I found the Intel NUC 2820 to have the most difficult setup of any computer I've built, but ultimately was worth it.
When I first installed PNY memory that appeared to meet specks along with a PNY 120gb drive, the NUC would not display anything on a variety of monitors I tried. I was unsure whether the problem was the memory OR the requirement of a 1280 x 720 monitor. Why that size display would be required is beyond me-I just know that none of my home monitors worked with that resolution, and they are all recent but not very expensive. I would strongly recommend that this be changed in later production models. Before I did that, I tried to update the BIOS, but since I had no screen was not sure I could. I now know I didn't, as one would expect.
In any event, I decided to try other memory, after convincing myself that surely my 4 year old projector supported the 1280 x 720 resolution. I was able to get a screen at that point. Unfortunately, the only key that worked on my keyboard was the ESC key, none of the function keys. So the keyboard may be an issue if you use something above the most basic one. I got Windows 8 loaded on the computer after figuring out that my keyboard was the problem AND that I had to upgrade the BIOS in order to access either my USB DVD drive or a USB stick to install Windows. Interestingly, the USB stick did work right to install the BIOS. 
So I think everything is fine and proceed to hook up the real monitor I planned to use, and the display was stuck at 1280 x 720 and was total unusable. I could not change the resolution being used on the 1280 x 720 monitor UNTIL I loaded drivers on the system. On the 1280 x 720 display, I could not see the far sides of the Windows display, which was quite frustrating. However, when I loaded the drivers on a USB stick on another computer, fortunately the stick prompted a dialog asking what I wanted to do, and I said I wanted to see the files on the stick. I was then able to upload the drivers and install. I finally was able to proceed with the Windows 8 install and upgrade to 8.1.
It now runs great, very speedy computer with 8 gb ram and 120gb SSD. Still need to test the Widi, which seems to be interesting for some folks to use, but everything seems to be working great now.
Thanks for those who provided input on the memory and monitor issues.
Jett Hanna