Intel NUC 6i5SYH

134 reviews

Apr, 2024

Positive
usability (47)
size (36)
design (16)
price (9)

Negative
reliability (29)

General overview
Price comparison

alaTest has collected and analyzed 134 reviews of Intel NUC 6i5SYH. The average rating for this product is 3.8/5, compared to an average rating of 4.1/5 for other Desktops for all reviews. Comments about the price and design are generally positive. The size and usability are also mentioned favorably, but many are less positive about the reliability.

usability, size, design, price

reliability

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other Desktops the Intel NUC 6i5SYH is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 85/100 = Very good quality.

Review analysis

(Based on 134 reviews)

3 expert reviews

User Reviews

Review Ratings

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Features

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design
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Consumer review (amazon.com)

Amazon.com review summary for Intel NUC 6i5SYH

alaTest has collected and analyzed 66 user reviews of Intel NUC 6i5SYH from Amazon.com. The average user rating for this product is 3.8/5, compared to an average user rating of 4.0/5 for other Desktops on Amazon.com. People really like the price and design. The size and usability are also appreciated, but there are some critical comments about the reliability.

usability, size, design, price

reliability

74% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

Apr, 2024

Expert review by (notebookcheck.net)

Intel NUC6i5SYH Mini PC Review

Do-it-all Mini PC. The latest Core i5 NUC from Intel includes Skylake architecture and Intel Iris Graphics. It's capable of a little bit of everything from home use to digital creativity.

compact build, flexible connectivity options, PCIe M.2 SSD port, low Noise

throttling under extreme load, no USB 3.1 Rev 2 / Thunderbolt

The Intel NUC 6i5SYH with Intel Core i5 6260 and Intel Iris Graphics 540 doesn't look any different to the previous generation NUC 515RYH so it's all down to performance differences with the new model. While the Skylake CPU offers slightly better...

Partner Source

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Tiny but snappy - once it's set up

I had to knock of 2 eggs just for the driver installation issues. C'mon Intel ... other manufacturers are smart enough to do all of the installs in one shot. Why can't you? Even two rounds, with a reboot in between, would be reasonable. But going...

- Small, easily hangs on a monitor - Has room for an M.2 SSD + a 2.5" drive - Plenty fast for most tasks

- Driver installation is a pain ... the Intel driver update utility insists on installing one driver at a time and rebooting ... all the while downloading the drivers every time. It also never seemed to recall that it had already installed the Intel...

May, 2016

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

BIOS Versions Prior to 42 Destroy Motherboard Components Due to Excessive Voltage

-Heat is the enemy of this tiny system, so I suggest NOT using it as a software build machine or video editing machine. -If you have been running a Skylake NUC with a BIOS other than version 42, it is probably already damaged to some degree.

-Small and fast -SYH version allows re-use of 2.5 inch SSDs

My NUC6i5SYH ran fine for about 2.5 months until it suddenly started crashing shortly after boot with WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR. After Googling for NUC WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR I found that BIOS versions prior to 42 applied too much voltage to some...

May, 2016

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

I wanted to love this

No. It's not ready for prime time and that makes me immensely sad. On paper this is the perfect PC for me, but I bought a compact unit specifically because I didn't want to waste time fiddling with hardware. Now I've wasted night after night fiddling...

- Compact size, and it packs a punch - Ran year-old-games with zero issues - Served well as a workstation for illustrator and development

- Endless driver issues - Three clean installs of Windows and each had horrible driver issues. First my networking failed, then search failed, then "System and compressed memory" ran away with my CPU and sat using a whole core all the time.

May, 2016

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Such a small amount of Power in such a small package - My Options in Other section

ports for HDMI (full size thank you!) ... too close together if you in my case have a DVI to hdmi adapter and a Ethernet plug to use... I got around it by removing the hood on the cable still this left the adapter putting a little pressure on the power...

- Small footprint - lots of processing power for the small package it runs in - excellent for a family member who just does email, internet, and photo's and does not have a big work space... seriously 4x4 inches... Awesome!

-none

Apr, 2016

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

It broke a few weeks after purchase. Do not buy!

Update: Will not boot USB or SSD after 4 weeks (can't return it). Freezes / BSOD on boot. It isn't obvious that you need to go to Intel's website and download and install the drivers for every device. This guy is buggy with the Win10 default drivers....

It was great while it lasted

Update: random BSOD, now won't even boot USB Linux. Mem tests all pass... UPDATING THE BIOS DISABLES THE M.2 SLOT. Easy enough to point and click to fix on the first boot after update. You have been warned.

Apr, 2016

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Not great if only worked 60 days!!

- Despite the many negative reviews in different boards, I decided to go ahead and buy the NUC. My Set Up was - RAM 2 x 8G G.SKILL Ripjaws 260-Pin DDR4 SO-DIMM DDR4 2133 (PC4 17000) - Primary drive, SAMSUNG 850 EVO M.2 500GB SATA III 3-D Vertical...

Easy to setup; Great speed; Right size. Fits everywhere.

- Nothing significant until it stopped working. Just when I needed it most!

Apr, 2016

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Great idea, but it's not quite there yet.

The Intel NUCs are a neat idea, a small, powerful computer based around a laptop CPU. You get plenty of power in a small package and even after adding RAM and an SSD you're still not out too much money. This is a great desktop replacement if you don't...

Small Packs a lot of power for its size Quiet

The BIOS is immature (four updates have been released since November) The hardware has problems (Intel recently released a hardware change notice for the motherboard) The NUCs are incredibly finicky about what kind of RAM they'll work with. They won't...

Apr, 2016

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Ouch!

I would NOT recommend these to anyone unless they like tossing their money in the trash.

Small size, lots of ram.

I got this to replace my shuttles as hosts for virtualization. Ran OK for just over a month, now they (yes I bought more than one) wont even boot or finish a re-install. I put the latest bios on, reverted back, even went to a previous version before...

Apr, 2016

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

First unit worked three weeks and died

After tinkering with this unit for a few weeks and getting OpenELEC running smoothly on it, the unit decided to blow up. I was notified it has bit the bullet because for some reason it started dumping massive voltage into the managed network switch it...

Powerful unit, really awesome specs for such a small device. Compatible with OpenELEC appliance OS for HTPC usage (with KODI) Built in M.2 port, IR, DisplayPort, and USB 3.0

BIOS has a bad history so far. (Still has problems with current 033) My first unit blew up pretty hardcore a few weeks after I got it. Memory compatibility issues. Updating the BIOS can be a nightmare. Standard 2.5" slot is very difficult to remove a...

Apr, 2016

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