The Asus ROG NUC Brings Big Power In A Tiny Package

Key Takeaways

Asus continues the NUC line with Intel’s support, offering compact gaming PCs.
Equipped with Intel’s latest Core Ultra processors and powerful graphics options.
Base model starts at $1,629, with connectivity options and upgrade potential.

We’ve seen some pretty exciting gaming PCs in our time, but the NUC series has got to take the cake for being one of the smallest and powerful gaming PCs on ther market. Of course, this is an extremely niche market, and for whatever reason, Intel decided that it would remove itself from creating and distributing NUC PCs. Luckily, Asus quickly decided that it would take up the mantle and would continue the NUC line with support from Intel.

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Roughly a year later, we’re getting our very first NUC devices from Asus, and boy are they packed to the gills with powerful hardware. Of course, the NUC PC is still just as compact as ever and now comes powered by Intel’s latest Core Ultra processors. And for those wondering, prices aren’t cheap, with the base model starting at $1,629.

Lots of power in a compact size

As you can imagine, for some, this is a big deal. Asus shared quite a bit of details in its own press release, and before we get into all the details, remember that all of these parts are packed into a case measuring at just 2.5 liters (via Tom’s Hardware). When it comes to the hardware, there will apparently be two configurations available, one with an Intel Ultra 9, and another model with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor.

Of course, when it comes to the graphics card, users will also be able to get some pretty powerful options, like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 or 4070. And just because this case is small, that doesn’t mean that it lacks connectivity. The PC packs plenty of ports with one Thunderbolt 4, four USB 3.2 Gen 2, and two standard USB-A ports. In addition, it has an SD card slot, headphone jack, Ethernet, one HDMI and two DisplayPorts.

And as far as upgrade potential, well, there are three M.2 slots, so future expansion is possible. As far as wireless connectivity goes, this PC comes with an Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6E card and Bluetooth 5.3. Not bad for something so small, right? Of course, pricing doesn’t come cheap here, with the base model costing $1,629, and the upper-end variant coming in at $2,199. For now, it looks like these are out of stock already, but check back because restocks are coming.