Intel’s pursuit of creating compact, semi-modular, and impressively powerful desktop computers, known as NUCs (Next Unit of Computing), faced a halt last year when the NUC division was discontinued. In a surprising turn of events, Asus stepped forward to carry on the torch, presenting the ROG NUC as the initial outcome of this collaboration. Positioned as a reinterpretation of the high-end NUC Extreme line, the ROG NUC squarely targets gamers with its distinctive features.
Embracing the Republic of Gamers (ROG) sub-brand, the ROG NUC echoes the visual language of Intel’s earlier designs, featuring a sleek, slender chassis and an illuminated ROG eye logo in lieu of the iconic skull. Within its compact 2.5-liter frame resides the latest Core Ultra 7 or Core Ultra 9 CPU, boasting a maximum power consumption of 65 watts. Complementing this power is an Nvidia RTX 4060 or 4070 graphics card (140w max), up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM using laptop SO-DIMMs, and a notable three M.2 Gen4 2280 slots for storage.
On the front panel, users will find a full-size SD card reader, paired with dual USB-A ports and audio jacks. Flipping to the rear reveals a potent Thunderbolt 4 port (capable of handling DP2.1), four USB-A ports (with only two operating at full-speed 3.2 Gen 2 spec), HDMI, dual DisplayPort, and 2.5-gig Ethernet. Asus claims that by leveraging all three video ports and Thunderbolt, the ROG NUC can simultaneously run four 4K displays. Integrated Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 further augment its connectivity options.
While Asus highlights a “toolless” design and the option to customize the integrated logo, the extent of user access to the hardware remains uncertain. The GPU, described as “discrete,” is likely a mobile card soldered to the motherboard, with RAM and storage emerging as the primary points of customization.
Details regarding the pricing of this intriguing kit, excluding memory and storage, are yet to be unveiled. The ROG NUC is expected to launch within the current calendar year, with the Asus promotional page offering limited insights into release specifics.