The Intel NUC has been a revelation into the minimalist computing market, offering a small footprint and performance to meet needs. But users who need big performance have somewhat left out of the fun, but the NUC 11 Extreme — codenamed Beast Canyon — is ready to change that.
The Beast Canyon is expected to bring some serious performance to users who don’t have a lot of space. The specs are right at the sharp end of the current market offerings:
- Carrying either — SKU dependent — 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i9 or i7 processor
- Support for a full-size discrete graphics card
- Support for up to 64 gigabytes of dual-channel memory
- Four M.2 storage slots to ensure plenty of storage and speed availability
- Two Thunderbolt 4 ports for maximum connectivity
- Intel Wi-Fi 6E, a 2.5-gigabit Intel® Ethernet port
- 650-watt internal power supply
- RGB lighting to cap the “gamers look” off
The whole box measures just 357mm deep x 120mm wide and 120mm high which isn’t a huge amount of desk space to take up. With our increasing workloads, reducing spare time and space: Devices like the Intel NUC range are starting to make more and more sense.
The barrier for many users though continues to be the cost. The starting price for the kits is US$1,150.00 for the i7 and $1,350.00 for the i9 without memory, storage or an OS included. We’re hopeful that a review unit will become available for a couple of weeks later this year to give one a workout and see whether the benefits can outweigh the cost.
Are you sure about those dimensions? It doesn’t look to be the same height as width.