I recently setup an Intel NUC 9 Extreme with ESXi and found the included printed instructions a little vague. Here are some photos to show what the internals look like and where to install the RAM and NVMe M.2 devices.
What I like about the Intel NUC 9 Extreme:
- Very compact form factor with loads of options
- Has the NUC9VXQNX option for Intel Xeon E-2286M CPU 8 core (16 H/T) @ 2.4GHz Processor
- Has Slots for 3 NVMe M.2 Devices (needed for vSAN config)
- 1 Baseboard slot for ESXi Boot (42/80/110mm slot)
- 2 Intel CPU Module Slots for vSAN Cache and Capacity drives (42/80/110mm slot & 42/80mm slot)
- Supports up to 64GB SODIMM RAM
- Two additional PCIe Slots for GPU & more NICs, if required
- Has two USB-C ports for 10GbE adapters, if required
- Two onboard 1GbE ports for management vmnics
- ESXi 7.0.1 installs cleanly and runs without extra customization
- Only need a small Phillips head screw driver to disassemble the NUC and install the RAM and NVMe M.2 devices
Intel NUC 9 Front, Rear and with top cover off
Intel NUC 9 sides with covers on and off
Intel NUC 9 Baseboard (with NVMe M.2 device heat-sink removed) and Intel CPU Module with SODIMM RAM modules and NVMe M.2 devices installed
vcdx133.com 