireless Charging
The M.2 connectivity is welcomed, although the replaceable lids might not matter much if a NUC is used in a VESA mount – hopefully there might be a way to run the lid connected to the system via a cable and just resting on the desk. No formal mention of the format of the WiFi connectivity, although as it is now mentioned as part of the kit and built in, hopefully this will be at least a 2T2R 802.11ac solution given we now see it on $150 Intel 8-series motherboards.
Also available is the commercial roadmap, which lists a series of different products:
Using the Maple Canyon code name, the Broadwell commercial NUC is aimed more at a late Q4 launch. Using the Broadwell i5 and vPro with Trusted Platform Module support, this kit mirrors the Broadwell NUC in the consumer line up (4K, M.2, NFC, USB 3.0) although with two miniDP ports for connectivity.
For Atom, starting in Q1 2014 we have the DE3815TYKHE and DE3815TYBE. These are fanless Atom SoCs based on Bay Trail, using 4GB of eMMC as well as HDMI, VGA, eDP and support for legacy IO. The aim here is embedded solutions, such as digital signs and kiosks.
Source: FanlessTech
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zepi - Thursday, February 20, 2014 - link
4K is not ready for mainstream adoption with PC's as long as we don't have HDMI 2.0 or Displayport 1.3 devices.MST is kind of an ugly hack and less than 60Hz is not an option for general usage.
ericloewe - Thursday, February 20, 2014 - link
DisplayPort 1.2 supports a single 4K@60Hz stream, it's the monitors that (mostly) use two controllers instead of a single (apparently expensive/difficult to obtain) controller capable of driving the whole screen at 60Hz.DisplayPort 1.3 doubles the bandwidth, allowing for the obvious extra features (double frame rate/3D, 4K daisy-chaining...)
NLPsajeeth - Thursday, February 20, 2014 - link
"4K and Triple Display via miniDP"If you like your 4K at 30 Hz, then yes, it has 4K support. However personally I don't think GPUs have any business claiming 4K support if they can't support at least 4K @ 60 Hz.
Broadwell has a maximum pixel clock of 300 MHz which means it will never support ALL the resolutions supported by HDMI 2.0 (4K, 60 Hz, 8-bit) or DisplayPort 1.2 (4K, 60Hz, 10-bit). I guess we'll have to wait for Skylake which will only be out late 2015 or even 2016. Sigh.
Mountainjoy - Thursday, February 20, 2014 - link
Consumer 4k you'd actually use with a NUC will take until 2015 or even 2016, so it's not that bad.p1esk - Thursday, February 20, 2014 - link
Haswell's Iris graphics does not support 4k@60Hz resolution? Wow, you totally blew my mind with this info! And even Broadwell not going to??? This is just pathetic.p1esk - Friday, February 21, 2014 - link
Actually, I see some reports that Haswell does support 4K@60Hz:https://discussions.apple.com/message/24067554#240...
Morawka - Friday, February 21, 2014 - link
It does if the connectors are there (thunderbolt/hdmi2.0, or displayport 1.3). The CPU/GPU in haswell/broadwell is prefectly capable of 4K in 2D @ 60FPS/Hzp1esk - Friday, February 21, 2014 - link
Link? So far, I only saw info that Haswell (and Broadwell) has 300MHz pixel clock (24 bit).madmilk - Friday, February 21, 2014 - link
DisplayPort 1.2 (which is used in Thunderbolt 2) is actually enough, and many mid to high-end Haswell boards and laptops have support for that.Penti - Friday, February 21, 2014 - link
MST works fine on Haswell today. Pixel clock/bandwidth problem just effects HDMI.Monitors need to support 60Hz in SST before we fret about potential problems there.
Not even Maxwell does HDMI 2.0 or 600MHz TMDS yet, for that matter.