Energy efficiency i3 vs i7 NUC

[benkrebs]

Hey all,

I researched a lot and found out the different wattages in benchmarks, etc. ... but

- when I encode something with an i7 it consumes more power but for a shorter period of time to finish the task: 100 watts for 1h == 10 watt for 10h == 100Wh

- when the system is idle (UBUNTU server w/o any GUI; docker running) the consumption is also quite similar around 4-6 watts

-> hypothesis: when I buy an i7 NUC for running the same services I will +- 10% have the same power consumption as with an i3 NUC

-> is that correct? If no, why not?

TL;NR

I think about that as I need the power of an i7 to handle parallel video encoding streams. In that case, of course, the power consumption of the system will be quite high.

Important for me is the low power consumption when idle, that's what the servers usually are in my case.

Thanks a lot!

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello @benkrebs

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

Just to make sure, is this inquiry regarding the energy efficiency and power consumption for an Intel NUC that you already have? If yes, could please provide the model of the NUC and the operating system? Please check the chassis label at the bottom of the NUC and look for "Product Code" and "Regulatory Model" (or similar).

Or, are you looking to buy a new Intel® NUC so the inquiry is for the potential purchased device?

Also, could you please provide more details about the video encoding tasks that you will be working with?

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[benkrebs]

Hey Andrew,

thanks for your response.

So to more precise:

- I need support to choose which NUC to buy. I operate a Celeron based low power & low performance system

- I need

• a server that usually runs as efficient as possible (today I have 4-6 W)
• a server that can transcode videos from different formats to mobile
  • 4k / full hd to 720p or lower depending on mobile bandwidth
  • H.264
  • m2ts

My question: does an i7 NUC consume the same or more energy for the same task like encoding a 1h video.

Idea: an i7 needs much more power at a moment but shall be faster performing the same task. After that he should be idle quicker then the Pentium Gold or the i3.

Right?

What power does an i7 NUC consume while idle? 4W with Ubuntu?

Thanks!!

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello benkrebs

Thank you for the details. Please allow us to review this further and we will be posting back as soon as more information is available.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi @benkrebs and @AndrewG_Intel 

This is a very interesting conversation and also a bit difficult to address.

Based on the usage description I would immediately recommend a NUC running an i7 processor, especially due to the video transcoding requirement. 

I would go with a system that holds a processor with a higher performance such as the i7 that will complete the task faster and then it will go down to the lower TDP-down frequency which will result in less energy consumption overall.

By the way, I am thinking on 11th Gen based on NUC --> Tiger Canyon systems: Intel® NUC 11 Pro Kit NUC11TNHi30Z vs Intel® NUC 11 Pro Kit NUC11TNKi70Z

I hope this helps,

Ronny G

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello benkrebs

We are checking this thread and we would like to know if you need further assistance. Please do not hesitate to contact us back if you have additional inquiries.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello benkrebs

We have not heard back from you so we will proceed to close this thread now. If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Karan1997]

i3 isn't reliable from my opinion