Intel’s seldom-seen Compute Element platform comes out of hiding, in the latest high-powered, discrete-GPU-capable mini PC from the chip giant.
The 2021 edition of Computex, for Intel, is all about the chip giant reinforcing its latest successes with laptop CPUs. The 11th Generation Core processors in its “Tiger Lake” families are filtering out across the world in new laptops everywhere. These chips have debuted in three main waves, with its H-Series (power-user, and most recent), H35-Series (lighter-impact, but still muscular), and U-Series (thin-and-light) Tiger Lake chips being the new laptop norms since the second half of 2020. Its desktop processors, meanwhile, are between generations, with the early-2021 launch of the 11th Generation “Rocket Lake-S” socketed CPUs. So Intel is throwing a sop to desktop enthusiasts at the virtual Computex show with a sneak peek of a new, power-minded NUC PC. Meet the NUC 11 Extreme Kit, with the evocative code name “Beast Canyon.” Easy There, Tiger! Next Unit of Computing (NUC) is Intel’s classic family of compact desktop systems that employ the company’s mobile CPUs. The aim behind NUC is inspiring and furthering the cutting edge of mini PC design. Some of these models are little pockets of power as small as 6 inches square, like the recently reviewed “Tiger Canyon” Intel NUC 11 Pro Kit, which we crowned with an Editors’ Choice award just last week. The new Tiger Lake-based NUC, though, is bigger, a successor to the NUC 9 Extreme Kit (code-named “Ghost Canyon”) that we awarded a Best of CES award in 2020.
