[JohnR]

I've just been looking up some prices. In the below, the numbers are the benchmark scores on geekbench, following by pricing for RAM/SSD in parentheses.

i3-8100B (Mac Mini)   4687   13981   ($999 8/256, $1799 16/1024)
i5-8500B (Mac mini)   5159   20331   ($1099 8/256, $1899 16/1024)
i7-8700B (Mac Mini)   5667   24325   ($1299 8/256, $2099 16/1024)

What about NUC? You need to add RAM and storage e.g.

Crucial 8GB $40, 16GB $79
970 Evo Plus 250 $78, 1TB $228

Here are geekbench numbers and prices (from newegg):

i3-8109 (NUC8i3) 4349   8644   ($290 0/0, $408 8/256, $597 16/1024)
i5-8259 (NUC8i5) 4481   15755   ($427 0/0, $545 8/256, $734 16/1024)
i7-8559 (NUC8i7) 5206   17648   ($509 0/0, $727 8/256, $816 16/1024)

I guess you could say that in terms of the benchmarks, the i3 Mac mini is roughly equal to the i5 NUC, and the i5 Mac mini is roughly equal to the i7 NUC. I have the i5 Mac mini and it doesn't feel that fast. All the junk Apple forces you to run these days... (not as bad as Windows though I don't think)

The kicker is that the Mac mini has the SSD soldered to the motherboard. You can't upgrade it. [Update:] Whereas with the NUC, you can not only upgrade the M.2 SSD, you can also add a 2.5" SATA drive or SSD (as long as you get the "H" version).

[JohnR]

Incidentally, Roon's recommendation for ROCK for "small to medium sized libraries"  and "large" respectively have these scores:

NUC7i3BNH   2826   5883
NUC7i7BNH   3995   8585

The 8th generation NUCs have taken a leap forward in performance. The 8th generation i3 is the equal of the 7th generation i7... (according to the benchmarks...)

[JohnR]

You can get fanless cases for the NUC:

https://www.newegg.com/p/287-0009-00055
https://www.newegg.com/p/287-0009-00039

Not exactly small, although the vertical one is the same footprint as stock...