Sustained Operation for Intel® NUC and Intel® Compute Sticks
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This article covers the sustained operation of the Intel® NUC kits and Intel® Computer Sticks. Sustained operation or 24x7 support. will be defined along with what is and is not included in the definition.
- For more information about the Intel® Compute Stick, visit the Intel® Compute Stick website.
- For more information about the Intel® NUC, visit the Intel® NUC website.
Sustained Operation Definition
24x7 operation for 5 years with 50% system utilization on average with an expected service rate of 1% per year during this period.
Table 1 and Table 2 provide details for this definition. Click on the topic for details:
Table 1 - What is Included
| Item | Details |
| Intel Compute Sticks | All versions of the Intel Compute Sticks. |
| Intel NUC L10 Mini PCs | All of the hardware components that are included in the L10 NUC Kit. |
| Intel NUC L6 Kits | All of the hardware components that are included in the L6 NUC Kit. |
| Hardware | Only the hardware that came with the L6 NUC Kit or L10 NUC Mini PC. |
| The stock thermal solution | Changing or modifying the stock thermal solution invalidates the above 24x7 statement. |
| The stock fan | Changing or modifying the stock fan invalidates the above 24x7 statement. |
| The stock enclosure | Changing or modifying the stock enclosure invalidates the above 24x7 statement. |
Table 2 - What is Not Included
| Item | Details |
| Board only products | Integration and handling of Intel NUC board-only products may induce failures. |
| Operating System | Operating System issues cannot be covered by the above 24x7 statement. |
| Any installed software | Unknown software installation and use may also influence 24x7 operation. |
| Environmental conditions | Use of the product outside the published specifications will influence 24x7 operation. |
| Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) | Integration in an environment where electrostatic discharge is not controlled will influence 24x7 operation. |
| Electric utility power source | Inconsistent, irregular, or improperly grounded power sources will influence 24x7 operation. |
| 3rd party integration process | The integration process may influence 24x7 operation. |
| Any added 3rd party components | The selection of components added to the system may influence 24x7 operation. See the Intel tested components list for suggestions. |
Testing
Product testing is a part of the development process. Tables 3 & 4 list the testing done during validation for all the products listed in this document.
Table 3 - Temperature and Humidity
| Test | Purpose |
| Temperature Cycling | Assesses the ability of board, components, and solder joints to withstand thermo-mechanical fatigue. |
| Thermal Baseline | Assesses the ability of heat sink and thermal interface material (thermal solution) to maintain acceptable component operating temperatures before the application of any stress conditions. |
| Bake | Assesses the impact of long-term temperature exposure on the thermal solution performance. |
| Thermal Temperature Humidity | Assesses the impact of long-term temperature and humidity exposure on the thermal solution performance. |
| Temperature Humidity | Ensures that the system function/cosmetics are not impacted following exposure to high temperature/humidity. |
| Operating Temperature Humidity | Assesses the ability of the system to function at temperature and humidity extremes. |
| Temperature and Voltage Margining | Assesses the ability of the system to boot at temperature and voltage extremes on the onboard power rails. |
| Boot Cycle | Assesses the ability of the system to boot repeatedly using AC power cycles and Ctrl-Alt-Del cycles under temperature extremes. |
Each Intel NUC family undergoes MTBF testing, where 40 units are functionally tested continuously for 90 days (~86,000 accumulated hours), conforming to 50K hours of MTBF.
Table 4 - Shock and Vibration
| Test | Purpose |
| Drop | Assesses the ability of the system to retain functionality after multiple drops onto a concrete surface. |
| Mechanical Vibration | Examines the ability of the system to withstand mechanical vibration stress caused during shipping and use. |
| Packaged Mechanical Shock | Confirms that the product shipping package adequately protects the product against mechanical shock. |
| Packaged Mechanical Vibration | Confirms that the product shipping package adequately protects the product against mechanical vibration. |
| Thermal Shock | Assesses the impact of mechanical shock stress caused by shipping and use on the performance of the heatsink solution. |
| Thermal Vibration | Assesses the impact of mechanical shock stress caused by shipping and use on the performance of the heatsink solution. Assesses the impact of mechanical vibration stress caused by shipping and use on the performance of the heatsink solution. |
A short video, Intel NUC Quality and Reliability, explains more about the process.