I’ve had an Intel NUC (NUC8i5BEK) running as my Linux server for a little while now, but was always unimpressed with the factory case. Its cooling solution is a laptop impeller-style fan, which quickly accumulates dust.
Recently, I was looking for alternate cooling solutions and came across the Akasa Turing case for 8th Generation Bean Canyon Intel NUCs.
While smaller than it looks in promo images, it sits much heavier than you might assume - nearly a 6 pound aluminum block! And for good reason too, the whole thing is one massive heatsink!
Impressed by the build quality, design, and reviews, I decided to get one and recase my NUC into it.
First things first, I popped off the NUC’s base and removed the RAM & SSD.
After carefully detaching the wifi cables & front panel array, the motherboard comes out with some gentle prying.
Next up: removing the cooling solution.
You’ll notice that there’s dust caked in the impeller - I had only just cleared it a few months earlier.
After wiping the dies clean with rubbing alcohol & dabbing a bit of thermal paste, the motherboard is ready to get fitted into the Turing!
Before:
After:
And in the case!
The motherboard rests on top of a small aluminum block, which will transfer the heat away from the dies to the giant metal fins.
The only downside of the Turing case for this NUC model is that it doesn’t provide any heatsink for the M.2 SSD - I had to get one separately. However, there is a lot of headroom in the case for taller SSD heatsinks.
Finally, it’s time to fit the RAM and SSD back onto the motherboard. All the components are in the new case now!
And the recasing is complete! Very straightforward assembly. I wish I had taken performance screenshots before recasing, but the NUC now runs about 10° C cooler with the Turing.
The blade design and top metal plate give off a BladeRunner/industrial vibe that really stands out:
I wish I had taken before/after thermal benchmarks, but I rushed to get the NUC recased. However, if you’re interested in the thermal performance of a similar NUC (10th Gen) into the next iteration of this case, this blog goes into great detail.