Replacing Intel NUC NUC5i5RYK

[exopina]

Hi all, I am in desperate need to upgrade my Intel NUC NUC5i5RYK as the CPU is very very slow. I want to stay with the NUC family and was wondering if I were to buy a new NUC, could I use my existing memory(Crucial 8GB Kit (2 x 4GB) DDR3L 1600 MT/s (PC3L-12800) SODIMM 204-Pin 1.35V Laptop Memory - CT2KIT51264BF160B)

and

SSD card(SAMSUNG 850 EVO M.2 2280 250GB SATA III 3 D NAND Internal SSD Single Unit Version MZ-N5E250BW).

Can you help me find a NUC that's compatible to these parts or is it not worth keeping and to buy new Memory and hard drive along with CPU?

Appreciate the help in advance!

[LeonWaksman]

You use this the DDR3 SODIMM in the new generation NUC computers. You need to buy DDR4 (with much higher frequency). I also suggest to buy new NVMe SSD PCIe Gen 4, although your SSD may work, however with degraded performance.

If for example you will buy NUC11i5TNH, the list of compatible part you may see here. More products may work on this NUC, but this is a list of parts tested by Intel.

Leon

[exopina]

Thanks for your reply Leon, your response is very helpful. I couldn't find NUC11i5TNH on intel site. 

I was looking at NUC11PAHi5(not sure what the PAH stands for) and purchasing Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 2666, hard to find 3200 and use my current SSD. Would this work? 

[n_scott_pearson]

Yes, this would work, but, as Leon said, using a M.2 NVMe SSD instead of your M.2 SATA SSD will help performance considerably. Remember that SATA supports only 6Gb/s. A M.2 NVMe SSD could, depending upon size and cache, provide as much as 35Gb/s read and 30Gb/s write.
Hope this helps,
...S

P.S. PA is Panther Canyon.

[LeonWaksman]

Hi @exopina 

You are right, NUC11i5TNH it was a typo error. I intend to NUC11TNHi5 . This NUC TN (Tiger Canyon) is a parallel class to NUC11PAHi5 (Panther Canyon). You may see the comparison between this two NUCs.  I for may self will prefer the NUC TN, however this NUC is currently hardly available, so the Panther Canyon is an other good option.

To answer your question about Crucial compatible memory, please refer to the list of memory tested by Crucial for your NUC. You will find there many options, including link where to buy it.  For example Crucial RAM 16GB Kit (2x8GB) DDR4 3200MHz CL22 (or 2933MHz or 2666MHz) Laptop Memory CT2K8G4SFRA32A

As Scott explained, you should not use the M.2 SATA drive you have. I suggest you should buy PCIe 4 NVMe drive. For example Samsung 980 PRO 500GB PCIe NVMe Gen4 Internal Gaming SSD M.2 (MZ-V8P500B). (Of course, you can buy higher than 500GB capacity drive). An other option for SSD may be WD_BLACK 500GB SN850 NVMe Internal Gaming SSD Solid State Drive - Gen4 PCIe, M.2 2280, 3D NAND, Up t...This is a list of Intel Validated Products for NUC11PAHi5. 

Hope this information will help you

Leon

[exopina]

Very helpful gentlemen. Looks like the tiger canyon is the better option, but like you mentioned very limited supply. 

Can you explain what the difference to each model is? I don't see much of a difference except for size.

NUC11TNHi50L

NUC11TNKi5

NUC11TNHi5

[LeonWaksman]

NUC11TNHi5 and NUC11TNKi5 are the model names where TN is for "Tiger Canyon" NUC, "H" is the tall version with bay for 2.5" storage drive (in addition to the M.2 drive), while "K" is the low version (only M.2 drive). Please refer to Technical Product Specification.

NUC11TNHi50L is dual LAN option of the same computer.

Leon

[LeonWaksman]

I've suggested NUC11TNHi5 as a decent upgrade for NUC5i5RYK, but just to complete the information, this is the full list Intel® NUC Kit with 11th Generation Intel® Core™ Processors

Your choice may be other, depend of your budget and requirements.

Leon

[n_scott_pearson]

I will add that, when you opt for the dual-LAN capability, you lose the use of the M.2 2242 connector for SSD support.

Intel giveth and Intel taketh away. Ok, bad analogy; the M.2 2242 connector is actually used to support the dual-LAN capability; it's not wasted.

...S

[exopina]

Much applicated gentlemen. I have been browsing and supply is scarce, maybe because the 12th gen lineup is coming out soon. Might be best to wait a few weeks before pulling trigger.