How to power the NUC8I7HNK with only 12 volts?

[REs]

Previous NUC systems could be powered with anything from 12 to 19 Volts; some even with 12 to 24 Volts.

According to the Technical Product Specification the NUC8I7HNK needs +19.5 (±10%) V.

Is there a way to run it on 12 Volts? Maybe, by connecting the power somewhere on the inside i.s.o. using the connector on the back panel? I believe this was possible with earlier NUCs.

[n_scott_pearson]

Sure, but only if you are also employing some sort of DC-DC (Buck) converter to generate the necessary 19.5V. You also need to make sure you make a minimum of 230W stably available.

Hope this helps,

...S

[REs]

Thanks, but I was looking for another way, without an external DC-DC converter. I believe some previous NUCs could be powered with 12V using a connector on the inside. Is this not possible with this generation?

[n_scott_pearson]

This is an enthusiast model, with a (relatively speaking) very high wattage requirement, and, as such, support for being embeddable was not a consideration. It simply does not have the same support for variable input voltages that is included in the models that are considered potentially embeddable. If you want to embed it, you will need to use a buck converter. Frankly, if this 12V input ever comes from a battery, you should always have a buck converter in the circuit anyway (even if you have it going from 12V to 12V).

...S

P.S. BTW, only the NUC boards that are (also) sold standalone (i.e. chassisless) will have the internal power input connector.

[REs]

Thank you.

Yes, the 12V will come from a battery, but the battery will supply a higher voltage, so I will already use a DC-DC converter to make the 12 volts. I need the 12V to power an external GPU. It would've been nice to use this 12V for the NUC as well. But I understand I will need two DC-DC converters in my case.

[MLevi]

Rayes,

The ±10% rating means you really want to stay between 17.6V and 21.5V, not the 12V suggested.

I would not recommend going over voltage and for voltages below 19.5V you're going to need more Amps to meet the minimum 230 Watts or you will see performance issues.

In addition, if you do choose to use a lower voltage power source, I recommend setting the PowerSense in BIOS to on.

The possible scenarios using an under-voltage power source:

• Data corruption when writing to storage or boot up - when you typically need a lot more of everything.
• USB powered devices will not charge or if a powered bus, will not power on.
• Damage to the power device you're using.
• Continuous Restarts
• Will not boot

[Chris_V_Intel]

My opinion:

I've seen this talked about a few times here and while I'm sure you can find a way to power the NUC with 12 volts, why would you want to?

If you get it working you're most likely not going to be happy, it takes 19V for a reason.

Besides what MikeLevine already said, the CPU and GPU need a lot of power to deliver the results they do. If you cut that power you're just paying a lot more for what? The performance for a much cheaper device. Why not just get a different, less expensive, NUC.

That being said, I'm truly interested in what the use case of this is.

[REs]

Of course, the CPU and GPU need a lot of power and I will supply the needed wattage. I can supply 30A at 12V. That's 360W. My 12V will come from a battery and then through a DC-DC converter.

I want to use an external GPU, which takes 12V. It would be nice if I could power the NUC with the same 12V, instead of using another DC-DC converter to make 19V. But I understand from Scott Pearson's message that this model was not meant to be embedded and therefore does "not have the same support for variable input voltages that is included in the models that are considered potentially embeddable".

[Ray_W_Intel]

Rayes,

Scott's comments are correct that the NUC8i7HNK/NUC8i7HVK was not designed with a variable input voltage. The system will likely not power up if you provide it 12V only, and beyond that, it may not be stable or safe to operate at that voltage range. Your mileage may vary on your experience with that but running at 12V only is very much not an intended or supported configuration.

[REs]

All right, I understand. It was not my intention to run the NUC on 12V if that wasn't supported. I just hoped there would be an internal power connector I could use.

Are there any plans to release an 8th generation NUC for embedded purposes, that can run on 12V?

[n_scott_pearson]

Intel will not comment on potential future products.

Traditionally (for lack of a better word), Intel has released a family of extended-lifetime NUC products every second generation. The current extended-lifetime NUC product family, known by code name Dawson Canyon, includes products with 7th generation (Kaby Lake) Core i3 and i5 processors and 8th generation (Kaby Lake R) Core i7 processors. The products with Core i5 and i7 processors provide full VPro and hardware TPM support. These products are released as (a) low-profile chassis kits (NUC7i3DNKE, NUC7i5DNKE and NUC7i7DNKE), (b) higher-profile chassis kits with 2.5" SATA drive bay (NUC7i3DNHE, NUC7i5DNHE and NUC7i7DNHE) and (c) bare boards (NUC7i3DNBE, NUC7i5DNBE and NUC7i7DNBE). In all cases, the boards support embedded usage and they have the internal power connector and support power input over the full 12V - 19V range.

Intel considers the Dawson Canyon family of extended-lifetime NUC products to be part of the 7th generation NUC products. Speculating, if Intel sticks with their "tradition", we will thus not see a new family of extended-lifetime NUC products until the 9th generation of NUC products. Note that extended-lifetime NUC products are typically released sometime after standard-lifetime NUC products.

Bottom line, if your next system must have a "true" 8th generation (or later) processor, you won't be purchasing anything for a good while yet.

...S