Intel NUC 12 Extreme review: A powerful DIY mini-desktop for creators and gamers alike
Intel’s quest to deliver the perfect mini-desktop continues with the NUC 12 Extreme, its latest “next unit of computing” DIY kit. Code-named “Dragon Canyon,” it’s basically a slightly upgraded version of last year’s NUC 11 Extreme, which was notable for being the first of its kind that could fit a full-sized desktop graphics card. Now it has Intel’s hybrid 12th-gen desktop processors, which promise to be a huge upgrade over last year’s CPUs. While this latest kit is still a bit cramped – and it can easily get expensive once you add your own RAM, SSD and GPU – the NUC 12 Extreme proves that Intel is clearly committed to the world of tiny desktops. And with Apple’s Mac Studio coming soon, it may be more compelling than ever for PC creators.
Gallery: Intel NUC 12 Excessive | 12 Photographs
Given how a lot effort Intel put into creating a big NUC case final 12 months, it isn’t too shocking that the NUC 12 Excessive shares the identical 8-liter housing. It is giant sufficient to slot in a 12-inch graphics card, however the remainder of its inside is tightly filled with its energy provide and Compute Unit, a detachable card that homes its CPU, three NVMe SSD connections and two RAM slots. It is clearly a case meant for gaming fanatics, with the telltale signal being the RGB LED cranium up entrance and extra lighting beneath. The NUC 12 Excessive is mainly the PC equal to a Honda Civic souped up for road racing: It could’t exist with no bit of glitz.
Execs
- Highly effective 12th-gen Intel CPUs
- Three NVMe SSD slots
- Help for 12-inch GPUs
- All of the ports you’d need
Cons
- Costly in comparison with different PC desktops
- Design could also be a bit too gamer-centric for some
Regardless of its small stature, the NUC’s case has nearly all of the connectivity you’d need from a desktop. Up entrance, there is a USB-C Thunderbolt Four port, a USB 3.1 Kind-A socket, an SDXC card slot and a headphone jack. And on the again of the Compute Card, there are two extra Thunderbolt Four USB-C connections, six USB Kind-A ports, an HDMI 2.0b socket and two Ethernet jacks (10GbE and a couple of.5Gb). We reviewed the NUC12EDBi9 package, which included the Core i9-12900 processor, however there’s additionally one other package with an i7-12700 obtainable.
Usually, Intel sends out pre-built NUC kits for overview so we are able to get straight to benchmarking. This 12 months, nonetheless, the corporate issued the identical DIY package customers would get, which solely contains the case, PSU and Compute Card. That meant I needed to roll up my sleeves and put together for scraped knuckles – it was PC constructing time! I scrounged up 16GB of RAM and a one-terabyte Samsung SSD from the earlier NUC Excessive, together with a spare NVIDIA RTX 3080 card and obtained right down to enterprise.
Stepping into the NUC Excessive is fairly easy: You simply must take away a couple of screws from the rear, open up the portion of the case blocking the PCI slot screws and take away a facet panel to reveal its innards. Fortunately, I used to be ready so as to add within the RAM and SSD with out eradicating the Compute Card. However if you would like to take that out, maybe to improve to a more moderen mannequin down the road, you simply must hit a latch to unlock the three giant high followers, pull these again, and yank the cardboard out like every other PCI card. You will must watch out when eradicating its antenna cables and energy connectors, nevertheless it’s straightforward sufficient for those who’ve already obtained PC constructing expertise. Given the fragile nature of that course of, it isn’t one thing I might advocate doing until you completely must, although.
The RTX 3080 simply match into the NUC Excessive’s PCIe slot, however I want there was a bit extra inner area to take care of all of its energy cables. As with strongest GPUs, the RTX 3080 requires two 8-pin PSU connections, that are connected to the cardboard by a dongle. It was a problem stuffing all of these cables into the NUC, and I used to be always apprehensive they’d be clipped by the GPU’s fan blades. I additionally had a tough time accessing the PCIe latch to take away the 3080 after I put in it. I used to be finally in a position to unlock it with a flat-edge screwdriver, as I sometimes do in tight PC builds, however the latch flew off as quickly as I eliminated the cardboard. Clearly, there’s room for higher construct high quality.
As soon as I plugged every thing in (and soothed my poor knuckles from being jammed into sharp edges and cables), I booted up the NUC and put in Home windows 11 through a flash drive. Then, I rewarded myself the way in which each PC builder should: I began gaming. I averaged round 100fps whereas enjoying Hiya Infinite in my monitor’s ultrawide (3,440 by 1,440) decision with all the graphics settings cranked to most. That is spectacular, however just about what I might anticipate from any system powered by an RTX 3080. Extra notable, I might say, is that the NUC was in a position to play video games for hours with out overheating. I sometimes see CPU temperatures between 80 and 85 Celsius below load, whereas the GPU by no means surpassed 82C. Not unhealthy for a system with severely restricted airflow and no room for any type of liquid cooling.
None | PCMark 10 | 3DMark (TimeSpy Excessive) | Geekbench 5 CPU |
Intel NUC 12 Excessive (Intel Core i9-12900, NVIDIA RTX 3080) | 7,914 | 8,217 | 1,762 / 13,371 |
Intel NUC 11 Excessive (Intel Core i9-11900KB, NVIDIA RTX 3060) | 7,167 | 4,143 | 1,684 / 9,345 |
Alienware x14 (Intel Core i7-12700H, NVIDIA RTX 3060) | 7,073 | 3,362 | 1,529 / 13,315 |
Intel NUC 9 Excessive (Core i9-9980HK. NVIDIA RTX 2070) | 6,469 | 4,057 | 1,312 / 7,464 |
Benchmarking the NUC 12 Excessive additionally made it clear that Intel’s 12th-gen processors are a severe improve. Its GeekBench 5 CPU rating was the best we have seen on any system; the closest match was the Alienware x14, powered by the 12th-gen Core i7-12700H, adopted by Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Professional with an M1 Max. The NUC’s multi-core rating was additionally round 4,000 factors greater than final 12 months’s mannequin, which makes it a fair more sensible choice for creators doing severe rendering work. It additionally achieved the best PCMark 10 rating we have seen but, although that is partially influenced by GPU energy.
Whereas these benchmarks do not inform the whole story, they point out that the NUC 12 Excessive might be a stable workhorse that’ll serve you effectively for years. In fact, its total efficiency will depend on all the different {hardware} you configure it with. However at the very least you are free to improve the RAM, SSD and GPU down the road, one thing you may’t do with a competitor like Apple’s Mac Studio.
Once I began testing this NUC package, I used to be involved it was going to be one other overly costly curiosity like its predecessors. Why spend hundreds greater than a normal mid-tower or mini-ITX desktop system simply to have a barely smaller field in your desk? It is nonetheless fairly dear: The Core i7 Package begins at $ 1,150, whereas the Core i9 mannequin we’re reviewing sells for $ 1,450, and then you definitely’ll have so as to add round $ 1,000 for a GPU, reminiscence, SSD and OS. However you realize what? Apple’s Mac Studio additionally begins at $ 2,000, and whereas it features a hefty 32GB of RAM, you will in all probability need to add a 1TB or 2TB SSD for an extra $ 200 or $ 400. Principally, if you’d like tiny desktop energy, be ready to pay.
If something, Intel was simply forward of the present mini-desktop second. If you happen to’re available in the market for one, and also you get pleasure from getting down and soiled with PC {hardware}, then the NUC 12 Excessive will serve you effectively. Whereas the Mac Studio is sleeker and does not require any scraped knuckles, macOS additionally does not have almost the identical stage of gaming assist as a Home windows PC, so it is primarily meant for work. Apple Arcade titles are good and all, however they’re no substitute for having a tiny field that’ll play Elden Ring.
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Gallery: Intel NUC 12 Extreme | 12 Photos
Given how much effort Intel put into developing a large NUC case last year, it’s not too surprising that the NUC 12 Extreme shares the same 8-liter housing. It’s large enough to fit in a 12-inch graphics card, but the rest of its interior is tightly packed with its power supply and Compute Unit, a removable card that houses its CPU, three NVMe SSD connections and two RAM slots. It’s clearly a case meant for gaming enthusiasts, with the telltale sign being the RGB LED skull up front and additional lighting underneath. The NUC 12 Extreme is basically the PC equivalent to a Honda Civic souped up for street racing: It can’t exist without a bit of bling.
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