Intel NUC - Step by Step DIY HTPC With Windows 10 Clean Install, Emulators and Steam Streaming!

Video Timeline Table of Contents:

3:04 - What's in the box?!!
4:52 - NUC hardware assembly
7:15 - BIOS Setup
12:52 - Windows 8 (or 7) clean install
15:23 - Windows 8 privacy settings
18:53 - NUC Ethernet drivers
20:55 - Windows 10 clean install
23:19 - Windows 10 privacy settings
25:11 - Ninite application bundle install and OS Customizations
34:40 - BIOS update
37:14 - HTPC Wallpaper
38:43 - Steam Streaming
41:17 - Emulation
42:08 - Closing Thoughts

Here are all the parts and components I would recommend if doing this from scratch.

- NUC with Intel i5 CPU

(See the related products for the less powerful i3 version or the slim version which only uses the mSATA drive. BE AWARE if you get the mSATA only slim version, you will HAVE to install a wireless adapter as it doesn't come with one.)

- Samsung 850 EVO SSD (there are lots of different choices for an SSD but I think that the Samsung Evo's are the best for the money. The Kingston HyperX and Sandisk Ultra II are also great choices)

And/Or you can install this mSATA drive as well (It installs just like the ram but uses a small screw to hold it down instead of clips like the RAM. Again, there is only one place this can go so it's hard to screw up.

- 8 Gigs of Crucial RAM (Single stick gives you option to upgrade to more later if needed)

Again, there is faster ram out there like the 1.35v (the NUC will NOT boot with 1.5v ram) HyperX 1866 DDR.

- Mini HDMI adapter

- HDMI cable

- Logitech HTPC Keyboard

- Sandisk Extreme USB Thumb drive

- 3M Carbon Fiber Vinyl wrap (If you wanna get fancy)

- Download the Rufus utility to create a bootable USB drive (free and easy)

- Guide to using Rufus (it's really only about 3 clicks)

- Download the windows 10 iso file (file that has all the windows install info) used to build the bootable drive with this download tool from Microsoft (You can try to create the bootable usb drive using that tool but I haven't had much luck with it in the past. Rufus always works)

- If you want a better explanation of what an ISO file exactly is, check the wiki page here.

- If you are installing windows 8 first, use this guide to add a file to the USB drive to skip the otherwise mandatory CD key entry.

- Download the NUC driver's here

- If you are doing an update from windows 7 or 8 to 10 and only need the LAN drivers to get online and register with microsoft and download the windows 10 upgrade, get the LAN adapter drivers here

- Download the NUC Bios update here. *Select either the 32 bit or the 64 bit exe depending on which version of windows you're using*

- Links to some minimalist wallpapers

Credit to NotebookCheck for the Thumbnail image :)

[KartikJayaraman]

Very helpful. I liked the Ninite tip as well as the customization you did after installing Windows 10. Good job!

[michaelcovelli]

best how to pc video I've ever seen. I'm getting ready to build a NUC6i5syh including m.2 256 GB Samsung 951 pci-e 4x as windows 10 pro system drive, 240 ssd drive with 16 gb 2300 ram. Thanks for all the education. p.s. built my first computer in 1978 a Heath kit H8

[sachin]

Your UEFI uncheck instruction saved my day, thanks

[Red_Baron]

Very nice video, Drew. Thanks for the excellent presentation.

[brent]

great video. getting a nuc soon. this helped a lot . my local computer guy didn't tell me anything close to what you covered.

[jdubincali]

great video! thanks for sharing...I'm in the market for HTPC. I think the NUC is it...and your video helped me in that decision. Again, thank you! I'm not that tech savvy so I rely on people like help me navigate through the constant tech changes.

[aquaman]

best video on Nuc diy.. i just built mine ;)

[CharlesSnyder]

Wow! The Ninite tip alone is worth watching this vid. Hot tip, thanks!

[gio]

WOW, really nice video. You really explain everything perfectly. I'm thinking about getting one of these I'm gonna save your video for reference. You should be in the computer business if you aren't already. Nice video Gio.

[BigIdeasLittleTime]

Thanks for taking the time - very helpful!

[cittidude]

Great Video Drew! I am looking for build a mini box as well.  VERY good stuff here.

[nekcric]

Great video and supplemental links. Thanks for all the work you put into this!

[kleinmainer]

Amazing guide mate, thanks for sharing. I learnt i few things i didn't know about from this.

[terrancechavis]

Great video with lots of great information and tips

[MohitManuja]

I have a small issue..im pulling out a 1 week old ssd from my desktop pc with windows 7 pre -loaded..obviously i will run into issues if i boot via it..what do u suggest i do ? i hear its not easy to clean install win 7 ?

[tnvalleyyoga]

Great info. Thanks for all the work to help others. The sniffing didn't bother me one bit. As far as I know everyone gets the sniffles at some time. Press on.

[meateron]

Any ideas about using this pc in office? MS Office, browsing, may be (but I think it's better to have PC with videocard) using autocad (2D). How comfortable will it be?

[jameschambers]

Have you seen the NUC Scull Canyon? It's an awesome little computer, I'm thinking about getting one next term instead of a laptop. Apparently it supports 32GB of ram and you can configure two NVMe M.2 SATA drives in RAID 0. It's got a 45W 6th gen Core i7 processor too and they take up barely any space on your desk...

[walterkeryluk]

Great video, very informative. Learned a lot. thank you

[Mazxlol]

good video! its kind of for people who know stuff about pcs. most people have no clue how to put windows on a usb stick haha