Intel Next Unit of Computing Kit with HDMI, Thunderbolt, Core i3-3217UDC3217BY

3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 116 ratings
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Product details

Item width
11.2 centimeters

About this item

  • Ultra Small Form Factor (USFF) Computing Platform at approximately 4" x 4"
    •
  • Smallest Thunderbolt Capable device ever!
    •
  • Supports Display Independent Display capability using HDMI 1.4a and Thunderbolt 1.1a
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  • Wifi/Bluetooth Antennae integrated into the chassis for ease of integration
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  • VESA mounting bracket included
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  • Intel WiDi Supported
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Product Description

THINK YOU KNOW WHAT SMALL CAN DO? THINK AGAIN. It's one thing to power your digital display and transfer video blazingly fast. It's another to do all that and more with a miniscule, intelligent powerhouse of a computing device. This is why we created the Next Unit of Computing. At a diminutive 4"×4"×2" form factor and equipped with the 3rd gen-eration Intel Core i3 processor, the DC3217BY delivers stunning visuals and responsive performance from a pocket-sized solution. What's even more amazing is that such a small device can offer so much power in an expandable, customizable package. Dramatically increase data transfer rates and transform device interconnectivity with Thunderbolt technology. Get a difference in performance you can truly see and feel.

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Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.59 x 4.41 x 1.54 inches; 2 Pounds
  • Item model number ‏ : ‎ BOXDC3217BY
  • Batteries ‏ : ‎ 1 Lithium Ion batteries required.
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ November 19, 2012
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Intel
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0093LINT2
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 116 ratings

Product specifications

Jewelry Information
Brand, Seller, or Collection Name Intel
Item Length 4.59 inches
Model number BOXDC3217BY
Model Year 2012

Top Brand: Intel

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Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
116 global ratings

Customers say

Customers like the value for money, functionality, and speed of the personal computer. They mention it's a nice little computer, does its job, and is fast. Some also like the noise level and ease of installation. However, some dislike the power cord and have different opinions on the heat resistance.

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Value for moneyFunctionalitySpeedSizeNoise levelEase of installationHeat resistancePower cord
31 customers mention "Value for money"27 positive4 negative

Customers like the value of the computer. They say it's a nice little computer with everything they need to run. Some mention it's a great TV box or mini-desktop.

"...n't say enough positive things about this product - really worth the minor extra effort to pop in memory, wifi and SSD and install your own OS...." Read more

"Got it for a great price. Beware of the following:Due to the thunderbolt controller, you will not find a ethernet port...." Read more

"I like this third generation model due to the affordable price. I bought one with 480GB SSD, 16GB memory and a wireless card...." Read more

"...but if you do know or you are willing to learn - it's a nice little computer - everything you need to run your TV, or whatever - this one didn't..." Read more

20 customers mention "Functionality"20 positive0 negative

Customers are satisfied with the functionality of the computer. They mention it's small, does its job, and is simple to assemble. Some say it's powerful and easy to configure with other internal hardware. Overall, customers say it's a great system for everyday tasks and a mid-range computer.

"...This worked great, but it didn't carry sound and the NUC doesn't have a 3.5 mm round audio connector...." Read more

"...It works great, but only EVERY OTHER REBOOT. I have to reboot twice, no matter what, to get the wifi card to work...." Read more

"...is a ROYAL PAIN to configure, this system will, indeed, run Yosemite flawlessly." Read more

"...Even for some games it is still powerful...." Read more

18 customers mention "Speed"18 positive0 negative

Customers are satisfied with the speed of the computer. They mention it's fast, performs great, and apps launch almost instantly. The XBMC GUI is quite responsive and the integrated graphics help out substantially. It does great browsing the web and some light word processing.

"...Installed Kubuntu without a problem and it runs fast - very snappy performance. And this is a very small box...." Read more

"...Otherwise, speedy little machine. Mine cold boots in 5 seconds. Be sure to update bios...." Read more

"...It is fast! Yes, you can save money by using Linux variants, but Windows on her phone and computer really made my wife content...." Read more

"...Added a 128GB mSSD I had around and the thing is unusually fast...." Read more

11 customers mention "Size"11 positive0 negative

Customers like the size of the computer. They mention it's small, quiet, and power-saving. Some say it's a perfect solution for someone with limited space.

"...And this is a very small box. My wife actually wanted to confirm that the little red square was what was running our home theatre at the time...." Read more

"...Boom....done. Performance is great. Perfect solution for someone with limited space, basically this thing fits in your hand...." Read more

"...I love the size and speed of the unit. It boots Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit in 20 seconds and shuts down in 5 seconds...." Read more

"...Intel, are you listening?. But the unit is small and does its job. Great as a Home Theater PC." Read more

8 customers mention "Noise level"8 positive0 negative

Customers are satisfied with the computer's noise level. They mention it's super quiet and sounds great.

"...a USB port for power and signal (it must have a DAC builtin) and sounds great." Read more

"...Problem solved. Too bad it doesn't support GBE or USB 3.0. Quiet but get a little warm." Read more

"...added the 128 Gig drive most people suggest. fast and silent - not sure but probably pulls about 40watts. Add a wireless keyboard/mouse too...." Read more

"...applications almost never make you wait, and the whole thing is super quiet...." Read more

7 customers mention "Ease of installation"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the installation of the computer easy. They mention it works well, is smooth, and boots in seconds.

"...Installed Kubuntu without a problem and it runs fast - very snappy performance. And this is a very small box...." Read more

"...So I switched to installing Mavericks MacOS. The installation is smooth but it does not recognize the wireless card again...." Read more

"...The unit seems snappy enough. Assembly is obvious and easy. All the parts were recognized by Windows 8.1 without any hunting around...." Read more

"...It boots in seconds. I used minidisplay port to dvi cable to connect my 24 inch dell monitor...." Read more

9 customers mention "Heat resistance"4 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the heat resistance of the computer. Some mention it doesn't overheat too much, while others say it runs very hot and has a cooling issue.

"...The new model also addresses the heat issue by means of employing the new Haswell CPU, way cool (literally)!" Read more

"...Too bad it doesn't support GBE or USB 3.0. Quiet but get a little warm." Read more

"...Can play anything I throw at it, and doesn't overheat too much. I added 8GB along with a 128GB mSATA SSD." Read more

"...There are overheating complaints. Intel released firmwares to try and fix this and finally updated the product...." Read more

8 customers mention "Power cord"0 positive8 negative

Customers are dissatisfied with the power cord of the computer. They mention it lacks a 3.5mm plug and doesn't come with the cord from the wall to the adapter.

"...Its also lacking a 3.5mm plug so hdmi audio only and 3 pong power cord...." Read more

"...a WTF moment for me, but sure enough - it says right on the box - no AC power cord. Luckily it uses the same cord as my HP laptop...." Read more

"...It does not have a power cord! What?!?! It has the power adapter, but no cord from the wall to the adapter. That's just crazy...." Read more

"...This device's power supply does not come with the chord to AC. I guess it is a worldwide product...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

572Rocks
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow. Forget a full-size PC or laptop, this is the PC for you
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2014
Verified Purchase
My setup is as follows:

NUC
4GB Crucial 1333 DDR3 SODIMM (1 stick)
120 GB Crucial SSD

What you need: Wifi card - get one of the suggested ones - I am sure I saw a $10 dual-band wireless-n from Intel for the NUC.
Wireless keyboard with touchpad (already had).

All told, this box cost us a total of about $320. I had a USB network (ethernet) adapter lying around, so that didn't cost me anything extra. I would probably get a Thunderbolt ethernet adapter, if I didn't have the other one lying around. In fact, I might get one anyway, since the throughput would be much fast than USB and I'll never use the Thunderbolt (mini display port) port for anything else, anyway. Really impressed with Intel's design.

And let's talk about that. Right now I am watching recorded TV via XBMC (.wtv files) - using a USB-ethernet adapter, streaming 1080p. No hitches, no wacky audio sync. Perfect playback.

I am not sure I would use one of these to replace a Windows-based HTPC, but you could certainly set it up that way. Couldn't get at the performance with Windows 7, but may give it a try, just to see. With Win7 professional, you're adding another $150 to the price tag, though.

Installed Kubuntu without a problem and it runs fast - very snappy performance. And this is a very small box. My wife actually wanted to confirm that the little red square was what was running our home theatre at the time. The ports are easy access and no frills. memory and mSATA SSD pop in easily. The bottom cover comes off without any issues.

If you have a few extra dollars, set this up with Kubuntu, Steam and XBMC and you have a great, cheap Xbox 360 replacement that still functions as a complete computer.

I really can't say enough positive things about this product - really worth the minor extra effort to pop in memory, wifi and SSD and install your own OS. Powerful elegant and small. Make sure you have a wireless keyboard/mouse combo, or wireless keyboard with touchpad.
One person found this helpful
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J. Lin
4.0 out of 5 stars Great little machine for web and movies.
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2013
Verified Purchase
Got it for a great price. Beware of the following:
Due to the thunderbolt controller, you will not find a ethernet port. I used a usb Ethernet with usb ports to solve this issue. There is a $10 one by Sabrant with 2 additional usb and ethernet on amazon. Its also lacking a 3.5mm plug so hdmi audio only and 3 pong power cord. I think you could use the thunderbolt port as a mini displayport out to hdmi for second display source. Otherwise, speedy little machine. Mine cold boots in 5 seconds. Be sure to update bios. You'll need to buy your own msata ssd, wireless card and ddr3 sodimm.
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Arthur A.
5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2013
Verified Purchase
First, my wife wanted the easiest to use phone, she selected a Windowsphone - and is exceedingly happy.
Second, her MacMini was old, we replaced it with the i3 Intel NUC plus $100 for Windows 8.1 at about half of the cost of a new MacMini - and she is exceedingly happy again. It is fast! Yes, you can save money by using Linux variants, but Windows on her phone and computer really made my wife content.
Third, one little glitch. We used her old monitor with VGA and DVI by purchasing an HDMI/DVI adapter cable. This worked great, but it didn't carry sound and the NUC doesn't have a 3.5 mm round audio connector. There is a great solution however: buy the Pioneer S-MM301 speaker pair for under $50 from Amazon. It plugs directly into a USB port for power and signal (it must have a DAC builtin) and sounds great.
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H B
1.0 out of 5 stars not functional
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2014
Verified Purchase
1 wifi card wasn't working, thus updating the drivers was impossible. No offline drivers available.
Both on win 7 and win Vista there where no compatible drivers foind, mor installed upon installation

2 bluetooth had a <1 ft range

3 hdmi was not compatible with my 720p Optoma projector.
Device wouldn't even want to boot up.
Bios did not allow me to select 720p resolution on a spare projector I had where it was compatible with.
So at 1024 pix 3/4 resolution it worked fine, but only by re plugging the projectors mid way.
No audio out. Sucks.

I spent about 2 weeks waiting for all my stuff to arrive, ssd and memory, win 7 dvd, and wifi card.
now I can ship back everything!

Most discouraging 2 weeks of my life!
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Wallace Bradt
2.0 out of 5 stars doesn't work well with the 7260 Wifi half mini card.
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2014
Verified Purchase
Bought this along with the dual-band Intel 7260 Wifi Half Mini card to run XBMC. It works great, but only EVERY OTHER REBOOT. I have to reboot twice, no matter what, to get the wifi card to work. I don't know if the issue is the wifi card or the NUC, but they are both going back. FYI: I tried updating bios, updating drivers, and a different OS. I have had problems with other buggy Intel hardware before, so not entirely surprised.

Note: I bought two NUCs and two wireless cards at the same time, and they both exhibited the same issue.
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Angie
3.0 out of 5 stars Good and affordable computer for home labs
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
I like this third generation model due to the affordable price. I bought one with 480GB SSD, 16GB memory and a wireless card. I intended to use this to install VMWare vSphere hypervisor 5.5. However, I got a flattened screw on the wireless card slot, and I cannot fixate the wireless card. I tried installing backtrack 5.1 but the software cannot recognize the Intel wireless card. So I switched to installing Mavericks MacOS. The installation is smooth but it does not recognize the wireless card again. I had no luck in installing vsphere. It hanged up after the initial load page (probably due to missing drivers).

I really liked the form factor. I may just have bad luck with the wireless card screw. Amazon kindly accepts my return.
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D. Richardson
5.0 out of 5 stars Suprisingly good.
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2014
Verified Purchase
Installed an Intel 72xx series ac/Bluetooth wireless adapter (Works in Windows 7 and 8.x) and a stick of 1600MHz memory and the thing comes up. Added a 128GB mSSD I had around and the thing is unusually fast. Using it with one of those Logitech keyboard/glide-point wireless keyboards with the nano adapter. No problem. Thundebolt/DP port works with HDMI adapter. Plays 4K video at 1080p with no problem. No native 4K, though.

Windows Server 2012 R2 installed as a DC but the intel 72xx NIC does not work. Switched to a Raitek I had. Problem solved. Too bad it doesn't support GBE or USB 3.0. Quiet but get a little warm.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Philippe losier
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in Canada on January 19, 2017
Verified Purchase
nice computer i use with kodi on my home theater
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Climbatize
5.0 out of 5 stars Parfait en HTPC
Reviewed in France on July 5, 2015
Verified Purchase
J'ai acheté ce PC avec un disque  Kingston SMS200S3/30G mSATA , un barrette de RAM  Transcend JM1333KSN-4G  et un clé WIFI  Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235
Je l'utilise uniquement avec ma TV en lecteur multimedia. J'ai testé windows 8 avec succès, mais prend trop de place sur le SSD, j'ai donc opté pour Kodibuntu. J'utilise le dongle  FLIRC  avec une vieille télécommande, c'est parfait.
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Saul Tomico Leon
5.0 out of 5 stars Muy util como HTPC
Reviewed in Spain on June 8, 2014
Verified Purchase
Lo compré hace unos meses. Le puse 8Gb de RAM y un SSD de 128Gb para el SO (instalé w8.1)

Lo uso mayoritariamente como HTPC para el salón. Con XBMC funciona perfecto y es capaz de reproducir sin problemas archivos mkv a 1080p de resolucion.

La unica pega es que no tiene puerto ethernet, pero con una buena tarjeta wifi (yo le puse la Intel ® 6235AN.HMWWB) se consiguen buenas tasas de transferencia.
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Raffaele F.
5.0 out of 5 stars Grande acquisto!
Reviewed in Italy on May 26, 2014
Verified Purchase
Prodotto acquistato per un utilizzo di base quale navigazione e gestione documenti e fogli elettronici.
Al suo interno vi e' la sola scheda madre ed il processore saldato di terza generazione i3-3217u (2 core / 4 thread @ 1.80GHz, no turbo). Il prodotto deve essere necessariamente abbinato a RAM DDR3 (1.5V max, 2 blocchi max) e ad un SSD mSata. L'uso di una scheda wireless e' opzionale ma altamente consigliato: il prodotto non dispone di una porta ethernet e l'uso di un adattatore wireless USB andrebbe ad occupare inutilmente una delle poche porte a disposizione.
L'unita' offre 3 porte USB 2.0, una porta thunderbolt e una HDMI full sized. Le sue dimensioni sono 11x11x4cm.
La confezione comprende un alimentatore ma NON il cavo di alimentazione, il NUC e una placca VESA standard da usare per fissare l'unita' dietro al monitor (ammesso che quest'ultimo lo supporti).

Questo prodotto offre le prestazioni comparabili a quelle di un ultrabook ma con un prezzo incredibilmente piu' basso (aggiungendo un ssd da 128GB, 8GB di RAM e scheda wireless l'esborso totale e' di 300€ circa); il consumo incredibilmente basso e la bassissima rumorisita' lo rendono decisamente adatto per il download di torrent per lunghi periodi.

Iper-consigliato a tutti quelli che desiderano acquistare un prodotto domestico dalle funzionalita' di base o un HTPC.
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Etech
5.0 out of 5 stars Ideal als XBMC Media-Center
Reviewed in Germany on May 17, 2014
Verified Purchase
Ich habe das NUC seit ein paar Monaten als Media-Center mit XBMC im Einsatz und bin restlos begeistert. Das System reagiert nicht nur schnell, sondern ist auch noch sehr leise, so dass es selbst bei Stille kaum wahrnehmbar ist (wenn ein Film läuft sowieso nicht mehr).

Der einzige, aber vorhersehbare Kritikpunkt ist das Fehlen einer LAN-Buchse, so dass nur eine WLAN-Anbindung möglich ist. In Verbindung mit der Intel 6250 WLAN-Karte ( Intel 6250 WiMax WiFi Half Mini Wireless Karte | Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250, Dual Stream, Dual Band ) stellt aber auch das Streamen von HD-Filmen kein Problem dar. Wer aber Probleme mit dem WLAN-Empfang hat, sollte lieber auf eine der anderen NUC-Varianten (mit LAN-Buchse) zurückgreifen.

Neben der Funktion ist im Wohnzimmer ja auch das Äußere entscheidend und hier muss man das NUC mit seinen kompakten Abmaßen und der edle Optik garantiert nicht im Schrank verstecken!

Warum allerdings kein Netzkabel zum Netzteil beigelegt wird, oder zumindest eine normale Kaltgeräte-Buchse verbaut wird, ist mir schleierhaft? Folgendes Kabel ist z.B. geeignet:  Wentronic Netzkabel (Schukostecker auf IEC 320-C5 Buchse) 1,8m schwarz
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