CPU and GPU benchmarks
The performance difference between last year's NUC is immediately obvious in the PiFast test. Able to process at a substantially higher frequency means the second-generation NUC's Core i5-4250U is much quicker at completing the task.
Zotac's Zbox uses the older Ivy Bridge architecture but increases peak speed to 3.6GHz, explaining why it wins here. That said, Zotac's 35W TDP chip simply wouldn't be a good fit for a teeny-weeny system.
Decent CPU and super-fast storage propels the second-gen NUC to first place in PCMark 7.
Subjectively, the system feels fast and responsive at all times; part of this review was researched and written on the NUC and it had no problem in handling a barrage of commonly-used programs in tandem.
Though clearly much-improved over the last-gen's HD 4000 Graphics, the onboard GPU is better suited to video playback and transcoding (via Quick Sync) than all-out gaming. The NUC, as expected, failed to break the crucial 30fps barrier with either BioShock Infinite or Far Cry 3 at low-quality settings and a 1080p resolution.
