Aesthetic changes and little else; This is what we can expect from the next generation of Intel NUC mini PCs, spearheaded by the NUC 13 Pro “Arena Canyon” model, but with a format that returns to the model known as “4-by-4” (4 x 4 inches) that they have been using almost since they were introduced to the market. In this article we tell you everything about them.
“Now more than ever, businesses need AI-ready, environmentally conscious, flexible and scalable systems that offer the peace of mind that comes with proven technology. The NUC 13 Pro is our latest step forward in bringing computing to our customers.” high-quality, reliable, enterprise-grade technology they need,” said Brian McCarson, general manager, Intel NUC group.
This is the Intel NUC 13 Pro, the mini PC “without news”
You have already seen the statements of the head of Intel’s NUC division: this is “proven technology”, that is, used in previous generations. As much as Intel strives to present news, in reality they are quite empty when there are no real news but only word… concerned about the environment? Artificial intelligence? Enterprise-level computing? This all seems pretty complicated in a NUC format, don’t you think?
As you can see in the image above, the 4 x 4-inch format returns to the Pro models, with some aesthetic changes such as a homogeneous outer shell and matte black color (until now they were silver below and glossy black above). The position of the power button has been changed, which is now on the front instead of on the top, and larger ventilation grills have been added to the sides… no more, no less.
Fortunately, the connectivity has been updated, and in addition to the two HDMI outputs that we already had in previous versions, an RJ-45 2.5 GbE connector is now included instead of the usual Gigabit, in addition to a total of two UCB-C 3.2 Gen.2 connectors, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 and one USB 2.0. Under the hood we can find an M.2 socket compatible with PCIe 4.0 x4 SSDs, as well as integrated Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
It is true that this range of NUCs are designed for businesses, but NUC mini PCs have always also been a powerful tool for people who need a mini PC to work, since they take up little space, are silent and powerful enough to do anything. type of task (except games) in a solvent way. But it is also true that they are still barebones to which RAM memory must be added (in this case, up to 64 GB DDR4 at 3,200 MHz in SO-DIMM format, already from the Pleistocene) and SSD at the user’s expense, and its price It’s not exactly cheap ($340 to $1,080 depending on hardware configuration).
Really, who needs these “news” that this generation of Intel NUC 13 Pro introduces? If we look back at the two previous generations, we continue with SSD in M.2 format, we continue with DDR4 RAM memory, and the only real novelties are found in the form of connectivity, 2.5 GbE LAN (who currently has a built-in network environment 2.5 GbE? With Gigabit is more than enough) and WiFi 6E.
It is up to each one to decide if it is worth jumping to the new generation, but of course, we do not see that the news is really worth it because there is no real performance jump.