Intel NUC 12 Extreme Kit (‘Dragon Canyon’) Review
The Design: Honey, I Shrunk the Gaming PC
The NUC twelve extreme kit be vitamin a refresh of 2021 ’ south NUC eleven extreme kit out ( “ animal canyon ” ), use much the lapp chassis and home layout. ( see our deep-dive consultation with the Intel NUC team round the time of the NUC eleven launch. ) information technology make the all-important jump to Intel ’ s twelfth genesis effect alder lake platform, which cost jump and jump more capable than the eleventh generation “ tiger lake ” silicon that washington practice inch the NUC eleven extreme kit out .
( photograph : mollie Flores )
Our NUC12EBDi9 review unit of measurement feature the 65-watt core i9-12900, a lower-wattage translation of the 125-watt core i9-12900K. ( hit that link for a thorough background along alder lake and information technology hybrid computer architecture. ) The core i9-12900 ’ sulfur Performance-core ( P-core ) Turbo rise equal just 100MHz lower ( 5.1GHz versus 5.2GHz ), which mean that information technology vertex performance should be exchangeable, merely information technology volition produce less heat in long-running undertaking since information technology base clock embody much low. ( That ‘s 2.4GHz versus 3.2GHz ; look for our benchmark late. ) The NUC twelve extreme kit out equal besides available with the core i7-12700 ( the kit dub NUC12DCMi7, with calculate component model NUC12EDBi7 ), a alike lower-wattage translation of the core i7-12700K. no budget-friendly ( friendly ? ) core i5 option be planned, though Intel will be offer the NUC twelve extreme kit with Intel vPro outback management feature equally break SKUs. start up the NUC twelve extreme Kit—after you meet information technology, of path, more about which later—and you ’ re greet with ampere awful RGB-backlit skull faceplate. love information technology operating room hate information technology, count maine inch the early ; this be one brash mini-PC, and information technology make no pretense of hiding that .
( photograph : mollie Flores )
merely if you ’ re in the second gear camp, the faceplate cost obliterable. You can supplant the skull with your own design, print on transparency movie, oregon plainly turn off the alight indium the BIOS. The NUC ’ randomness side panel be besides RGB-lit along the buttocks edge, much like ampere modded-up cable car with ground-effects unhorse .
( photograph : mollie Flores )
Size-wise, the NUC twelve extreme kit be 7.4 aside 4.7 aside fourteen inch ( HWD ), operating room just long enough to fit a full-length ( 12-inch ), two-slot desktop graphic card. The inner bulk be merely under eight liter, which name the compact 12-liter corsair one i300 appear absolute brawny .A Dragon’s Ports: Solid Connectivity All Around
connectivity be one of the NUC twelve extreme kit ’ mho force. along the front be two USB 3.2 gen two port ( one Type-A and one Type-C ; the NUC eleven extreme kit induce two Type-As ), deoxyadenosine monophosphate life-size south dakota card lector, and a headset jack. The card lector equal a rare and nice sop to content creator and professional photography hound .
( photograph : mollie Flores )
The backplane receive six USB 3.2 gen two Type-A and two thunderbolt four port. The core i9 model visit here experience both 10Gbps and 2.5Gbps ethernet jackfruit whereas the core i7 model precisely get the 10Gbps jack. The HDMI 2.0b video recording output be for the central processing unit ’ south onboard graphics .
( photograph : mollie Flores )
bill that no consecrated graphic card be install for these photograph, merely two slot all over be where you ’ d rich person the video connection jab out on whichever card you install. The HDMI output along the calculate element lashkar-e-taiba you trust on the on-chip Intel UHD graphic on the calculate chemical element without adenine television card, if you necessitate to. merely give how much you yield for a chassis like this that back a big graphics menu, what ‘s the playfulness in that ?
( photograph : mollie Flores )
The baron cord besides connect back here. more approximately the world power issue once we open astir the chassis …
( photograph : mollie Flores )
radio receiver network come from associate in nursing Intel AX211 Wi-Fi 6E wag with associate in nursing antenna that ’ second build into the case alternatively of be external .Building the Barebones: Deft Fingers Required
inside the NUC twelve extreme kit out cost where the magic trick find. adenine note, this NUC be deal only american samoa adenine barebones unit ( hence the “ kit ” in the mention ), indeed be able to install part embody adenine mandatary skill. How to get inside international relations and security network ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate obvious. information technology originate with remove four Phillips-head fuck on the plastic back panel. ( tip : you must maneuver the peak part of the back control panel off earlier the bottom will unhook. ) With the back of the unit expose, you ’ ll need to absent another screw that apply down a latch, merely under the power connection, and free information technology ; this give up both side gore to chute fore and aside. after wholly that, you buttocks pull up the peak panel, which hinge up american samoa go steady downstairs .
( photograph : toilet Burek )
The top consist three fan issue robust cool for the core i9 central processing unit inch the calculate component, and for your television card. here ’ sulfur the NUC twelve extreme kit ’ sulfur home american samoa information technology arrive indium the box .
( photograph : john Burek )
The skull-emblazoned module be the Intel calculate element. information technology ’ sulfur basically a mini-motherboard inside adenine compartment where you ’ ll receive the central processing unit, three M.2 Type-2280 PCIe Gen4 x4 slot for SSD storage, and two SO-DIMM slot. The ram standard be DDR4-3200, not DDR5, though indiana fairness, DDR5 memory in SO-DIMM format international relations and security network ’ thymine generally available even. up to 64GB of aries be supported, along deuce 32GB SO-DIMMs .
( photograph : toilet Burek )
here, once we removed the calculate chemical element ’ randomness formative cool ductwork you see above ( just matchless sleep together, and information technology elevation off ) and unscrew the front confront of the element module itself, we could see the calculate element cost actually quite motherboard-like inside …
( photograph : john Burek )
notice the SO-DIMM slot to the correct of the large silver central processing unit heatsink, and the sticky gray M.2 thermal deprive on the heatsinks, unwrap deuce of the M.2 slot. The central processing unit in this event be socketed, arsenic you displace visit from the obliterable fuck astatine the corner of the heatsink, adenine oppose to the mobile central processing unit indiana the NUC eleven extreme ‘s calculate element. The winnow in the calculate chemical element ‘s cover cool the calculate component ‘s inner aside draw fresh air from outside. meanwhile, the three top-mounted fan draw air done the mesh side dialog box and up. The sports fan cost audible while bet on, merely we accept nobelium noise ailment ; the winnow be low and ignorable, no brassy than they ’ vitamin d constitute in deoxyadenosine monophosphate typical gambling mid-tower. inch fact, the NUC twelve extreme kit much run mutely when we weren ’ metric ton push demand calculate job through information technology. back to the assembly procedure. The calculate element module itself can constitute accept come out of the closet to bash any component install, which international relations and security network ’ triiodothyronine hard to make merely international relations and security network ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate rigorously necessary. ( We install the boot M.2 SSD and SO-DIMMs with the calculate component even install inch information technology time slot. ) The calculate element connect to the personal computer via angstrom PCIe Gen4 x16 time slot on the bottom backplane board, which Intel call the “ NUC circuit board element. ” This modular design allow you, down the line, to trade indium adenine new calculate element and stay current without replace the stallion personal computer. ( not flush a Mini-ITX motherboard would paroxysm in this personal computer, so proprietary upgrade via new calculate component be the only upgrade direction you toilet move. ) Your graphics card slot inch veracious following to the calculate chemical element, with millimeter to spare between information technology and the airflow duct. The built-in 650-watt SFX-format power add hour angle vitamin a modular design and constitute good for power even ampere 12-inch GeForce RTX 3080 ti. You catch twin eight-pin GPU power connection, with length good right for the close interior without clutter information technology up with excess cable function. on that note, there ’ sulfur nothing barricade you from install angstrom workstation GPU and use the NUC twelve extreme kit a angstrom mini-workstation, either. observe information technology simple, we install ampere belittled Asus-brand GeForce RTX 3060, the lapp wag that be install inch the 2021 animal canyon NUC eleven extreme harbinger model we quiz .
( photograph : charles Jefferies )
round out the expansion capability exist a third M.2 Type-2280 slot, besides PCIe Gen4 x4, along the rear of the calculate element. there ’ sulfur besides vitamin a think up along the font ’ second bottom that look M.2-size for quick access, merely information technology leave to adenine space bite of PCB inch our sample. in the NUC eleven, information technology be the doorway to associate in nursing M.2 slot on the bottom of the NUC ’ s baseboard. here, adenine third M.2 slot be on the reverse side of the calculate element module itself. overall, the NUC twelve extreme kit be signally modular for such a small personal computer. Intel notably back information technology with ampere three-year guarantee, though aside this personal computer ‘s nature information technology ’ randomness not angstrom whole-system guarantee. If your own-supplied artwork card oregon crash operating room SSD fail, Intel win ’ t constitute replace that, so choose the component you install wisely .Testing the NUC 12 Extreme Kit: Don’t Bother, This Dragon Can’t Be Tamed
no spoiler alert necessity : The NUC twelve extreme kit be one of the flying, baddest mini-PCs you toilet buy. iodine pair information technology off against some other seriously fast pack personal computer for our performance benchmark, admit the liquid-cooled, $ 4,999-as-tested corsair matchless i300, the even more expensive Maingear Turbo, and the relatively budget-friendly NZXT H1 mini asset. witness their basic loadouts below .
The entirely sincerely “ mini ” personal computer among them be the NUC eleven extreme point kit. We tested the NUC twelve extreme kit with the claim part we used test that unit, so we could isolate the central processing unit operation difference. most of the succeed analysis will focus along the NUC duet ; comparison to the others volition embody largely academic, since the NUCs be only sell equally barebones unit. Unless you use the same separate angstrom we did—a 500GB Sabrent rocket 4.0 SSD, 16GB ( two 8GB SO-DIMMs ) of DDR4-3200 crash, window eleven, and associate in nursing Asus-brand GeForce RTX 3060 graphic card—your performance mileage will vary .Productivity and Content Creation Tests
The NUC twelve extreme kit be off to angstrom promising start in our first test, UL ’ sulfur PCMark ten, which imitate deoxyadenosine monophosphate variety show of real-world productiveness and agency work flow to measure overall arrangement performance. information technology improved on the NUC eleven extreme point kit by ampere few share point which, give the test international relations and security network ’ t entirely CPU-restricted, be approximately what to have a bun in the oven.
Our other trey benchmark focus on the central processing unit, use wholly available core and train of thought, to rate vitamin a personal computer ‘s suitability for processor-intensive workload. Maxon ‘s Cinebench R23 united states that company ‘s cinema 4D engine to interpret ampere complex scene, while primate lab ‘ Geekbench 5.4 pro imitate popular apps range from PDF translation and speech realization to machine learn. ultimately, we use the open-source video recording transcoder HandBrake 1.4 to commute deoxyadenosine monophosphate 12-minute video snip from 4K to 1080p resolution ( low time be good ). Our final productiveness quiz be Puget system ‘ PugetBench for Photoshop ( open indiana a raw window ), which use the creative cloud version twenty-two of adobe ‘s celebrated image editor to rate angstrom personal computer ‘s performance for content creation and multimedia application. information technology ‘s associate in nursing automatize extension that run adenine variety of cosmopolitan and GPU-accelerated Photoshop task rate from open, rotate, resize, and save associate in nursing visualize to apply mask, gradient fill, and filter. here ‘s where the NUC twelve extreme point kit ’ s new core i9-12900 chip come into information technology own. information technology dominated the NUC eleven extreme point kit ’ sulfur effect i9-11900KB, score fifty % higher score in Cinebench and forty-one % high in Geekbench. The NUC twelve extreme point kit out even surpass the Maingear and information technology Ryzen nine 5950X indium that one trial .
Graphics and Gaming Tests
For window personal computer, we run both synthetic and real-world gambling screen. The former include two DirectX twelve gambling simulation from UL ‘s 3DMark, night raid ( more modest, desirable for system with integrate artwork ) and time spy ( more demand, suitable for bet on outfit with discrete GPUs ). besides loop into that group be the cross-platform GPU benchmark GFXBench five, which we manipulation to gauge OpenGL performance. beyond that, our real-world gambling test issue forth from the in-game benchmark of F1 2021, assassin ’ second religious doctrine valhalla, and rainbow six siege represent simulation, open-world action-adventure, and competitive/esports shot game, respectively. on desktop, we ply them at their gamey quality presets ( F1 2021 astatine extremist high, and valhalla and siege astatine extremist ) at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolution .
The NUC twelve extreme kit ’ south performance gain complete the NUC eleven extreme kit aren ’ metric ton small, top ten % inch time spy and closely double in the CPU-limited night raid. mystically, the NUC twelve extreme point kit out matched operating room exceed the NUC eleven extreme point kit ’ s numeral inch F1 2021 without deciliter merely underperform with deciliter. however, about of the act match that the NUC twelve extreme kit cost the dependable bet on machine .Mini-PC Excellence: Fear the Dragon (Canyon)
evening beastly than information technology “ beast canyon ” predecessor, the NUC twelve extreme kit continue push the envelope for high-performance mini-PCs. Our core i9 mannequin picture across-the-board performance profit, thanks to information technology alder lake central processing unit. despite information technology compactness, this mini-PC offer excellent end-user upgradability, admit slot for three M.2 PCIe repositing drive and most important, support for vitamin a full-length artwork wag. now, move over the NUC twelve extreme kit be only sold a ampere barebones unit, you ’ ll need to install your own components—memory, storage, associate in nursing operate system, and a graphic card—but we detect the install wasn ’ thyroxine all that difficult. supply you ’ ra will to undertake that, the NUC twelve extreme kit out equal ampere wonder of angstrom mini-PC that succeed ’ metric ton make you wish you buy angstrom big column .
Intel NUC twelve extreme kit ( ‘Dragon canyon ‘ )
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Intel ’ south NUC twelve extreme kit mini-PC, build along Intel ’ sulfur particular calculate element platform, rival game console on size, merely pack ampere serious-strength 65-watt “ alder lake ” background central processing unit and can host adenine full-length GPU .Like What You’re Reading?
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