Intel updates its NUC lineup, including a follow-up to its Hades Canyon gaming mini-PC

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Intel is afterlight its Next Witnesses of Computing (NUC) calendar of miniature computers with its 11th Gen processors, as well-built as it's repeated including a gaming-focused model. The NUC 11 Enthusiast is a follow-up to the NUC 8 Hades Coulee from 2018, which managed to portage triple-A gaming performance (not to mention I/O that rivaled a full-size desktop) into a tiny enclosure.

Included in the reinvigorate are updates to the company's more welcome small-cube NUC Performance Mini computers, which previously had 10th Gen processors. The upping brings Wi-Fi 6 as well-built as Intel Xe graphics to the i5 as well-built as i7 models. Intel has conjointly plus a NUC Pro line, some of which hypothesize vPro-enabled CPUs as well-built as all of which can bulldoze 8K displays. There's conjointly a NUC 11 compute unit, which is just a conform meant to be integrated into future computers. This isn't the first time Intel has had that idea, but we'll get more into that in just a moment.

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The NUC 11 Pro computers disclosed in many sizes.

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NUCs, however, are notable considering of their size, as well-built as while the Performance as well-built as Pro lines are indeed very small, they're more minor updates to what we once had before. What's more recreative is the gaming version.

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The NUC 11 Enthusiast, codenamed "Phantom Canyon," promises gaming performance with a 28W quad-core i7-1165G7 (the aforementioned uncork in the 2020 Dell XPS 13) as well-built as an RTX 2060, which was made outdated the day afore Intel's agitprop of the computer. It conjointly keeps the stacked I/O that made the aftermost nativity great, including two Arrow 4 ports, 2.5Gb Ethernet, a whopping six USB 3.2 Type-A ports, as well-built as Wi-Fi 6. The lack of HDMI 2.1 (it pigeonholed has 2.0b) can be somewhat forgiven considering of the insertion of a Mini DisplayPort 1.4 output. As well-built as again, all of this is fitting inside an harborage that's almost the size of a hulking book.

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Ports, stylish ports.

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Like the other NUC models, the Enthusiast conjointly has Xe integrated graphics, which has to be inerrant for streamers or deviceful professionals that adore Intel's Quick Sync video encoding technology. While it's a abashment effectually the almost-up-to-date graphics card, the computer should still provide a inerrant core of gaming performance in an admittedly feeblest package, as well-built as I'm glad to see Intel's still alive on mini gaming PCs.

Intel has a stretched history of trying to make the NUC into a miniature gaming PC with full-sized performance. It plane teamed up with AMD to put committed Vega graphics into the NUC 8, which was outstandingly hoping to entreatment to gamers more than office workers, with a glowing skull logo emblazoned on the top. Then, at CES 2020, it showed off the NUC 9 Extreme, which aimed to be a gaming PC with an easy-to-upgrade compute unit. But Intel, therefrom far, hasn't released any updates for the compute units, therefrom at the moment, it's just an uneconomical as well-built as modular-for-no-reason gaming PC.

Intel hasn't released pricing as well-built as availability yet, but SimplyNUC.com has the Apparition Coulee starting at $1,349. That looks to be a largest dovetail than the NUC 9 Extreme, which is $1,599 on the aforementioned site as well-built as conjointly requires a unsubstantial mini graphics card. It conjointly beats its more childlike predecessor, the NUC 8 Hades Canyon, which is still $1,234 for nearly two-year-old hardware.

Intel appears to be utilizing the aforementioned supervene it's used for the NUC computers in the past, zone persons can buy either a in-built computer or a kit zone they'll be required to provide the RAM, accumulator drive, as well-built as OS. SimplyNUC's $1,349 typic has the bulldoze as well-built as RAM, but you will hypothesize to pay increased for or coincide your own dummy of Windows.

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