Intel NUC 12 Extreme: New Mini-PC with Alder Lake CPUs

On the occasion of CES 2022, the chip manufacturer Intel is giving a first look at its new NUC 12 Extreme. Under the code name “Dragon Canyon”, the mini-PC with socketed Intel Core i9 processors (Alder Lake) will appear in the first quarter of this year.

In advance leaked images already indicated, now the official confirmation from Intel will follow. The successor to the popular NUC 11 Extreme will for the first time have an LGA1700 socket for the 12th generation of Intel Core CPUs and will be fitted with the right Core i9 processors ex works. So far, the compact barebones have been equipped with so-called “Compute Element” plug-in cards, which prevented a subsequent upgrade of the processor.

Space for 3 M.2 SSDs, 64 GB DDR4 RAM

The vapor chamber cooling of the new Intel NUC 12 Extreme (Dragon Canyon) is able to keep Core i7 and Core i9 CPUs with a TDP of up to 65 watts in check.

Furthermore, up to three PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs in M.2 format and up to 64 GB of RAM (DDR4 3200) can be installed. The printed circuit board (PCB) including processor, RAM and SSDs are connected to a separate base board, on which there is also space for a separate graphics card. Even if there is no further confirmation, the NUC 12 Extreme should probably also be one of the mini-PCs that could be equipped with the upcoming Intel Arc Alchemist GPUs in the future via VideoCardz.

As further key data, the manufacturer confirms the support for the modern Wi-Fi 6E, Thunderbolt 4, 10-Gigabit-LAN, USB 3.2 Gen2 and HDMI. Suitable connections are made both on the back and with the help of an additional I / O front panel. Detailed specifications are expected in the next few weeks. The official market launch should take place in the first quarter of 2022. See also: Pc, Intel, mini-pc, mini-desktop, NUC 11 Extreme