Intel NUC 12 Extreme Dragon Canyon Mini PC Review: A Fire-Breathing Little Beast
Intel NUC 12 Extreme Dragon Canyon: Graphics, Gaming, Power And The Verdict
Next up, we have an array of 3DMark gaming tests run on the Intel NUC 12 Extreme that we'll use to compare it against as many systems as we can: desktop, notebook, and small form factor systems alike...
With similar GPUs, the NUC 12 and NUC 11 Extremes perform similarly in the light-duty Night Raid benchmark, though the Alder Lake-based Core i9-12900 inside the NUC 12 does push it slightly ahead.
Its higher CPU Physics score helps push the NUC 12 Extreme a notch ahead of the NUC 11 here, but again we're talking about a relatively minor difference in performance.
Once again we see the NUC 11 and 12 performing similarly, which is to be expected when using similar GPUs in a test like Port Royal that is completely GPU bound.
The NUC 12 Extreme's higher performing CPU helped push it up a couple of notches and achieve a framerate of 113 FPS, which is only a couple of percentage points ahead of the NUC 11 Extreme. Still, performance is strong.
The NUC 12 Extreme is going to be sold as a barebones kit, with either a Core i7 or Core i9 processor. That means you'll have to provide your own memory and storage, and a discrete GPU if you prefer not to use Alder Lake's on-processor graphics engine. Pricing for the systems starts at $1,150 (Core i7) and jumps to $1,450 for the top-end Core i9 model. At those prices, the NUC 12 Extreme commands a significant price premium over a traditional DIY small form factor build using a mini-ITX motherboard. But the NUC 12 will ultimately still be somewhat smaller, and offers some additional touches like the card reader and integrated lighting.
Whether or not the premium is justified will depend on how much you like the NUC 12's chassis and design. While we did find building up the system to be somewhat tedious due to the cramped conditions and specific procedures necessary to not destroy anything, we still really dig this thing. The NUC 12 Extreme is an awesome little rig that offers performance that can rival much larger systems. If you're craving an ultra-powerful small form factor system, the Intel NUC 12 Extreme is worth checking out.
UL 3DMark Graphics Benchmarks
With similar GPUs, the NUC 12 and NUC 11 Extremes perform similarly in the light-duty Night Raid benchmark, though the Alder Lake-based Core i9-12900 inside the NUC 12 does push it slightly ahead.
In the Fire Strike test, which is completely GPU bound with a 3060 in the system, we see the NUC 11 Extreme just barely edging out the NUC 12 Extreme. The delta separating the two systems is so small though, consider this one a tie.
Once again we see the NUC 11 and 12 performing similarly, which is to be expected when using similar GPUs in a test like Port Royal that is completely GPU bound.
Middle Earth: Shadow Of War DirectX Game Tests
With our synthetic testing out of the way, let's get to some real-world tests with actual games. Though is it relatively small, the Intel NUC 12 Extreme is well-equipped for gaming with such a powerful processor and GeForce RTX-class GPU. Here's how things shook out...
The NUC 12 Extreme's higher performing CPU helped push it up a couple of notches and achieve a framerate of 113 FPS, which is only a couple of percentage points ahead of the NUC 11 Extreme. Still, performance is strong.
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider Benchmarks
The finale in the rebooted Tomb Raider trilogy, "Shadow of the Tomb Raider," is easily the best-looking of the bunch. It's also brimming with Tobii eye-tracking hardware support and leading edge graphics technologies. To test this game out, we cranked the visuals up to High and tested at the full-HD resolution of 1920x1080.
In the Shadow Of The Tomb Raider benchmark, the 12th Gen CPU at the heart of the NUC 12 Extreme helps push both the minimum and average framerate higher than the previous-gen NUC 11 here.
Intel has a certain thermal and power budget available with the compute modules installed in the latest, high-performance NUC systems. As such, power consumption characteristics between the NUC 11 and NUC 12 are very similar. Considering the increased performance of the NUC 12 Extreme when its Alder Lake CPU and stretch its legs, this is clear indicator of the Core i9-12900's better efficiency versus the 11th Gen chip.
We also monitored system power in a real-word gaming scenario (in this case, while playing Tomb Raider). As you can see, when you're hammering on the entire system, peak power can creep much higher.
Total System Power Consumption Data
Throughout all of our benchmarking and testing, we also monitored how much power our Intel NUC 12 Extreme test system consumed with a power meter, and compared the results to some of the other desktop systems we used for benchmark comparisons.
Our goal was to give you an idea as to how much power each configuration used while idling at the Windows desktop and then while under a heavy CPU workload. Keep in mind, this is total system power consumption being measured at the outlet and not the the individual power of the CPUs alone.
Intel has a certain thermal and power budget available with the compute modules installed in the latest, high-performance NUC systems. As such, power consumption characteristics between the NUC 11 and NUC 12 are very similar. Considering the increased performance of the NUC 12 Extreme when its Alder Lake CPU and stretch its legs, this is clear indicator of the Core i9-12900's better efficiency versus the 11th Gen chip.
We also monitored system power in a real-word gaming scenario (in this case, while playing Tomb Raider). As you can see, when you're hammering on the entire system, peak power can creep much higher.
Intel NUC 12 Extreme Cooling And Acoustics
Although the system is relatively small, the Intel NUC 12 Extreme we tested, with an EVGA GeForce RTX 3060, has 7 fans inside keeping it cool -- three at the top of the chassis, one on the compute module, one in the PSU, and two on the GPU. It's typically difficult to keep high-performance, small form factor systems cool and quiet, but Intel has done a commendable job:
This is all of the hardware health data captured during a run through PCMark 10. As you can see, for the most part, CPU temps hover in the 50° - 80°C range for the vast majority of the workloads. It is only in the POV-Ray run at the end that the CPU temp spikes up to nearly 100°C for a brief period before it throttles back down. The GPU temperature is not a concern whatsoever, though. The EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 never even hit 70°C. Though the NUC 12 is compact, GPUs effectively have access to cool air from outside the chassis, thanks to the mesh side panels on the system.
This is all of the hardware health data captured during a run through PCMark 10. As you can see, for the most part, CPU temps hover in the 50° - 80°C range for the vast majority of the workloads. It is only in the POV-Ray run at the end that the CPU temp spikes up to nearly 100°C for a brief period before it throttles back down. The GPU temperature is not a concern whatsoever, though. The EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 never even hit 70°C. Though the NUC 12 is compact, GPUs effectively have access to cool air from outside the chassis, thanks to the mesh side panels on the system.
Final Thoughts On The Intel NUC 12 Extreme
Having already experienced Alder Lake in both its full-power desktop and mobile form factors, we pretty much knew what to expect going into this review of the NUC 12 Extreme. Intel's 12th Gen processors have proven to be single-thread performance leaders, with excellent multi-threaded performance -- especially versus previous-gen Intel processors -- thanks to their increased core counts and relatively high clocks. Although its aesthetics, demeanor, and power consumption characteristics are similar to the NUC 11 Extreme, this new high-end NUC clearly takes the performance crown. Simply put, the NUC 12 Extreme is the highest performing mini machine to come out of Intel yet, at least when its packing a Core i9-12900 like our sample.The NUC 12 Extreme is going to be sold as a barebones kit, with either a Core i7 or Core i9 processor. That means you'll have to provide your own memory and storage, and a discrete GPU if you prefer not to use Alder Lake's on-processor graphics engine. Pricing for the systems starts at $1,150 (Core i7) and jumps to $1,450 for the top-end Core i9 model. At those prices, the NUC 12 Extreme commands a significant price premium over a traditional DIY small form factor build using a mini-ITX motherboard. But the NUC 12 will ultimately still be somewhat smaller, and offers some additional touches like the card reader and integrated lighting.
Whether or not the premium is justified will depend on how much you like the NUC 12's chassis and design. While we did find building up the system to be somewhat tedious due to the cramped conditions and specific procedures necessary to not destroy anything, we still really dig this thing. The NUC 12 Extreme is an awesome little rig that offers performance that can rival much larger systems. If you're craving an ultra-powerful small form factor system, the Intel NUC 12 Extreme is worth checking out.
 |
 |
||
|
|
