A NUC is the perfect choice for building your first PC. It's small, few pieces to assemble, and only requests a couple Phillips screwdrivers.
A new NUC kit comes as a bare-bones system. You will need to provide RAM and storage
Used NUCs purchased off eBay have often been stripped and are missing the power supply, RAM and storage. Sometimes the wifi card and even some screws are missing.
There are a number of great videos to refer to:
You should also locate the model number from the bottom of the NUC (for example “BOXNUC7i3BNK”) and search for the terms NUC and that model number, and then add the keywords “user guide”. Official instructions and information about what components are compatible with your particular NUC are found there.
NUCs have the usual PC connections:
Whatever operating system you choose, the process is basically:
See https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005471/intel-nuc.html
Ubuntu offers great documentation.
With Windows, a special tool for creating installation media is provided.
IMPORTANT Windows requires a product key. If you don't have a product key, you can still use the unactivated device for one month without any restrictions
Congratulations! You have built your first PC and installed the operating system yourself!
Now it's time to seek new adventures for your and your NUC. From running your own Minecraft server to Donating CPU time to science, enjoy the journey!