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Intel NUC 12 Fanatic
MSRP $1,180.00
“The NUC 12 Fanatic delivers desktop-grade efficiency in a tiny type issue.”
Professionals
- Wonderful 1080p gaming efficiency
- Laptop computer CPU matches desktop efficiency
- Small and comparatively quiet
- Improbable connectivity
Cons
- Costly
- Giant, clunky energy brick
Intel’s NUC, or Subsequent Unit of Computing, machines don’t normally make it into the pantheon of the very best desktop computer systems, however the NUC 12 Fanatic is inflicting me to take one other look. It’s a DIY package the place you have to deliver your personal reminiscence and storage, however the energy Intel was in a position to pack into this machine contemplating its measurement is nothing wanting outstanding.
A giant asterisk is unsurprisingly so as. It’s a tiny and really highly effective PC, nevertheless it’s joined by an influence brick that’s practically as massive. As well as, the NUC 12 Fanatic reveals a formidable debut for Intel’s Arc Alchemist cell graphics, which excel in current titles however fall behind in older video games.
Even with some caveats, the NUC 12 Fanatic places up much more professionals than cons. On the gaming entrance, it could put the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Collection X to disgrace at a fraction of the scale. For creators, it rivals desktops which can be greater than 10 instances as massive, and with solely laptop computer {hardware} in tow.
Meet the Intel NUC 12 Fanatic
Processor | Intel Core i7-12700H |
Graphics card | Intel Arc A770M 16GB |
RAM | 16GB DDR4-3200 |
Storage | 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD |
Wi-fi | Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX 1690i, Bluetooth 5.2 |
Thunderbolt | 2x Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 Sort-C ports |
Show connections | 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 2.0 |
USB ports | 6x USB 3.2 Gen2 ports |
Audio ports | 1x entrance 3.5mm stereo, 1x rear 3.5mm stereo |
Energy provide | 330W exterior energy brick |
Dimensions (LxWxH) | 7.1 x 2.4 x 9.1 inches |
Listing value | $1,180 |
Intel despatched the NUC 12 Fanatic out pre-configured, however for those who’re not used to the NUC line, let me catch you up. It’s a barebones PC, so a base package comes with all the pieces inside minus storage and RAM. You’ll want so as to add these by yourself.
The NUC 12 Fanatic comes with three M.2 NVMe SSD slots (two PCIe 4.0 and one PCIe 3.0), in addition to two slots for as much as 64GB of DDR4 laptop computer reminiscence (SODIMM). Though the Core i7-12700H contained in the machine helps quicker DDR5 reminiscence, you’re sadly locked to DDR4.
My configuration got here with Home windows 11 pre-installed, which is what I used for testing. The barebones package doesn’t have an working system, although, so that you’re free to put in Home windows or one of many varied Linux distros that the NUC 12 Fanatic helps.
Smaller than a e-book
![Intel NUC 12 Enthusiast next to an Xbox Series S.](https://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/intel-nuc-12-enthusiast-review-7.jpg?fit=720%2C480&p=1)
The quantity of energy Intel was in a position to cram into the NUC 12 Fanatic is loopy contemplating its measurement. It’s a mere 2.5 liters by quantity. For reference, even the smallest DIY PCs are someplace round 11 liters, whereas machines just like the Corsair One sit round 8 liters.
In dimensions, the NUC 12 Fanatic is simply 7.1 inches lengthy, 2.4 inches extensive, and 9.1 inches tall. For context, the Xbox Collection S is 5.9 inches lengthy, 2.6 inches extensive, and 11 inches tall, and a reprint of Stephen King’s IT I had laying round was 5.5 inches lengthy, 2.8 inches extensive, and eight.7 inches tall. IT is a big e-book, certain, nevertheless it doesn’t have Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 14-core processor.
Nugatory comparisons apart, it’s clear the NUC 12 Fanatic is tiny. Regardless of that, it’s packing the newest tech beneath the hood: Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, and even DisplayPort 2.0; the gang’s all right here. The one caveats are a big 330W exterior energy brick for the machine and a quite massive vertical stand. There are ft to arrange the NUC 12 Fanatic horizontally, although, which ends up in a a lot tidier look.
You’ll have to open up the NUC 12 Fanatic and set up RAM and at the very least one SSD, and it’s straightforward sufficient. Intel has the RAM and SSD slots located on the again of the board, so that you don’t should dig round extra delicate elements to put in what you want. My solely quibble is that Intel makes use of an Allen key for the outside screws and a Philips head for the interior screws, so you’ll be able to’t simply seize a screwdriver and get to work. On the plus facet, all of those screws are captive, so that you don’t have to fret about dropping them.
![RAM and SSD slots inside the Intel NUC 12 Enthusiast.](https://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/intel-nuc-12-enthusiast-review-9.jpg?fit=720%2C480&p=1)
You’re free to dig deeper within the machine if you want, although there isn’t a lot of a motive to. The graphics card and CPU are soldered to the board, nevertheless it’s nonetheless good to have entry beneath the primary cavity for troubleshooting if one thing is appearing up.
Earlier than you get to the SSD and RAM slots, Intel has an LED panel the place you’ll be able to slot in customized decals. The panel is only a massive RGB gentle that you would be able to management with software program, so that you’re free to fit in something that may block some gentle for a singular design. It’s a gimmick however nonetheless a cool piece of flare nonetheless.
Laptop computer CPU, desktop efficiency
The Core i7-12700H is a laptop computer processor, so it’s not as highly effective because the Core i7-12700K or Core i9-12900K that yow will discover in a full desktop. Regardless of being a laptop computer CPU, it outperforms the identical chip in most laptops with entry to higher cooling and better enhance potential.
You may see that when the chip is stacked up towards the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3, which additionally has a Core i7-12700H. In Cinebench R23, the NUC 12 Fanatic is about 5% forward in single-core efficiency and an enormous 38% forward in multi-core efficiency, and that’s with the ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 in its Efficiency mode. A tuned laptop computer can squeeze out a win over the NUC, although, as evidenced by the Core i7-12800H contained in the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5.
Though the processor is spectacular for a cell chip, it’s nonetheless behind a full, fats desktop CPU. Even with entry to fewer cores, the desktop Core i5-12600K affords higher single and multi-core efficiency. Nonetheless, the NUC 12 Fanatic sits nearer to desktop efficiency than laptop computer efficiency, regardless of what its specs would recommend.
Handbrake, the free video encoding app, is a testomony to that. Encoding instances have been just a few seconds longer on the Core i7-12700H in comparison with the desktop Ryzen 5 7600X and Core i5-12600K. On high of that, extra highly effective laptop computer CPUs just like the Core i9-12900H contained in the HP Envy 16 are far behind, regardless of packing extra cores and better clock speeds.
The NUC 12 Fanatic carries some distinctive benefits for artistic apps as a consequence of having an Intel processor and graphics card, too. In Premiere Professional, the NUC 12 Fanatic is even near a desktop AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, which is a processor that attracts 230 watts with 16 full cores. That’s insane, and an enormous testomony to the optimizations Intel has in artistic apps like Premiere Professional.
Arc cell got here to recreation
![Gaming benchmarks for Intel NUC 12 Enthusiast.](https://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/nuc-12-enthusiast-gaming.jpg?fit=720%2C479&p=1)
No, the NUC 12 Fanatic isn’t going to place a full gaming desktop with an RTX 4080 to disgrace, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a strong mini gaming PC contemplating its measurement. This one stands out as a result of it contains Intel’s Arc A770M cell graphics playing cards, that are based mostly on the Arc A770 and A750 desktop GPUs.
It drives above 60 frames per second (fps) in most video games at 1080p, and with upscaling options like Intel’s Xe Tremendous Sampling (XeSS), you’ll be able to even push increased resolutions like 1440p and 4K. Intel’s Arc graphics playing cards really carry out higher at increased resolutions, which is why you see comparatively small gaps between 1080p, 1440p, and 4K in most video games.
Though you’re getting the Arc A770M, it’s the cell model of Intel’s flagship desktop GPU. It carries the identical identify, however you’ll get decrease efficiency in video games like Horizon Zero Daybreak. It will get shut in some titles, although, significantly Cyberpunk 2077.
Small type issue gaming PCs just like the Falcon Northwest Tiki and even Intel’s NUC 11 Excessive will at all times put up higher efficiency because of the bigger graphics playing cards inside. The NUC 12 Fanatic continues to be spectacular contemplating how small it’s, going toe-to-toe with machines just like the HP Z2 Mini G9 in video games regardless of costing a lot much less.
Attempt to deal with the warmth
![The Intel NUC 12 Enthusiast sitting next to its power brick.](https://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/intel-nuc-12-enthusiast-review-6.jpg?fit=720%2C480&p=1)
Warmth and noise are the primary enemy of small type issue builds, however Intel manages the warmth nicely within the NUC 12 Fanatic. At idle, the processor sat round 45 levels Celsius, which is nice for this small of a PC. The temperatures rapidly climbed to 95 levels in Cinebench R23, ensuing within the CPU throttling right down to round 3.1GHz.
CPU throttling is necessary in a machine like this, nevertheless it solely issues if the processor is underperforming. And as you’ll be able to see in my testing above, that’s not the case. The 2 inner followers and air flow across the machine are in a position to transfer warmth out successfully, so though the processor reaches its thermal restrict, it’s nonetheless in a position to function at a better degree than what we see with the identical CPU in laptops.
The noise isn’t dangerous, both, by no means surpassing a faint hum even when the machine was pushed to the restrict in Cinebench. Gaming is a distinct story. With the CPU and GPU burdened, the NUC 12 Fanatic can get loud, although nonetheless not as loud as monstrous gaming laptops just like the MSI GT77 Titan.
Do you have to purchase the Intel NUC 12 Fanatic?
![Intel NUC 12 Enthusiast sitting on a desk.](https://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/intel-nuc-12-enthusiast-review-4.jpg?fit=720%2C480&p=1)
The NUC 12 Fanatic punches above its weight in efficiency, options, and design. It’s a transparent instance of what’s potential in a small type issue with a devoted design and {hardware} (not dissimilar from the M1 Mac Mini). Creator efficiency is implausible for the scale, particularly contemplating the quantity of storage the NUC 12 Fanatic help, and also you’re getting a implausible 1080p gaming expertise.
Worth is the primary limiting issue contemplating you’ll have so as to add your personal RAM and storage to an already costly barebones package. Though the NUC 12 Fanatic outclasses laptops that price simply as a lot or much more, it additionally takes a backseat to bigger desktops just like the Dell XPS Desktop 8950 that price much less cash. Nonetheless, the premium Intel is asking isn’t unreasonable. The NUC 12 Fanatic handles warmth nicely, and it performs significantly better than its measurement would recommend.
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