The Skull Canyon NUC Specs are Published (NUC6i7KYK)

Intel has published the specs for the upcoming Skull Canyon NUC at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2016. Those who are not aware of this product, it is the Skylake i7 NUC we are talking about. The product name for this most-powerful-ever i7 NUC will be NUC6i7KYK. And the specifications are pretty impressive indeed: Quad-core i7 CPU with Iris Pro GPU, USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt 3, HDMI 2.0 port, two M.2 slots, possibility to use external GPUs via Thunderbolt 3. Interestingly, there’s no slot for a 2.5″ drive – it’s all SSD for this one. Release date is expected to be in May 2016 and the barebones NUC is currently listed at . You will need to add memory and SSD drive, which means that the fully equipped NUC will total at $800-1000 depending on your choices.

Skull Canyon NUC Features

  • Intel Core i7-6770HQ processor (Quad-core, max. 3.5 GHz, TDP 45 W)
  • Intel Iris Pro 580 Graphics
  • Two DDR4 SO-DIMM sockets (up to 32 GB, 2133+ MHz)
  • Two M.2 slots with flexible support for a 42 or 80 mm SATA or PCIe SSD
  • Integrated Wireless-AC 8260 and Bluetooth 4.2 adapter
  • SDXC card reader (UHS-I)
  • Four USB 3.0 ports (including one charging port)
  • Consumer infrared sensor
  • Intel Gigabit LAN adapter
  • One Mini DisplayPort version 1.2
  • One Thunderbolt 3 port with USB 3.1 (USB Type-C connector)
  • One full-size HDMI 2.0 display port

 

Skull Canyon NUC Features (taken from the product brief)

Skull Canyon NUC Features (taken from the product brief)

We’re looking forward to getting this unit in our hands for a more thorough review! Meanwhile, check out the Intel’s website for full NUC6i7KYK coverage.

26 Responses

  1. Pawel says:

    Is M.2 locked @1600 MB/s or not? If not I’m buying one.

    • Josh says:

      This is exactly what I want to know.

      • pa says:

        same question here

        • psc says:

          The specification sheet states that : “Using PCIe x4 M.2 SSD maximum bandwidth is approximately 1600 MB/s”, page 41

          • J says:

            If you though “oh, 1600 MB/s if fine, I’ll just configure in RAID 0 to overcome this”, wrong!

            On page 21 of the white papers:

            “NOTE
            Intel Rapid Storage Technology / SATA RAID is only supported if M.2 SATA SSD modules are used. RAID is not available when using M.2 PCIe SSD modules.”

            No RAID for your NVMe PCIe.

            It is super locked in at 1600 MB/s MAX

          • Looks like it is corrected now. “Using PCIe x4 M.2 SSD maximum bandwidth is approximately 4000 MB/s”

  2. Robert says:

    The “Skull-Design” looks quite a bit childish. Who is going to buy this item…12-year old boys? Hopefully it will be possible to change for another case. Or shall we better placea sticker on top of this terminator-like styled skull?

    • nucblognet says:

      Yeah, it looks like it will appeal to the “Fast and Furious” folks. However, I read somewhere that the thing is delivered with the skull lid and a plain black lid. In addition you can replace the lid with a 3rd party one…

    • P. Lis says:

      The device comes with 2 covers, one matte and one with the skull.

  3. Thomas says:

    Yes you can read it in the specification:
    Intel® NUC Kit NUC6i7KYK integrated in enclosure:

    Additional lid without skull on it
    VESA* mount
    19V 120W power supply
    Integration guide
    Processor badge

    But It’s a really interesting NUC, especially with the possibility to use external GPU.

    However the price remains quite high…I will wait for the tests :)

  4. Łukasz says:

    Nuc6i5 have this same wifi module and have only Bluetooth 4.1?

  5. Nickbumbum says:

    Will the new NUC have a 10-bit HEVC decoding?

    • nucblognet says:

      Considering it’s based on Skylake, I’d say no. 10-bit HEVC will probably first come in Broxton (Celeron/Pentium) and later on in Kaby Lake (Core i3, i5, i7).

  6. P. Lis says:

    The new nuc is a tempting device, hopefully it will go on sale here in Poland in May as well.

  7. Silent says:

    DDR4-2133+ What means “+”?

  8. Steve says:

    On the down side this device, although being much more powerful than the previous one got quite a bigger case… I liked the classic “cube” case more and hope they keep that for the less powerful NUCs… ;-)

  9. John says:

    Been waiting to try a NUC for a while now, but have been wanting one with these beefier specs. So am very excited. Less so about the pricing points…but still.

    Has anyone come up with a set of externals to make this into a laptop-like device? Yes, I get that a comparable laptop would be much cheaper but I want it for both a workstation and a laptop. Of course the workstation experience is easy to set up because of docking stations, not to mention all the other external devices out there. But in terms of creating a laptop experience, I’m curious to know if someone has come up with a “kit” that’s like a “Go bag” that can keep all the components together and make setup at places, such as coffee houses, quick and easy. I’ve seen portable usb monitors that are powered thru the usb port on amazon ,that are even touch enabled, some of which come with carriers of a sort. It would be great to have that for the keyboard and the NUC, power supply, as well. Again, I realize I could just have a laptop and a desktop but I want the One Ring to Rule them All :) A number of years ago, there was a company called OQO (google them) that sold a windows pc the size of a deck of cards and that could fit into a desktop cradle or even a laptop cradle to extend its power and options. It was never powerful enough for my tastes but I loved the idea ever since (was so sad when they went under). I realize the NUC fills a different niche and that companies like Google are already working on their own sorts of modular computing devices (project aria, for example). I’m just looking to make this be my one device rather than settling for an expensive laptop system that I dock at home/office. Really, I’m just in love with tiny, powerful devices :)

  10. @John
    I am planning on using this as a workstation on a new project, and then eventually it will be a VM appliance.

    Components –
    43 inch 4K Sony TV & Soundbase – monitor
    500 GB Samsung 950 Pro SSD
    32 GB DDR4 2133 SO-DIMM
    MS Designer Desktop (wireless keyboard & mouse)
    Club CAC-1170 MINI DVI to HDMI
    Windows 10 Pro
    Project software

    I will connect a second 43 inch 4K screen if all works smoothly. Doing a POC using the i5 which will also become a Linux appliance once the i7 arrives.

    Will consider an Akasa or Aleutia case prior to shipping system to clients. Part of a BI project

  11. Rob says:

    Let’s hope these ship with a lid that is suitable for business. I mean these make an excellent PC for large site deployment, but I can’t imagine businesses being too fussed by the Skull Canyon lid. I can’t help but wonder if Intel sees the volume sale opportunity business presents as distinct from the gaming market they appear to be going after?

    • nucblognet says:

      Thanks for the comment Rob. According to Intel the NUC will ship with a basic black lid and the Skull Canyon lid.

  12. Jason Obermeyer says:

    It’s available for Pre-Order on NewEgg now! Ships 5/12!

  13. Michael Bruss says:

    Intel forgot to include Bluetooth device pairing in the BIOS to boot with a BT KB and mouse.

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