A user from the Chinese platform Weibo, 从未完美过, has shared the initial details about the next-gen Intel Next Unit of Computing (NUC).
Intel’s NUC platform offers entry-level to high-level performance for laptops and Mini-PCs. Recently, the NUC 11 was announced, which comes with Intel Tiger Lake KB series processors and offers support for full-size discrete GPU. This GPU enclosure with NUC Element board is far from a small configuration; hence it cannot be called ‘mini,’ but Intel also offers smaller machines, such as its Enthusiast line.
The next-gen NUC codenamed as NUC 12 Enthusiast will utilize Intel Alder Lake and probably the upcoming DG2 GPUs. The initial photo and specifications are available on Weibo.
As per the specs sheet, the NUC 12 Enthusiast will come in three configurations: Core i7 + Discrete Graphics 16GB, Core i5 with 12GB GPU, and Core i5 with 8GB GPU. Although the graphics cards are unnamed, the memory configurations are similar to the rumored Intel Xe-HPG based DG2 family of GPUs, Intel’s upcoming discrete GPUs for gaming.
The upcoming NUC will feature DDR4-3200 RAM. This confirms that the 12th Gen series will support both the DDR5 and DDR4 RAMs. The PCIe Gen4 standard support will be offered for two NVMe drives and a single PCIe Gen4 drive. It will also have Thunderbolt 4, 2.5Gbit Ethernet, and WiFi6E compatible network solution (Intel new AX411).
Clearly, the listing is not finalized as it lacks crucial details like the processor and graphic SKU names. However, the slide mentions that Intel DG2 will support both HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.0.
A 19V 230/330W power supply will be required for the NUC 12. The power adapter will depend on the GPU option.
Via Weibo