Akasa rolled out the Tesla H, an all-aluminium fanless case for Intel's second-generation NUC, based on its Core "Haswell" processor. At 240 x 150 x 48 mm, it's somewhere in between traditional NUCs and slimline mini-ITX cases; but uses that volume productively, in adding not one, but two 2.5-inch drive bays. The first one takes advantage of the standard SATA 6 Gb/s port on the D54250WYK motherboard, and the other requires the included mSATA to SATA adapter. The case is also compatible with Intel's D54250WYB and D34010WYB motherboards.

As mentioned earlier, the all-aluminium case features ridges along its body that let it double up as a passive heatsink for the Core "Haswell" processor and PCH. In addition to the two 2.5-inch drive bays, the Tesla H offers two front-panel USB 3.0 ports, HDA audio jacks, a USB infrared receiver, three holes for WLAN/Bluetooth antennae, a Kensington lock slot, and VESA wall mounts. Akasa didn't announce pricing or availability details.

Inter-Tech today announced the IT-3900, its first PC case designed for Intel's NUC (Next Unit of Computing) platform. Pictured below, this aluminum-made NUC chassis measures 43 x 125 x 110 mm, it supports the Intel D33217GKE and DCP847SKE motherboards, and comes bundled with a 60 W external power supply.

The IT-3900 will come with a two-year warranty. No word on pricing yet.

Akasa is giving final touches to a variant of its Newton series fan-less case for the second-generation NUC platform, which is based on Core "Haswell" processors. Called Newton H (H for "Haswell,") the case measures 150 mm x 170 mm x 47 mm (W x D x H), dry-weighing about 1 kg, making it about 20 mm longer than its predecessor, and pushing it into the mini-ITX gray-area. Made of anodized aluminium, the Newton H features a chunky, ridged body, which doubles up as heatsink for the CPU and PCH. It features cut-outs at the right spots for a couple of front-panel USB 3.0 ports, front-panel HD audio jacks, an infrared receiver, holes at the back for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antennae, and other connectors standard to the form-factor. Other features include Kensington lock slots, and VESA wall-mount support, which let you securely tuck it away, behind your flat-screen monitor. The company didn't finalize pricing or availability.

CMTL, Computer Memory Test Labs, the industry's leading independent memory compatibility and functionality testing lab announced today that G.Skill's 4 GB and 8 GB 1866MHz DDR3L (low voltage, 1.35v) SO-DIMMs have received Advanced Tested certification on the Intel NUC D53427RKE platform with i5 Ivy Bridge processor.

CMTL's President, John Deters stated, "Having high speed G.Skill SO-DIMMs Advanced Tested on the D53427RKE platform is great news for the Intel NUC customer base. The Intel NUC form factor platform is really catching on in the industry based on the number of test requests we are receiving. The NUC D53427RKE with G.Skill's 1866 MHz speed SO-DIMM provides a high performance system solution in a small compact form factor."

Here is the first picture of Akasa Tesla, the company's latest fan-less chassis for Intel's NUC (next unit of computing) system boards. When launched, it will be compatible with both generations of the NUC platform. It stays fan-less with its anodized aluminium body doubling up as a heatsink for the CPU, PCH, and other hot components. It's bigger than the average fan-less NUC case, and features room for two 9 mm-thick 2.5-inch drives, which can be anything between a fast SSD, or a spacious HDD. Not much else is known about the case, and one could expect a formal launch pretty soon.

Tranquil PC is refreshing its compact fan-less case lineup with one that supports the second-generation NUC (next unit of computing) platform, based on Intel's Core "Haswell" processors. Pictured below, the all-aluminium cases are fanless, and rely on the body of the case to dissipate heat from the CPU and PCH, all while measuring 110 x 164 x 47 mm. The case supports Intel's D54250WYB NUC system board, featuring Core i5-4250U dual-core processor, and cutouts for its various connectors, including WLAN jack, DC power-input, mini-DisplayPort, dual PCIe mini-card connectors, mini-HDMI 1.4a, gigabit Ethernet, CIR, four USB ports, and audio jacks. Tranquil PC promises 12 to 25 percent lower temperatures than Intel's air-cooled case. Available now, the case is priced at £99.

Impactics unveiled the first fanless case for Intel's second-generation NUC (next unit of computing) desktop, which is based on the company's Core "Haswell" family. The still unnamed cases pictured below, are ready for Intel's D54250WYK motherboard, which feature Intel Core i5-4250U processors (dual-core, up to 2.60 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache). The cases are built from solid blocks of aluminium, and its body panels double up as heatsinks for the processor and chipset. Given that the reference chassis for D54250WYK from Intel comes with a lateral-blower fan that can get noisy on loads, cases such as these from Impactics could go a long way for the platform.

Intel rolled out its first NUC (next unit of computing) kit based on its newest 4th generation Core processor family. Named NUC D54250WYK, it's a combination of D54250 motherboard, and a compatible chassis, with a compatible cooling solution. Its motherboard integrates a BGA Core i5-4250U processor (dual-core, HTT, 1.30-2.60 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache, HD 5000 graphics with Ultra-HD support), Intel QS77 chipset, room for two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots (16 GB max., DDR3-1600 supported).

Connectivity on the D54250WYK includes four USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ports, two USB 2.0/1.1 ports (internal header), gigabit Ethernet, a SATA 6 Gb/s port (internal), one full-height mPCIe gen 2.0, which doubles up as mSATA 6 Gb/s, and one half-height mPCIe gen 2.0, letting you add your own wireless communications card. The unit draws power from an external 65W power-brick (included). It can latch onto your display over standard VESA wall-mounts.

Leading enclosure solution provider Chenbro will debut its new Cubicom200, which supports the Intel NUC (Next Unit of Computing) commercial series motherboard, at the Intel Developer Forum 2013.

Intelligent, affordable and ultra-compact -- Intel's NUC is forging ahead as the new standard for small-form-factor PCs. Offering big-time performance with a small footprint, Intel's NUC is powered by 3rd generation Intel Core processors technologies on a 4" x 4" x 1.5" inch motherboard. Chenbro will also be supporting the new Intel NUC based on 4th generation Intel Core processors.

Intel's pocket-sized prodigy, NUC (next unit of computing), made waves since 2012, when it launched as a full-fledged desktop system, based on Core "Ivy Bridge" platform. The industry has since been looking forward to second-generation NUC, which runs the company's latest Core "Haswell" processors. One such fun-size powerhouse was spotted at PAX Prime. Labelled Intel D54250WYK, the kit runs a Core i5-4250U dual-core processor (1.30 GHz clocks, 2.60 GHz Turbo Boost, 3 MB L3 cache, HD Graphics 5000, 15W TDP). The reference-design enclosure is smaller in size than its predecessor, measuring 116.6 mm x 112 mm x 34.5 mm, compared to the original's 116.5 mm x 112 mm x 39.3 mm. Connectivity on the device include a single 3.5 mm headset jack, four USB 3.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, and mini-DisplayPort (both of which give out 7.1-channel digital audio). Wireless connectivity options could include anything from 802.11 b/g/n (or even 802.11 ac), Bluetooth 4.0. Intel could detail, or perhaps even launch, its next-generation NUC at IDF San Francisco.

Akasa officially launched its Newton V line of cases for Intel NUC platform, which it unveiled at this year's Computex. The all-aluminium cases are available in black, silver, and gold colors, and like most other NUC cases are designed to passively cool the processor and chipset, the two hot components on the platform. Its body panels are chunky and ridged, to double up as heatsinks. The Newton V is designed specifically for Intel's D53427RKE motherboard, which features a 17W Core i5-3427U dual-core processor. Measuring 150 x 150 x 47 mm, the Newton V dry-weighs 950 g. It features VESA wall-mount holes, two holes for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antennae, three front-panel USB ports, of which one is USB 3.0, and a Kensington lock slot. Akasa didn't announce pricing.

Intel issued a product change notification (PCN), marked 112432-00, which attempts to improve the reliability of the system under heavy wireless network stress. A design flaw in Intel's reference NUC boxes equipped with wireless LAN and Thunderbolt came to light late last year, when a reviewer at TechReport discovered that when under stress, the mPCIe WLAN card can overheat, causing the neighboring mSATA SSD to malfunction. In its latest PCN, Intel included a 9.5 mm-thick flexible thermal pad on the top panel, which draws heat from the SSD, and conducts it to the chassis.

Akasa's Newton NUC (next unit of computing) fanless case made its debut with the Galileo, way back in March. The case was formally unveiled at Computex, in three brushed-metal trims: the black one we've already seen, silver, and gold, all of which are made of anodized aluminum. Like most other 4" x 4" NUC cases, Newton's body doubles up as heatsink for the CPU. The cases will be available in variants that support the D33217GKE and D33217CK connector layouts. The cases further feature Kensington lock slots, and VESA mounts, so you can tuck them away behind your displays.

To tackle upcoming generations of Ultrabooks and NUC that lack space for discrete graphics, yet having to keep up with the demands of higher display resolutions (i.e. proliferation of 3840 x 2160), Intel is designing special variants of its Core "Haswell" processors that feature large integrated graphics cores bolstered by fourth-level eDRAM caches on-package. Pictured below, is one such contraption.

The graphics-enhanced Core "Haswell" processor is an MCM (multi-chip module) of two dies, the larger one is the actual "Haswell" processor complex with cores, uncore, and the larger GT3 integrated graphics core. While the standard Haswell silicon with GT1 and GT2 integrated GPU options, physically features up to 20 execution units (EUs), the large GT3 silicon features double that, at 40 EUs.

Akasa unveiled pictures of two new fanless PC cases for 2013, the Galileo and the Newton (pictured in that order). Both cases are made almost completely of aluminum, double up as CPU heatsinks, and feature VESA-mount capabilities. The Galileo is a thin mini-ITX case which can passively cool CPUs with thermal output as high as 35W, while the Newton is designed for the NUC form-factor. Both cases will be showcased at Computex 2013, held in June.

HABEY USA, a leading manufacturer of embedded computer and an Associate member of the Intel Intelligent Systems Alliance, introduces the BIS-6621. It is the latest and greatest offering of our ultra compact fanless PCs. This tiny box measures 5"x5.25"x2", just slightly larger than the incredibly tiny Intel NUC. Besides the small footprint, the features available on this tiny system will simply amaze you.

Equipped with a 2.5" drive bay, this fanless PC will accept just about any 2.5" form factor storage device. The full size mini PCI-e slot can also be an mSATA compatible expansion slot as an option. The mini PCI-e card can also be used to run a WIFI card for wireless network access. Additionally, the BIS-6621 offers an externally accessible SIM card slot allowing for wireless data from a mobile carrier. It also includes 3 USB 2.0 ports for all your needed peripherals and also a COM port for any serial peripherals.

Streacom gave us a sneak-peek into its upcoming case for Intel's next unit of computing (NUC) form-factor. Made of aluminum and ABS, the case doubles up as heatsink for the NUC's hot components (such as CPU and PCH). It features a universal CPU block, so the case can adapt to future NUC boards with CPUs at different spots.

The sides of the case are not made of aluminum, this is where the NUC's WLAN/Bluetooth antennae attach, and so an ABS panel boosts signal strength. The case is designed specifically for Intel's D33217GKE motherboard, with ports mapped for its two HDMI connectors, three USB ports, power, and Ethernet. It will be available in two color options, silver (pictured below) and carbon-black. Availability is expected sometime in Q2 2013.

British silent PC maker Tranquil PC released passive-cooled all-aluminum cases for Intel's NUC (next unit of computing) form-factor, the NUC-BY (for Intel D33217CK board) and NUC-YE (for Intel D33217GKE). Both models measure 110 x 164 x 47 mm each, their bodies are ridged to double up as heatsinks for the CPU, PCH, and other hot components on the system board. The company claims the aerospace-grade aluminum used keeps the CPU 5 to 15 °C cooler than even the reference fan-cooled case. Both cases are priced at £99.00 ($156).

Intel decided to quit the PC motherboard business by shutting down its Desktop Board brand. To company will begin shrinking its motherboard product line with the arrival of socket LGA1150 Core "Haswell" processors, and eventually leave the market within 3 years. One can draw three distinct inferences from this move. First, Intel's Desktop Board lineup is too bloated, and the desktop form-factor is on a rapid decline in relation to the rest of the PC industry. Second, with the emergence of new high-volume brands in the motherboard industry, Intel is finding its lineup out of place.

Third, and more interestingly, this could be a move by Intel to pacify other motherboard vendors about the impending transition of a bulk of the motherboard volume from changeable CPU socket to hardwired BGA, which is bound to happen in a couple of years from now. Other vendors expressed apprehensions over the transition to BGA believing such a more could make Desktop Board put them out of business. Intel's Desktop Board team will instead spend resources in developing new form-factors such as the NUC.

Quite a few case-makers are jumping in with replacement cases for Intel's new NUC (next unit of computing) form-factor (Intel Desktop Boards D33217CK and D33217GKE), which beats all established volume/performance standards. Lian-Li's contribution is the PC-N1. This all-aluminum case measures 122 x 40 x 108 mm (WxHxD), which is roughly as big as a router. Following strict form-factor specifications, it lacks any additional drive bays, or active cooling, leaving its high-quality aluminum to do the tedious job of dissipating heat.

It's no secret that nearly all Intel Core processors are carved out of essentially one or two physical dies, be it the "2M" die that physically features four cores and 8 MB of L3 cache, or the "1M" die, which physically features two cores and 4 MB of L3 cache. The two silicons are further graded for energy-efficiency and performance before being assigned a package most suited to them: desktop LGA, mobile PGA, mobile BGA, and with the introduction of the 4th generation Core "Haswell," SoC (system on chip, a package that's going to be a multi-chip module of the CPU and PCH dies). The SoC package will be designed to conserve PCB real-estate, and will be suited for extremely size-sensitive devices such as Ultrabooks.

The third kind of grading for the two silicons relates to its on-die graphics processor, which makes up over a third of the die area. Depending on the number of programmable shaders and ROPs unlocked, there are two grades: GT2, and GT3, with GT3 being the most powerful. On the desktop front (identified by silicon extension "-DT,") Intel very much will retain dual-core processors, which will make up its Core i3, Pentium, and Celeron processor lines. It will be lead by quad-core parts. All desktop processors feature the GT2 graphics core.

In addition to last month's NE01 and NE02 full-aluminum replacement cases for Intel's revolutionary NUC desktop, Japanese PC case maker Abee debuted the NE03 and NE04 (pictured in that order). Available in five metallic color options, the NE03 features a brick-shaped design with a clear acrylic top. It measures 140 x 200 x 50 mm (WxDxH). The NE04, on the other hand, features a cubical design, is available in five soft color options of its own, measures 125 x 110 x 117 mm, and supports a 60 mm fan. The two are priced at 17,980¥ (US $213) and 15,980¥ ($190), respectively.

Abee unveiled the Acubic NE01 and NE02 lines of replacement cases for Intel NUC. Made of brushed, anodized aluminum, the cases are available in a variety of glossy colors. The NE01, the first group of cases pictured below, measures 125 x 111 x 41 mm, featuring an edgy design. The NE02, on the other hand, measures 126 x 111 x 42 mm, featuring a slightly rounded and curvy design. Both cases weigh roughly 450 g. Designed strictly for the NUC form-factor, the two support Intel Desktop Boards D33217CK and D33217GKE only, are are compatible with their rear-panel bracket, and front USB port positions. Both cases support VESA mount, and can latch onto your flat-panel. Slated for Wednesday (28/11), the NE01 and NE02 are priced around US $99.