Intel NUC 12 Pro

Pro If you're looking for a low-power system to fire up and forget about for three years, this is a great choice

- TIM DANTON

When Intel released the NUC 11 Pro (see issue 322, p54) with an 11th generation W mobile Core processor inside, we weren't blown away by its speed. We pointed to mini PC rivals based on faster AMD Ryzen chips, plus the larger but far more powerful Mi Mac mini (see issue 318, p54). But with the 12th generation Core, Intel regained its mojo - and this makes the NUC 12 Pro a far more attractive proposition.

It still offers all the usual benefits of Intel's "next unit of computing" Pro design. First, its sheer compactness.

Thanks to its 117 x 112mm footprint, you could squeeze almost four of these machines onto this page, and at 33.4mm tall I've seen thicker gaming laptops.

Support for the VESA 100 standard means you could easily attach it to the rear of a monitor, too. My only caveat is that you'll need to find a home for the external power supply.

Despite its tiny form, the NUC 12 Pro packs a real punch. Our system is based around the popular Core 17-1260P processor, which hits the sweet spot thanks to four P-cores that race up to 4.7GHz and eight E-cores that both sweep up background tasks in Windows 11 and add extra threads when apps need them.