How to choose a NUC?

Hardware
61

I got the Desktop version… i don’t use it. Too lazy to change it at this point.

62

Containers are disposable - throwaway. It makes no sense to backup a container. The only important thing is your data and that is not in the container.

2 Likes
63

Well neither for me (I prefer Debian lol) but you don’t need or want desktop so server. You can always install a desktop later if you have to have that but most people don’t even plug in a monitor/mouse/kB - do everything via the terminal/ssh/winscp…

1 Like
64

I’m looking for a NUC that can run HAssio with motioneye and 9-10 cameras. Maybe 2-3 of them with motion detection and, one day, facial recognition.

What’s the cheapest one?

65

I use an older NUC Core i3 system with SSD, and chose Debian server because it did not require any e-mail verification or other cloud-based validation. Docker installed quite easily, as did Hass.IO after that. It’s been worlds more faster and reliable than the RPi3 with SD card.

66

What distro requires that?

67

Hi guys, I’m just looking at upgrading my pi3. Still assuming I will get a secondhand nuc. But wondering how it compares to the pi4?

Also are the nucs low power? And does the Bluetooth work ok on the nucs?

68

I can’t say, have only been able to compare to a RPi3b of which my Celeron NUC smashes it in speed. I really noticed the improvement in doing a config check and in restart time.

Yes.

Yes.

69

Thanks @sparkydave which nuc do you have?

70

I can’t remember the exact model, it’s a Pentium one, 8Gb RAM (I think). I only got this model because it was going cheap as an ex-demo.

71

I run HA on an older, and inexpensive, HP Z220S with an I5 CPU. Fast. About $100 on eBay.

72

Would you mind sharing your code for this automation? I would like to do the same thing. I have an idea of how to write it but if you have a working version…

73

I found the model number:
NUC7PJYH4

…and it does have 8Gb RAM in it

1 Like
74

I have an input_boolean that turns on when Z wave is ready.

Input Boolean

zwave_ready:
  name: 'Z Wave Ready'
  initial: off

Automation

 - alias: Z-Wave network is ready
   initial_state: 'on'
   trigger:
     platform: event
     event_type: zwave.network_ready
   action:
     - service: homeassistant.turn_on
       entity_id: input_boolean.zwave_ready

Then you can trigger on the input_boolean turning on. I also use it as a condition for some of my alerts since z wave can be finicky until its ready.

2 Likes
75

Awesome! thanks. I didn’t realise there was a ‘zwave.network_ready’ event that could be used but figured it must have been something like that. I really need to look into what other useful events exist.

Sorry to detour the thread :grimacing:

76

I‘d like to switch to a NUC from my pi4.

I will be near my TV to I want it to be as quiet as possible.
It seems like all current models intel NUCs have a fan.

For now I would flash the hassio Image on the nuc, because I currently don’t need it for something else. Reading through the comments tells me the cheap Celeron model (BOXNUC6CAYH)will be good enough (but it has a fan).

Does the nuc turn off it’s fan if it’s cool enough?

77

I have never heard the fan run in mine.

1 Like
78

To those who use a nuc with hassio.

The addons "Hey Ada! and “Almond” are not installable for me as a (current) pi4 user. Does the nuc support those?

Also it’s really hard to find the right nuc. Would like to buy one at amazon. Two cheap models are available.
BOXNUC6CAYH (celeron) and NUC5i3RYHS (i3).
The i3 is more expensive. I really don’t know which one to choose.

79

Any NUC is more then enough power for HA and countless add-on’s. The big benefit to using a NUC is that they support virtual machines (VM), so for example in my case I have a VM for Mythtv (DVR), a VM for HA, a VM running Windows 10, a test VM for experimenting.

With VM’s you can clone them, take snapshots in case you mess something up, etc.

If you’re plan on running HA and nothing else then the BOXNUC6CAYH is fine. If you like tinkering with things and maybe doing more with VM’s then HA then I would suggest the more powerful i3 for it CPU.

As for the add-ons they are not available for me, but I’m running Linux Ubuntu which is basically the same distro tree as the Pi.

80

Well for now I plan to run HA only. But of course that could change in future.

interessting. Same as above. I don’t need both of those add-ons right now, but if I buy a new system for ha, I’d prefer having a machine that is able to handle those new add-ons too.