Intel NUC 12 Extreme Kit (‘Dragon Canyon'): A Dragon of a Mini-PC

The “Dragon Canyon” NUC is a scorcher.

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Intel’s Next Unit of Computing (NUC) mini-PCs are a long-running platform that lets the big chip maker showcase how much performance and functionality can fit in a compact, minimalist desktop design. The NUC 12 Extreme Kit under review here (dubbed “Dragon Canyon” during its development) is a gaming desktop barely larger than a game console but packing in some major firepower: a 12th Generation Intel “Alder Lake” Core desktop processor plus the space and power delivery for a full-length graphics card. It’s also entirely end-user upgradable, from its SO-DIMM RAM and three M.2 storage-drive slots to its actual CPU, via Intel’s unique Compute Element platform.

A traditional mid-tower desktop with these specs would doubtlessly cost less; sold only as a barebones unit, the NUC 12 Extreme Kit starts at $1,150 with a Core i7 Compute Element installed, jumping to $1,450 for the Core i9 version we’re testing. That’s before you add your own RAM, storage, operating system, and graphics card. But the allure of a mini-PC that can do it all is undeniable, and the NUC 12 Extreme Kit’s outstanding performance and practicality make it our top gaming mini-PC and a repeat Editors’ Choice award winner.

THE DESIGN: HONEY, I SHRUNK THE GAMING PC

The NUC 12 Extreme Kit is a refresh of 2021’s NUC 11 Extreme Kit (“Beast Canyon”), using much the same chassis and internal layout. It makes the all-important jump to Intel’s 12th Generation Core Alder Lake platform, which is leaps and bounds more capable than the 11th Generation “Tiger Lake” silicon that was used in the NUC 11 Extreme Kit.