Intel NUC 12 Pro Review: Compact but colossal for hybrid workflows
American multinational corporation Intel is the most well-known and one of the longest-running computer manufacturers in the world. If you’ve owned a handful of computers in your life there’s a high chance that one of them, if not all of them, used Intel components.
NUC or Next Unit of Computing are powerful yet compact computers which can suit a variety of purposes from day-to-day use, and work and business applications.
The first NUC was released a decade ago and has evolved to become a more versatile and viable alternative to desktop and laptop solutions, offering a full, uncompromised desktop experience and a very modest form factor.
With the number of ports, the NUC 12 Pro is "business in the front and part in the back" (Intel)Seen as an alternative to Apple Mac Mini, the NUC is smaller and due to their Intel chip and standard use of Windows, they are much more versatile and compatible with a multitude of applications. It also bears some similarities to Raspberry Pi computers but with much more power and compatibility.
NUC systems are incredibly versatile and can be built out of many different components allowing you to make one to fit a specific purpose which that at home or for the workplace.
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I'm a real fan of these mini-PCs. But you don't get any of the essential peripherals - like a keyboard or mouse but you can pick these up really cheaply and some NUCs are kits that only include basic components.
This tiny box is smaller than an old-school 3.5-Inch hard drive at only 117 x 112 x 37mm, which makes it very easy to carry and set up nearly anywhere.
It comes with a bracket too so if you want an incredibly minimal workspace or want it left in a meeting room without being an eyesore, you can mount it to the wall or the back of a TV or monitor.
Its design is an all-matte black square, no-nonsense, non-flashing design with no RGBs or logos which looks professional, and inoffensive but a little bland.
I loved being able to move the NUC from my desk, to office to TV in my living room for meetings (James Ide)My only real issue with its design is it’s essentially the same bland design NUC have used for the last ten years, however, it is practical and doesn’t look bad at all.
The case is solid metal while not sealed to allow airflow, it has a nice weight at 532g which is much less than a Mac mini and MacBook Air.
I tested it in three locations, at my desk with my 2k monitor, in my living room with my 4k TV and at my workplace on both a monitor and TV.
It was easy to set up with it working instantly with my monitor and any TV I plugged it into, I did have some driver issues with a monitor in the office though.
It features an array of useful ports which is another thing that sets it apart from the mac Mini, including:
Two front USB 3.2 ports and a 3.5mm jack which while not used as much these days I really appreciated its inclusion.
On the back is where things get really interesting, 2x USB 4 (type C), 1x USB 3.2, 1x USB 2.0 as well as an ethernet port as well as 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports which offer up to 40 Gbps transfer speeds and support up to 100w of power allowing you to quick charge phones and laptops, it also lets you connect up to four displays.
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It's a testament to Intel's powerful CPUs that this 12th Gen i7 chip does a lot of heavy lifting here, using 12 Cores with 16 threads, it can handle most standard tasks thrown its way and not just email and web browsing.
However, CPU options and other hardware are variable as you can use an i3 or i5 variant with different RAM or storage options.
Installing programs and flipping through Internet tabs was incredibly quick and it should be able to handle all day-to-day PC use along with some less intensive games and even some light video and photo editing work.
It's staggering to consider what a capable machine the NUC is at such a compact size (James ide)One thing to note is the NUC 12 Pro does use DDR4 RAM instead of the newer, faster and slightly more energy-efficient DDR5. It won’t make a drastic difference but minicomputers can use any edge they can get and DDR5 options would have been appreciated.
In 3D Mark, the NUC received a CPU Score of 773 and a Graphics Score of 1484, with an impressive 99.6% frame rate stability in Time Spy Stress test.
I didn’t expect much in the form of gaming but I thought I’d test it anyway and I was shocked that this dinky devil with integrated graphics did much better than I expected.
God of War managed around 20 fps and was unplayable even on the lowest settings, however, Doom Eternal managed much better at between 30 and 60 fps at 1920 x 1080 and after a lot of tweaking I managed to get the Witcher 3 running at 30 - 40 fps.
Simpler titles like Minecraft and Fortnite ran easily as neither titles are incredibly demanding.
This is also a great machine for photographers on location, as long as you have access to a colour-calibrated screen, as the NUC did a fine job with editing pictures with Photoshop and Lightroom.
I have mixed feelings about the design, as it's smart and practical but a little dull (James Ide)I was pleasantly surprised to discover that even when really pushing itself to run God of War the whole unit remained cool and even with the fan going full speed it was never particularly loud at around only 30dB.
I love Mini PCs as it’s really cool to see what can be done with such extreme size limitations and it feels like they are only becoming more viable year after year with the advances in CPU, heat and power efficiency.
But other than for weirdos like me who is this for? The NUC makes a great device for lots a different specific takes other than a simple workplace machine, it is also great as a media centre to be plugged into your TV or as a retro gaming station once loaded up with educators and ROM copies of games you already own.
Pricing is dependent on what specification you request but for a basic i3, 8GB and 256 Storage option will set you back around £642 and for the same specs I looked at was around £910 which seems expensive if you compare it directly to a laptop but this machine has a much smaller profile
Intel NUC 12 Pro Verdict: 4/5
The Intel NUC 12 pro completely smashed my expectations proving that good things can come in small packages. This very compact yet customizable PC is versatile enough to meet everyday needs as well as some light gaming and office work.
While it does have an impressive array of ports, it's a shame that the design has remained pretty much unchanged and lacks the minimal style of say the Mac Mini, some colour variations, a glass top or something would have gone a long way also have made things more appealing and looking less like a metal brick.
If you need a device to send emails, browse the web, edit photos or cut some light video you really can't go wrong with the NUC as it doesn't struggle with any light to slightly more demanding tasks thrown at it.
I can’t fault the functionality here, it’s also so versatile can drop it into my backpack and have it as an everyday carry to the office, I loved the ability to just walk into any meeting room and plug it directly in.
The Intel NUC 12 Pro is out now and available from Amazon, or SCAN more details about the NUC 12 Pro can be found on the Intel website.
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