At what point is it no longer a “miniPC”?!
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The NUC brand just "NUC"ed itself with a 14-liter product. Hilariously, my SSUPD Meshroom S (15 liters) can hold an entire ATX motherboard. Why would I constrain myself to an ecosystem built around a custom motherboard?
Intel shows yet again how easily they lose the plot.
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No doubt you spent less, too.
the Intel NUC 13 Extreme Kit is a barebone system that comes without an SSD, RAM, or a graphics card. The price depends on the included CPU. The base model with the Intel Core i5-13600K costs 1179 USD, while the highest-end configuration is available for 1549 USD.
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Damn that’s expensive.
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Sure did!
$159.99 - SSUPD Meshroom S Case
$259.99 - ASUS ROG Strix X570-I Gaming Motherboard
$88.91 - EK-AIO 240 D-RGB
$159.99 - SF Series™ SF750 — 750 Watt 80 PLUS Power Supply
Add the processor (Ryzen 9 5950X) at current price ($479 at Micro Center; often goes on sale for $449.99 with Zen 4 now on the market) and that’s a good $180 less. That’s a flagship Ryzen 9 processor, mind you, versus a midrange Core i5 processor. Plus, I was able to add an IR receiver internally–specifically a Perfect Home Theater IR receiver–thanks to the mesh! Intel, unfaithful to its brand, has started to omit IR in its NUCs. So it works as an HTPC as well with an MCE-compatible IR remote and can be powered on from a full S5/shutdown state.
On top of it, that NUC Extreme can only accommodate up to 313-millimeter, triple-slot GPUs. I can tell you for a fact that many RTX 30 series (like my MSI RXT 3080 Gaming X TRIO) and most if not all RTX 40 series (only air-cooled work here) won’t fit in that NUC Extreme. The SSUPD Meshroom S can accommodate up to 4-slot, 336-mm cards.
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Oh brother.
That’s ridiculous.
I guess there’s no skin off their nose, though. Just slap a word on the side and if it sells better because of it, they’re laughing. Their genuinely small PCs will still be a commodity item because people…, have eyes.
It’s just crass is all.
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I think Intel should come up with a new product line/name for these. NUC has always been associated with tiny form factor computers…once you get to Mini/Mid tower size like this thing, the concessions one has to make with buying this over any other pre-built tower just are harder to justify.
NUC’s have alot of concessions, but the thats price of having of desktop box the size of a Nintendo Switch. Even the 12th gen NUC option with the ARK graphics is significantly bigger then my Hades Canyon.
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I actually think they have NUCked it up… 
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