Intel NUC 11 Extreme Kit unveiled, suited for high-end gaming

The Intel NUC Extreme Kit

Intel has announced its latest computer designed for high-end gaming, the Intel NUC 11 Extreme Kit. The new product, codenamed ‘Beast Canyon’, is a ‘highly modular’ PC running on Core i7 and Core i9 10nm Tiger Lake processors. What’s interesting about this product is that the high-end hardware has been crammed into an 8-litre case and comes with features usually found in larger machines.

Despite this machine being ideal for high-end gaming, it doesn't come with an operating system installed by default so you'll also have to set aside at least $139 for a copy of Windows 10. If you're content with a more slender game library, you could opt for Ubuntu or Linux Mint which are free to use. It also ships without a GPU, which you will have to shell out extra for.

Commenting on the new product, Intel said:

“Compact Intel NUC 11 Extreme Kits are designed to provide powerful, immersive gaming experiences. For performance, connectivity, and modularity, the Intel NUC 11 Extreme kit delivers massive performance with a small footprint.”

The complete specifications for the Intel NUC Extreme Kit are as follows:

	NUC11BTMi9	NUC11BTMi7
Processor	11th Generation Intel Core i9-11900KB 3.3 GHz - 5.0 GHz Turbo, 8 core, 16 thread, 24 MB Cache, 65 W	11th Generation Intel Core i7-11700B 3.3 GHz - 4.9 GHz Turbo, 8 core, 16 thread, 20 MB Cache 65 W
Graphics	Intel UHD Graphics, 350 MHz - 1.45 GHz PCIe x16 Gen4 slot, up to 12" card length, dual-slot capable
Memory	Dual-channel SODIMM slots DDR4-3200 64 GB max
Storage	Four M.2 key M slots: 2280 CPU-attached PCIe X4 Gen4 NVMe, Two 2242/80 PCH-attached PCIe x4 Gen3 NVMe or SATA3 SSD, RAID-0 and RAID-1 capable, CPU-attached 42/80/110 PCIe X4 Gen4 Intel Optane Memory M10, H10, H20 and Intel Optane SSD ready
Other Features & Technology	HDMI 2.0b port, Two Thunderbolt 4 ports, Intel 2.5GB Ethernet port, Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 and Bluetooth 5.2, Eight USB 3.1 Gen2 ports, SDXC slot with UHS-II support, Supports up to three 4K displays, All-around customisable RGB lighting with user-replaceable RGB-backlit front logo, 3.5 mm front stereo headset jack, Kensington lock ready, 3-Year limited warranty
What's Needed	Memory, Storage, Operating System

If you’re thinking about picking up the new Intel NUC 11 Extreme Kit you’ll be able to find it on sale from the third quarter. Pricing for the computer starts at $1,150 for the Intel Core i7 kit and $1,350 for the Intel Core i9 kit.