Mini PCs have always garnered a dedicated following, and I am proud to count myself among them. So when the news broke that Intel was relinquishing control of its NUC (Next Unit of Computing) business to Asus, my interest was piqued. While consumers have been the primary target market for NUCs, Asus has set its sights beyond the average user, aiming to court commercial and enterprise clients with custom NUC devices specifically tailored to a wide range of use cases.
In a recent interview with Asus senior vice president Jacky Hsu, he provided insight into the company’s vision for developing custom machines to cater to various commercial customers. Asus intends to create specialized NUCs for embedded, industrial, and application-specific purposes. These applications span a diverse array of roles, including digital signage, point-of-sale systems, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and warehouse and factory operations. Each of these roles presents unique environmental considerations, requiring machines that are specifically designed to meet their demands.
When we think of NUCs, we often envision cuboid-style machines or book-sized form factors. However, Asus plans to break away from the traditional mold by introducing various form factors that are specifically designed for different use cases. This means developing custom solutions with different I/O considerations and motherboards to create NUCs that seamlessly integrate into specific environments.
A particularly intriguing aspect is the customization of I/O options. Asus envisions offering NUCs with a wide range of connectivity options, including different Ethernet standards, SFP connections, D-SUB, Serial, DIN, and much more. This ensures that the NUCs can be tailored to the specific requirements of each use case. Whether you need 10,000 NUCs with FireWire connections or any other specific connectivity feature, Asus aims to oblige.
Gaming NUCs have existed in the market for quite some time, offering portable and compact gaming solutions to enthusiasts. While Asus has not yet announced concrete details about its plans for gaming NUCs, KW Chao, the general manager of Asus’s NUC business unit, has hinted at the possibility of ROG branded NUCs. This prospect certainly sparks the imagination.
The recent news that Intel’s Meteor Lake family will not be available in the DIY market, but rather in embedded, AIO, or NUC solutions adds further intrigue. A Meteor Lake ROG branded NUC could be a game-changer. By taking one of the higher-tier Meteor Lake laptop chips, configuring its TDP to better suit the NUC form factor, and combining it with a high-performance graphics card, Asus could create a gaming NUC that offers impressive performance rivaling that of a desktop Raptor Lake chip. Such a compact gaming rig would avoid the compromises and noise associated with cooling a high-power desktop CPU. With the addition of some RGB flair, Asus could potentially create a highly marketable mini-computer that outperforms traditional gaming consoles, all while occupying an even smaller form factor.
While there are already examples of high-performance mini-PCs on the market, such as MSI’s Trident PCs, few have succeeded in pairing a laptop chip with a desktop-class GPU. With Asus taking the reins, the future of NUCs seems to be in good hands. If Asus can secure enough prominent clients and the business unit finds success, we can likely expect the emergence of ROG NUCs in the near future. As an avid enthusiast, I eagerly await these exciting developments.
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