fallinlight
Distinguished Member
For years, I wanted to downsize from my Fractal Design R4 mid tower PC to a HTPC + general purpose PC. I finally have with the Intel 8i7 8th Gen NUC inside a fanless Akasa Plato X8. I love this PC.
Parts
Intel 8i7BEH 8th Gen NUC
Akasa Plato X8 from Quiet PC
Crucial CT2K8G4SFD824A DDR4 2 x 8 GB SO-DIMM
Samsung 970 Evo M.2 250 GB
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
A negative and warning for new builders
Intel provided the wrong instructions for preparing the chip set and marrying them to the case. They used the same instructions from the X7, which are incorrect. The X7s raised platform for the chipset, is uneven, and requires thermal pad(s) to be used on the right side to level the chip set out to have proper contact between case and chip set. However, the X8 platform is level and only requires thermal paste alone or pads alone, to be used.
Not thinking, I followed the instructions. Fortunately, I only realised afterwards from re-treading an X7 build online. And I was also curious about the CPU temperature, thinking it could or should be a bit lower and less sporadic, build and paste being new and fresh withstanding. And so, it then occurred to me that it was incorrect. So, I had to re-do the entire installation, which was very time consuming, but a learning process at the same time.
Build
Disassembling the 8i7 NUC is very easy with a little guidance from a build for the X7 online, so I won’t go into detail with this. But here are some photos of the disassembly.
The fan comes off easily, and then finally, the heatsink beneath.
The X8 is a beautiful piece of design and hardware, solid, heavy, a deeper black than some other cases and it looks and feels built to last. One great aspect is that the main section of the case is essentially fully sealed. UPDATE 21/04/19: I opened it up a few week's later and not a trace of dust was inside or on the components. It is a lot larger in reality than you might expect, but I was prepared for this. The X8 a very low profile though, which is lovely.
However, I was sad to find the following blemishes: There are some scratches to the base of the case, most likely from the metal tips of the extension leads rattling around inside the case. I think Intel should protect the lead ends with something and tie all the wires together to prevent this. There are also a couple of minute chips to the casing throughout.
The space is quite cramped so care and patience should be taken when performing the installation. Two gripes I have are:
1. The USB 3.1 extension leads are set OOB so that they are the wrong way around be default. You have to twist them 360 degrees aggressively in order for them to plug in. It does not feel great doing that, and feels unpleasant since the leads are also overlong for the 8i7/ not sure about the i3 and i5. But it's fine once you have twisted them and they are in place. Poor design by Intel.
2. The HD audio jack sits in the most awkward position for the extension lead to plug in, since the light bar is in the way. There is only one way I found to fit it, which is as below. You have to wrap it beneath and around the light bar and light bar pole. This might have been the only way for Intel to have this, but once in, it’s absolutely fine and looks clean.
Thinking I needed to use pads either side of the CPU, I felt slightly careless, but it probably could not be helped (crushing) anyway. The stock thermal pads a very thin – perhaps 0.5 mm by guess – and thus, crushed a bit taking them off. And I ended up getting them messed with Kryonaut. They definitely could not be used, and it is best to use new pads once the old ones have been handled, anyway. Slight moment of panic as I did not have any spare, and would have loved to use some Thermal Grizzly pads. But I managed to use what looked like the same make pad, from the NUC SSD thermal pad. I cut some to a roughly similar thickness and size using a surgical knife. This was very tricky as I was not working at a desk and I ended up cutting the entire piece with attempts for the best pieces. In the end, this was all wasted, after I realised I just needed to use my Kryonaut for all the chips.
With my OCD, I would never be happy with not doing a clean job, though it is a very delicate and intricate job working with such tiny chips. It came out looking very clean and proper.
Parts
Intel 8i7BEH 8th Gen NUC
Akasa Plato X8 from Quiet PC
Crucial CT2K8G4SFD824A DDR4 2 x 8 GB SO-DIMM
Samsung 970 Evo M.2 250 GB
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
A negative and warning for new builders
Intel provided the wrong instructions for preparing the chip set and marrying them to the case. They used the same instructions from the X7, which are incorrect. The X7s raised platform for the chipset, is uneven, and requires thermal pad(s) to be used on the right side to level the chip set out to have proper contact between case and chip set. However, the X8 platform is level and only requires thermal paste alone or pads alone, to be used.
Not thinking, I followed the instructions. Fortunately, I only realised afterwards from re-treading an X7 build online. And I was also curious about the CPU temperature, thinking it could or should be a bit lower and less sporadic, build and paste being new and fresh withstanding. And so, it then occurred to me that it was incorrect. So, I had to re-do the entire installation, which was very time consuming, but a learning process at the same time.
Build
Disassembling the 8i7 NUC is very easy with a little guidance from a build for the X7 online, so I won’t go into detail with this. But here are some photos of the disassembly.
The fan comes off easily, and then finally, the heatsink beneath.
The X8 is a beautiful piece of design and hardware, solid, heavy, a deeper black than some other cases and it looks and feels built to last. One great aspect is that the main section of the case is essentially fully sealed. UPDATE 21/04/19: I opened it up a few week's later and not a trace of dust was inside or on the components. It is a lot larger in reality than you might expect, but I was prepared for this. The X8 a very low profile though, which is lovely.
However, I was sad to find the following blemishes: There are some scratches to the base of the case, most likely from the metal tips of the extension leads rattling around inside the case. I think Intel should protect the lead ends with something and tie all the wires together to prevent this. There are also a couple of minute chips to the casing throughout.
The space is quite cramped so care and patience should be taken when performing the installation. Two gripes I have are:
1. The USB 3.1 extension leads are set OOB so that they are the wrong way around be default. You have to twist them 360 degrees aggressively in order for them to plug in. It does not feel great doing that, and feels unpleasant since the leads are also overlong for the 8i7/ not sure about the i3 and i5. But it's fine once you have twisted them and they are in place. Poor design by Intel.
2. The HD audio jack sits in the most awkward position for the extension lead to plug in, since the light bar is in the way. There is only one way I found to fit it, which is as below. You have to wrap it beneath and around the light bar and light bar pole. This might have been the only way for Intel to have this, but once in, it’s absolutely fine and looks clean.
Thinking I needed to use pads either side of the CPU, I felt slightly careless, but it probably could not be helped (crushing) anyway. The stock thermal pads a very thin – perhaps 0.5 mm by guess – and thus, crushed a bit taking them off. And I ended up getting them messed with Kryonaut. They definitely could not be used, and it is best to use new pads once the old ones have been handled, anyway. Slight moment of panic as I did not have any spare, and would have loved to use some Thermal Grizzly pads. But I managed to use what looked like the same make pad, from the NUC SSD thermal pad. I cut some to a roughly similar thickness and size using a surgical knife. This was very tricky as I was not working at a desk and I ended up cutting the entire piece with attempts for the best pieces. In the end, this was all wasted, after I realised I just needed to use my Kryonaut for all the chips.
With my OCD, I would never be happy with not doing a clean job, though it is a very delicate and intricate job working with such tiny chips. It came out looking very clean and proper.
Last edited: