Intel NUC 12 Extreme Brings Performance Hybrid Architecture to the NUC Form Factor

[btarunr]

Today, Intel announced the Intel NUC 12 Extreme (code-named Dragon Canyon) and the Intel NUC 12 Extreme Compute Element (code-named Eden Bay), a highly modular desktop PC kit engineered to provide phenomenal performance for high-end gaming and content creation tasks. With the latest 12th Gen Intel Core desktop processors, capacity for full-size 12-inch discrete graphics cards and a full range of I/O ports including Thunderbolt 4, the Intel NUC 12 Extreme delivers massive performance and features that enthusiast gamers and professional creators need in a compact and modular form factor.

The Intel NUC 12 Extreme brings Intel's new performance hybrid architecture and a socketed motherboard to the NUC line for the first time. For those who want a powerful system with a small footprint and more versatility than ever before, the Intel NUC 12 Extreme Kit is an outstanding option. The most powerful Intel NUC yet encompasses new features, like performance hybrid architecture and access to faster PCIe interfaces, accelerating load times, all in a footprint that can fit on any desk.



Built with flexibility in mind, the modular Intel NUC 12 Extreme Compute Element provides enthusiast gamers and creators the ability to create their own small form-factor designs, giving users the option to be creative and configure the system footprint to their liking.

The NUC 12 Extreme offers breakthrough speeds with up to a 12th Gen Intel Core i9 processor, featuring eight Performance-cores (P-cores) and eight Efficient-cores (E-cores), 24 threads and up to 5.1 GHz turbo boost max frequency.

Additional features include:

• Intel UHD Graphics 770 (32 EU)
• Support for up to 64 GB dual-channel DDR4-3200 MHz SODIMMs
• Support for PCIe Gen 5 x16 graphics cards
• Backwards compatible with PCIe Gen 4 and Gen 3 devices
• Support for up to three PCIe Gen4 M.2 SSDs
• Two Thunderbolt 4 ports, Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211, a 10 Gbps Ethernet port standard; and additional 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port on Intel Core i9 processor SKUs

The Intel NUC 12 Extreme will be available starting in the second quarter of 2022, with more rolling out through the year. Pricing will range from $1,150 to $1,450 for Intel Core i7 and Intel Core i9, respectively.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Chaitanya]

BIOS Lock Bypassed! Only the VRM has to survive 220W on this 65W Intel NUC

 

[Crackong]

BIOS Lock Bypassed! Only the VRM has to survive 220W on this 65W Intel NUC

lol The clock speeds are broken right out of the box

 

[dgianstefani]

lol The clock speeds are broken right out of the box

IQ? He used it with a 12900k instead and on a riser as its not designed to be run.

It's also a preproduction sample.

 

[bug]

I think NUCs have always been interesting, just priced a tad too high for comfort.
I understand why, but getting something a little less configurable than the DIY equivalent for more money is not an automatic buy.

 

[john_]

From Anandtech

The Dragon Canyon NUC delivers significantly better performance at the cost of increased energy consumption - a 13% increase in scores for a 24% increase in energy consumption.

 

[bug]

From Anandtech

Out of the box, yes. But as benchmarked here on TPU, you can limit power draw quite a bit with barely an impact on performance. Granted, unlike what TPU tested, these are locked chips, but judging by the amount you could limit on K CPUs, I'd surprised if there isn't anything left to squeeze out of these.

 

[john_]

But as benchmarked here on TPU

Am I blind? Because I was looking for TPU's review, but couldn't find it.

 

[bug]

Am I blind? Because I was looking for TPU's review, but couldn't find it.

Here you go: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i9-12900k-alder-lake-tested-at-various-power-limits/

 

[john_]

Here you go: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i9-12900k-alder-lake-tested-at-various-power-limits/

I was looking for Dragon Canyon (P)review.
Performance does suffer, a lot, in applications that try to use all, or most cores.

 

[bug]

I was looking for Dragon Canyon (P)review.
Performance does suffer, a lot, in applications that try to use all, or most cores.

Possibly, but not much software uses all 16 P threads. Software that does is usually rendering, encoding, not stuff you'd usually do at home. And if you did, you'd probably go for a proper workstation, not a NUC.