Pricing and Availability

Pricing

As equipped for our review testing with 32GB of DDR4-2666 memory, and a 240GB SanDisk SSD Plus 2.5-in drive, the total cost of the NUC7i7DNHE system comes to just over $1,000. Considering you could get a premium 8th generation-equipped ultrabook like the Dell XPS 13 for this price (albeit with much less RAM), the value proposition of the NUC is a bit disappointing.

Due to high memory costs, a much more reasonable configuration would be 16GB of RAM along with the same SanDisk SSD Plus. For a 16GB configuration, you are looking more at the $750 range.

Naturally, the NUC still provides a price premium and performance disadvantage compared to what can be had with full-size desktop components, but that's not really the point.

The NUC7i7DNHE provides the right amount of performance for the vast majority of desktop users looking to do productivity tasks, but the package as a whole doesn't make much sense for consumers.

However, we look forward to seeing Intel's replacement for the consumer-focused NUC7i7BNH, which adds features like Thunderbolt 3, Iris Pro graphics, and maintains a cheaper $475 MSRP.

As a device that could be easily used for wide-scale office deployments, VESA mounted behind a display and our of mind, the NUC7i7DNHE makes a lot of sense. The additional expansion slot and lid add-on ecosystem provide flexibility for enterprises that have special requirements, such as VGA and RS-232 that may not be widely available on small form factor systems.

For IT Managers looking for small systems with impressive performance levels for wide-scale deployment or industrial applications, give the NUC7i7DNHE a look.

The NUC7i7DNHE is currently available for preorder from SimplyNUC and is expected to ship later in April.

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