Intel NUC 13 Extreme Review – Literally a Big Upgrade

The Intel NUC Extreme 13 (Raptor Canyon) grows significantly more powerful and larger than the NUC12 Extreme with a 13.9 liter metal mesh case. That affords room for a desktop 125 watt 13th gen Core i5/i7/i9 K series unlocked processor, more cooling, easier upgrades and a triple slot GPU up to 450 watts with a 750 watt power supply. The unit will go on sale Q1 2023 in the US as a barebones kit (SimplyNUC will offer it with RAM, SSD and OS for those who aren’t DIY inclined). Despite its small size relative to the average gaming desktop, it has a full complement of IO ports including Thunderbolt 4, and it’s surprisingly easy to work on. It’s not cheap, but the engineering and quality might persuade you to pay the price of entry. With a good video card, it’s extremely well suited to AAA gaming at 4K as well as 3D rendering and video editing.