If you're looking for a new Windows laptop, you may find what you need in Amazon's one-day ASUS sale. Today, the online retailer has a number of ASUS laptops on sale, with some up to $250 off. Likely best for most people are the ASUS ZenBook 13 OLED and the ZenBook 13 Flip OLED, which are down to $650 and $745, respectively. You can also grab the ZenBook Duo 14, a dual-screen laptop that earned a score of 84 from us, for $906, which is $194 less than usual.

If you go for the standard ASUS ZenBook 13, you're getting an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U processor, 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, along with a 13.3-inch 1080p OLED display. The Flip version shares the same display, RAM and storage, but runs on an 11th-gen Core i5 processor. While we didn't review these exact models, we did put the ZenBook Flip S through its paces and gave it a score of 84 for its sleek design, powerful performance and lovely OLED display.

The main difference between the Flip S and the Flip on sale today is that the former runs on a Core i7 processor and has a 4K OLED panel. Otherwise, you'll get a similarly premium Windows experience from both machines. Also, both the standard ZenBook and the Flip have ASUS' unique and convenient NumberPad 2.0, which is combined with the trackpad and illuminates only when you need it.

As for the ZenBook Duo, it's best for those who want something a bit different in their next laptop. Its main screen is a 14-inch 1080p touch panel and it also includes a 12.6-inch matte touchscreen that sits above the keyboard and lifts up slightly when you open the laptop. That's one of the new features ASUS built in to this second-gen laptop that makes it easier to use and more viable as your daily driver. The latest ZenBook Duo also has better dual-screen software and much improved build quality than the previous version. The keyboard and trackpad area are still a bit cramped for our liking, but if you're going to invest in a dual-screen notebook, this is one of the few solid options available right now.

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Way back in 2018 Intel announced plans to develop its own line of discrete GPUs back designed to compete with rival cards from AMD and NVIDIA. And despite several delays including missing its original 2020 launch window, this spring the first batch of Intel's new Arc graphics cards are finally ready for use in retail devices, starting with Samsung's Galaxy Book 2 Pro laptops.

As a quick recap, while Intel's Arc line will eventually cover both laptops and desktops, the first batch of A-series GPUs are lower-power cards intended mainly for ultraportables and thin-and-light notebooks. The company's graphics cards will use a naming scheme similar to its CPUs to help differentiate between various performance tiers, beginning with the new Arc A350M and A370M, before moving on to the more powerful Arc 5 and Arc 7 cards which are due out sometime later this summer. 

Intel

Across the entire family of Arc GPUs, Intel's graphics architecture is based on four main pillars: the company's XE cores, XE Media Engine, XE Display Engine, and the XE Graphics Pipeline. All Arc cards will also have the same basic feature set including support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, ray tracing, XE Super Sampling, AV1 hardware acceleration and more. 

The Arc's XE cores are based on Intel's XE HPG (High Performance Graphics) microarchitecture, with each core featuring 16 256-bit Vector Engines. 16 1,024-bit Matrix Engines and 192KB of shared memory. The XE Media Engine is designed to support popular video apps with hardware encoding at up to 8K 10-bit HDR and hardware acceleration for a number of popular standards (VP9, AVC, HEVC, AV1). Meanwhile, the XE Display Engine was built to handle video output for up to two 8K displays at 60Hz simultaneously, four 4K displays running at 120Hz, or a single 1440p screen at 360Hz.

Intel

As for the two new cards themselves, both the A350M and A370M are targeting 1080p gaming at 60fps to 90fps across a range of popular games. The A350M is designed to draw between 25 and 35 watts of power and will sport six XE cores, six ray tracing units, a graphics clock of 1,150 MHz (which Intel says is a conservative estimate of the card's typical clock speed) and 4GB of GDDR6 vRAM. Alternatively, the A370M is designed for slightly larger laptops with a power draw of between 35 and 50 watts, eight XE cores, 8 ray tracing units, a graphics clock of 1,550 MHz, and the same 4GB of vRAM. And as you can see in the image above, the upcoming Arc 5 and Arc 7 cards will be significantly more powerful. But again, they won't be out until sometime in early summer. 

Intel

Also, alongside its new GPUs, Intel created a software suite called Arc Control similar to NVIDIA's GeForce Experience and AMD's Radeon Software, designed to allow users to more easily monitor performance, install drivers and updates, record game highlights and even connect to live streaming apps like Xsplit. And thanks to a UI that uses a streamlined overlay, Intel's Arc Control should be easy to access in the middle of a battle. 

Intel even says it's working more with developers to provide faster and more responsive driver support for new titles, with featured games on the Arc cards including titles such as Elden Ring, Ghostwire: Tokyo, Dolmen and a whole lot more. And as one of the largest chip makers in the world, Intel also created its Deep Link tech which is designed to give its Arc cards an additional performance boost when working in tandem with Intel's onboard integrated graphics. 

Intel

So while we're only getting two new Arc cards right now (and relatively low-power ones at that), today marks an important moment as Intel finally becomes the true third horse in the discrete graphics space. The first retail device to feature one of Intel's A-series cards is Samsung's Galaxy Book 2 Pro, which goes on sale next month. However, Intel promises that there will be a slew of even more laptops featuring Arc GPUs coming soon from big names including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, MSI, Lenovo and others. 

John Roach — the former chief of RadioShack parent company Tandy who later became one of the lead proponents of the personal computer — has died at 83, reportedThe New York Times. The Fort Worth native died in the city where he was raised, and no cause of death was given by his wife. As an employee of Tandy in the 70s, Roach convinced RadioShack executives to sell the TRS-80, a desktop microcomputer that retailed for just under $600, in its stores nationwide. This was at a time when few complete, pre-assembled computers were on the market. The TRS-80 first hit RadioShack stores in 1977, and by 1981 became the largest-selling computer of all time, beating out Apple’s early offerings.

"It is obvious that the microcomputer is at the center of a communications and information revolution. I believe that within 20 years most Americans will be computer users and will benefit from the attendant mental advantage,” Roach toldCreative Computing in 1984.

Roach was born on November 22, 1938 in Stamford, Texas. He started his career at Tandy Corporation as a data processing manager in 1967. Once a top-seller of CB radios through its RadioShack stores, the Tandy Corporation was then in a sales slump due to a decline in demand. The TRS-80, which sold exclusively at RadioShack stores, helped revive the company. By the time Roach became chief operating officer of Tandy in 1980, the company had close to 40 percent of the personal computer market.

The very first TRS-80 came equipped with a Zilog 80 processor, 4 KB DRAM, 64-character per line video monitor and Level I BASIC language interpreter. Its keyboard could only type uppercase letters. But the units sold like wildfire, and became a favorite among computer hobbyists and business professionals. By the early ‘90s, the TRS-80’s market share took a nosedive, overtaken by offerings from Apple and IBM. Roach retired as chief executive of Tandy in 1998.

“I was saddened to hear of John’s passing. John’s vision and his ability to get early computers, like the TRS-80, into people’s hands through RadioShack made him one of the true pioneers of this industry,” Bill Gates said in a statement to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “He helped create a market that so many people and companies benefited from as the personal computing industry took shape.”

It’s a refresh those with an eye on Dell’s XPS 15 and XPS 17 laptops have waiting to get their hands on for a while, and it’s now available. Starting today, you can configure both computers with Intel’s latest 12th-generation Core H-series CPUs. Announced at the start of this year, the company’s new processors combine performance and low-power efficiency cores onto a single chip.

In theory, the design promises to deliver better performance and battery life thanks to a CPU that can better juggle the demands of modern computing. Among other highlights, Intel’s new H-series processors feature DDR5 support and built-in WiFi 6E connectivity, allowing you to take advantage of the new 6GHz band that comes standard on recent 6E routers.

The XPS 15 starts at $1,449 and features a 12-core i5-12500H with one 8GB DIMM of 4,800MHz DDR5 RAM and 512GB of NVMe storage. You can configure it with up to a GeForce RTX 3050 Ti with 4GB of VRAM and a 40W power draw. The XPS 15 comes standard with a 15.6-inch FHD display that features a panel with 500-nits of brightness. Unique to the XPS 15 is an OLED display option with a 100,000:1 contrast ratio, DisplayHDR 500 certification and 400 nits of brightness.

The XPS 17, meanwhile, starts at $1,849. It comes standard with a 17-inch FHD display, but you can configure it with a 4K panel with 100 percent Adobe RGB coverage, 500 nits of brightness and a 1,600:1 contrast ratio. The roomier chassis also allows for an RTX 3060 with 6GB of VRAM and a 60W power draw. But if you want that model, Dell notes it won’t be available until sometime in April.

With great speed, security and reliability, Samsung's T7 Touch SSDs are among the best storage expansion options for PCs and mobile devices alike. Now is a great time to pick one up, as both the 1TB and 2TB models are available on Amazon at all-time low prices. You can pick up the 1TB model in silver or black for $130 (a savings of $60), or grab the 2TB version for $260, or $110 off the regular $370 price.

When it launched, the T7 Touch SSD won a CES Innovation Award thanks to its built-in fingerprint scanner feature with 265-bit AES hardware encryption. It supports read and write speeds of 1,050 MB/s and 1,000 MB/s thanks to the USB 3.2 connectivity, considerably faster than most portable SSDs. In addition, it comes with an LED status indicator and can withstand shocks from drops up to six feet. 

Fingerprint setup is relatively simple thanks to the included software. And while some portable SSDs are stingy with cables, the T7 Touch includes both USB Type C-to-C and Type C-to-A cables so you can connect it to PCs, Macs and portable devices. Finally, it offers a sleek and compact style, fitting in the palm of your hand and weighing just 2 ounces or 57 grams. As mentioned, these are the lowest prices we've seen on the T7 Touch models, so if you've been looking, now's the time to act.

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The dream of an upgradeable Mac Studio is dead – at least for the time being. If you follow Apple blogs, you probably saw that over the weekend teardowns of the company’s latest desktop computer showed that it features SSD storage that isn't soldered down to its main logic board. That led some to believe that it would be possible for Mac Studio owners to upgrade the computer on their own. However, those hopes have now been dashed.

YouTuber Luke Miani conducted a test to see if he could upgrade the Mac Studio’s storage. To do so, he took one unit and wiped its SSD so that he could then transfer the drive to an open SSD slot on a second machine. The secondary Mac Studio recognized the drive, but no matter what Miani did, the computer would not boot with the component installed in it. The Mac Studio’s only response was to use its status LED to send out an SOS call. All of that suggests Apple has programmed the Mac Studio not to accept replacement SSDs.

That’s not necessarily surprising. On its website, Apple states, “Mac Studio storage is not user accessible,” and the company recommends customers configure the computer with enough storage to meet their needs when they buy it. MacRumors suggests the purpose of the Mac Studio’s SSD slots is to allow certified technicians to replace nonfunctioning drives. Presumably, they’ll have access to tools that will allow them to bypass the company's software lock. As the website also notes, it’s possible Apple may at some point allow people to replace the SSD in their Mac Studio on their own by selling storage upgrade kits, much like it started doing with the Mac Pro in mid-2020. Until then, it’s a shame a machine that costs so much doesn’t offer some form of upgradability.

Don't worry if you missed out on previous sales for the 14-inch MacBook Pro — you're getting a second chance. Amazon is once again selling the base 14-inch laptop with an 8-core M1 Pro, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $1,749, or a substantial $250 below the official price. That matches the all-time low price we saw in February, and remains a good bargain if the 'entry' version meets your needs.

The starter 14-inch MacBook Pro represents a sweet spot in Apple's rejuvenated laptop range. You get a speedy M1 Pro chip, a 120Hz mini-LED display, strong battery life, an exceptional keyboard and a healthy selection of ports in a body that's still easy to carry around. While there are more powerful 14-inch variants available, this configuration is more than enough for day-to-day tasks and even serious media editing.

The caveats haven't changed much since launch. You can't expand the RAM or storage, so you'll have to be content with what you get for the life of the computer. You'll also need Apple Silicon-native apps to wring the most performance out of the M1 Pro, and that display notch might prove irksome. At this price, though, the 14-inch MacBook Pro is very competitive and could easily be worth the tradeoffs.

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If you think you need the sheer power of the Mac Studio, then you probably need the Mac Studio. That's all you really need to know about Apple's squat little desktop. It fits neatly into the company's current offerings: The Studio delivers more performance than the M1 Max-powered MacBook Pros, but it costs significantly less and gives you access to all the ports you'd want from a desktop. It's basically the super-powered Mac Mini many have been waiting for. The only question for the Mac faithful: Should you get one, or wait for the Mac Pro revamp that'll surely blow it out of the water?

The answer, naturally, will depend on your budget. The Mac Studio starts at $1,999 with the M1 Max chip and jumps to $3,999 if you want to go full beast mode with the M1 Ultra. But while those prices may seem high, they're in line with PC workstations meant for editing 4K and 8K video. If it's not clear by now, the Studio isn't really targeted at mainstream consumers – that's what the Mac Mini is for. Its purpose lies in its name: It's a diminutive desktop meant for creative professionals working in something akin to a studio (or a swanky home office).

Here's what's really exciting, though: The Mac Studio is within reach for many professionals. It's more practical than the ill-fated iMac Pro, which started at $4,999 when it launched in 2017. (At the time, even we were genuinely confused about its intended audience.) That machine was unceremoniously discontinued last year, to no one's surprise. The Studio is also far more approachable than the long-awaited Mac Pro Apple introduced in 2019, a feat of industrial design with a $5,999 entry price (which could easily scale to tens of thousands of dollars). The Mac Pro was certainly an impressive beast, but it was so far removed from consumers that Apple never sold it in their retail stores.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

The Mac Studio has some benefits that are obvious even before you turn it on: It doesn't take up much floor or desk space; it's easy to move around (clocking in at either 5.9 pounds for the M1 Max model or 7.9 pounds for the M1 Ultra); and its curvy aluminum case looks like something you'd find at MoMa. It's not meant to disappear into the background like the Mac Mini. No, the Studio deserves a prominent spot on your desk, a symbol that you've become a true creative professional.

Also, you'd definitely want it on your desk to get easy access to all of its ports. So many ports! Up front, there are two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C connections and an easily accessible microSD card slot. On the rear, they're joined with four more Thunderbolt 4 USB-C sockets, two USB Type-A connections, a 10 Gigabit Ethernet port, HDMI and a headphone jack. I was shocked Apple even remembered USB Type-A exists, but I'm sure plenty of customers will be pleased that they can still use their old gear.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

My only quibble is the rear headphone jack/line out connection: It's fine if you're using speakers, but it's annoying for people who constantly need to plug and unplug their headphones, especially since it's right beside the power button. (I know several video editors who'll be particularly peeved by this.)

Apple sent along two Mac Studio models for testing: one with an M1 Max chip and 64GB of RAM, and another with the M1 Ultra chip and 128GB of RAM. (I can say with certainty there's never been this much RAM on my desk at once.) The M1 Max is pretty much the same chip that was featured on the new MacBook Pro: It has 10 CPU cores (8 8 performance cores, 2 for efficiency), a 24-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine for AI processing.

In all practical respects, the M1 Ultra is basically two M1 Max chips joined together with Apple's "UltraFusion" die-to-die interconnect. That means you can just double all of those stats: It has a 20-core CPU, 48-core GPU and a 32-core Neural Engine. The M1 Ultra can be equipped with up to 128GB of unified RAM with 800 GB/s of memory bandwidth (again, double what's possible on the M1 Max).

While Apple's custom processors were miraculous on laptops — delivering speed and power efficiency like we've never seen before with x86 CPUs — desktop workstations are a far greater challenge. AMD has been able to cram 64 cores into the Ryzen Threadripper 3990X, a monstrously powerful chip with a power-hungry 280-watt TDP (thermal dynamic profile). But then again, that chip can cost well over $8,000.

Apple's more direct competition is the 16-core Ryzen 9 5950X. While the company didn't offer specific details on its chip thermals, it noted that the M1 Ultra can reach up to 90 percent higher performance in the same power envelope as the "fastest 16-core PC desktop chip available." That's most likely the 5950X. Apple adds that the Ultra can match that PC chip's peak performance while using 100 watts less power.

The big takeaway: You can expect the Mac Studio to deliver a lot of performance without generating much heat or fan noise. And, for the most part, that's what I found during my testing. The M1 Ultra-powered Mac Studio achieved the highest Geekbench 5 and Cinebench R23 multithreaded scores we've ever seen, all without spinning up its fan or working up a sweat. The M1 Max model, meanwhile, scored the same as the Max-powered 16-inch MacBook Pro, and well above other 10-core systems. Intel's 14- and 16-core 12th-gen chips scored slightly higher than the M1 Max in multithreaded performance, but the M1 Ultra trounced them completely.

I'm not a professional video editor, and I don't work with complex 3D models regularly. So I relied on a few Apple-provided projects to get a better sense of the Mac Studio's real-world performance: an 8K video edit in Final Cut Pro, and a 54-million voxel CT scan in Horos Mobile. I was able to export an 8K version of that 34-second video in 23 seconds on both Mac Studios (the M1 Max model took 0.2 seconds longer). There was a slightly bigger difference when exporting to 4K: the M1 Ultra Mac Studio took 23.5 seconds, while the M1 Max took an additional two seconds.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Both systems also let me rotate and explore that massive Horos Mobile CT scan without any major slowdowns. Apple's unified memory architecture is particularly helpful for large files, since it gives the GPU direct access to all of the system's RAM. PC GPUs, meanwhile, are limited by their onboard memory. NVIDIA's flagship RTX 3090 packs in 24GB of VRAM, but our Mac Studios could give Horos Mobile, or any other app, access to a big chunk of their 64GB or 128GB of RAM if necessary. That alone could make them tempting for editors working with feature-length 8K videos.

So sure, the Mac Studios can deliver a ton of performance. But there are plenty of downsides when compared to PC workstations. For one, since they're Macs, there aren't many games to play when you need some R&R. Apple Arcade titles are decent distractions, and there are a handful of older and indie Steam games that run on the Mac Studio, like Hitman and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. But you can give up hope on playing new titles like Elden Ring, or using PC VR headsets. Apple's M1 chips are based on a mobile ARM architecture, so you can't install Windows on the Mac Studio like you could with Intel-based Macs. External GPUs are also out of the question, since Apple's Silicon depends on having direct access to GPU hardware (an eGPU would just be slowed down by the Thunderbolt interface).

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

You can't upgrade the Mac Studio either, which is a bummer if you wanted to jump to faster SSDs in a few years. Their RAM is built right into the M1 chips, which means there's no physical way to expand the memory either. I'd wager many creatives wouldn't have much of a reason to upgrade anyway, though. The M1 Max model comes with 32GB of RAM by default, while the Ultra configuration has 64GB. The SSDs on both systems are also incredibly fast, delivering almost 10 Gigabytes per second read speeds and over 6 GB/s in writing performance. Those are the highest figures we've ever clocked on SSDs.

As great as the overall Mac Studio experience is, it’s hampered a bit by Apple’s accessories. The Magic Keyboard is fine to type on, but I’d still like more key depth. And the Magic Mouse is, once again, a disastrous design. You can only charge it from the bottom, and it’s simply too small for me to use comfortably. Instead, I gravitated towards the Magic Trackpad, which feels more like using one of Apple’s laptops. If you’re a PC user jumping ship to Macs, I’d recommend bringing over your favorite Logitech hardware instead.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

If you just want a powerful Mac desktop, and you're fine with the lack of upgradability, the Mac Studio will serve you well for years. But if you're concerned you may outgrow it soon, you've also got plenty of PC workstations to choose from. Intel's NUC 12 Extreme (above) is a bit larger, but it can be equipped with a full-sized graphics card and you can upgrade the RAM and SSDs as much as you want. That machine only comes as a DIY kit, but you'll be able to buy pre-configured models from third-party retailers eventually. Alternatively, you could always go for a pre-built small-form-factor PC from builders like Origin, but expect to pay more than the cheapest Mac Studio.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

As I mentioned up top, Apple's revamped Mac Pro could be a compelling option for power-hungry creators. But it would likely cost well over $6,000 at a minimum, based on the pricing for the last model and the fact that the $4,000 Mac Studio exists. At this point, the Mac Pro seems like it’s only meant for production houses or people with seriously deep pockets.

Unlike the iMac Pro, it’s easy to tell who the Mac Studio is for: People who demand power, ports and reasonably priced hardware. It's taken a while, but now Apple finally has a Mac desktop that can go toe-to-toe with PC workstations under $5,000.

Apple's latest MacBook Pros are some of the most powerful laptops you can get right now, and they have high price tags to match. But if you've had your eye on the 16-inch model, you can grab it for $200 less than usual right now thanks to a new Amazon sale. The online retailer has the 512GB model for $2,299 and the 1TB version for $2,499, both of which are record-low prices.

These are the MacBook Pros many have been waiting for, not only for their impressive power but also their equally improved connectivity. We gave the M1 Pro and M1 Max laptops a score of 92 for their excellent performance, lovely Liquid Retina XDR Displays, great speakers and solid battery lives. Both machines blew every Windows machine we reviewed last year out of the water when it came to performance benchmarks, and we didn't notice a slow down when the laptops ran in battery power. Plus, you'll get a lot of use out of them before you need to power up — the 14-inch laptop lasted about 12.5 hours in our testing, while the 16-inch model survived for just over 16 hours.

Power alone makes these laptops solid options for videographers, photographers and other creatives, but they're made even better by the new ports Apple included on both laptops. You're no longer limited to just a few Thunderbolt ports — both machines now have a full-sized HDMI port, a MagSafe power connector, three USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports and an SD card slot. So while you will still need an adapter if you have USB-A accessories, hooking the machine up to other peripherals is much easier than it was on previous models. They may still be expensive even with this discount, but it's hard to beat the latest MacBook Pros if you're looking for a new laptop with as much power as possible, plus all of the latest features from Apple.

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Intel's quest to deliver the perfect mini-desktop continues with the NUC 12 Extreme, its latest "next unit of computing" DIY kit. Code-named "Dragon Canyon," it's basically a slightly upgraded version of last year's NUC 11 Extreme, which was notable for being the first of its kind that could fit a full-sized desktop graphics card. Now it has Intel’s hybrid 12th-gen desktop processors, which promise to be a huge upgrade over last year's CPUs. While this latest kit is still a bit cramped – and it can easily get expensive once you add your own RAM, SSD and GPU – the NUC 12 Extreme proves that Intel is clearly committed to the world of tiny desktops. And with Apple's Mac Studio coming soon, it may be more compelling than ever for PC creators.

Given how much effort Intel put into developing a large NUC case last year, it's not too surprising that the NUC 12 Extreme shares the same 8-liter housing. It's large enough to fit in a 12-inch graphics card, but the rest of its interior is tightly packed with its power supply and Compute Unit, a removable card that houses its CPU, three NVMe SSD connections and two RAM slots. It's clearly a case meant for gaming enthusiasts, with the telltale sign being the RGB LED skull up front and additional lighting underneath. The NUC 12 Extreme is basically the PC equivalent to a Honda Civic souped up for street racing: It can't exist without a bit of bling.

Despite its small stature, the NUC's case has just about all the connectivity you'd want from a desktop. Up front, there’s a USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port, a USB 3.1 Type-A socket, an SDXC card slot and a headphone jack. And on the back of the Compute Card, there are two more Thunderbolt 4 USB-C connections, six USB Type-A ports, an HDMI 2.0b socket and two Ethernet jacks (10GbE and 2.5Gb). We reviewed the NUC12EDBi9 kit, which included the Core i9-12900 processor, but there's also another kit with an i7-12700 available.

Typically, Intel sends out pre-built NUC kits for review so we can get straight to benchmarking. This year, however, the company issued the same DIY kit consumers would get, which only includes the case, PSU and Compute Card. That meant I had to roll up my sleeves and prepare for scraped knuckles – it was PC building time! I scrounged up 16GB of RAM and a one-terabyte Samsung SSD from the previous NUC Extreme, along with a spare NVIDIA RTX 3080 card and got down to business.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Getting into the NUC Extreme is pretty simple: You just have to remove a few screws from the rear, open up the portion of the case blocking the PCI slot screws and remove a side panel to expose its innards. Thankfully, I was able to add in the RAM and SSD without removing the Compute Card. But if you'd like to take that out, perhaps to upgrade to a newer model down the line, you just have to hit a latch to unlock the three large top fans, pull those back, and yank the card out like any other PCI card. You'll have to be careful when removing its antenna cables and power connectors, but it's easy enough if you've already got PC building experience. Given the delicate nature of that process, it's not something I'd recommend doing unless you absolutely have to, though.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

The RTX 3080 easily fit into the NUC Extreme's PCIe slot, but I wish there was a bit more internal space to deal with all of its power cables. As with most powerful GPUs, the RTX 3080 requires two 8-pin PSU connections, which are attached to the card by a dongle. It was a challenge stuffing all of those cables into the NUC, and I was constantly worried they'd be clipped by the GPU's fan blades. I also had a hard time accessing the PCIe latch to remove the 3080 after I installed it. I was eventually able to unlock it with a flat-edge screwdriver, as I typically do in tight PC builds, but the latch flew off as soon as I removed the card. Clearly, there's room for better build quality.

Once I plugged everything in (and soothed my poor knuckles from being jammed into sharp edges and cables), I booted up the NUC and installed Windows 11 via a flash drive. Then, I rewarded myself the way every PC builder must: I started gaming. I averaged around 100fps while playing Halo Infinite in my monitor's ultrawide (3,440 by 1,440) resolution with all of the graphics settings cranked to maximum. That's impressive, but pretty much what I'd expect from any system powered by an RTX 3080. More notable, I'd say, is that the NUC was able to play games for hours without overheating. I typically see CPU temperatures between 80 and 85 Celsius under load, while the GPU never surpassed 82C. Not bad for a system with severely limited airflow and no room for any sort of liquid cooling.

Benchmarking the NUC 12 Extreme also made it clear that Intel's 12th-gen processors are a serious upgrade. Its GeekBench 5 CPU score was the highest we've seen on any system; the closest match was the Alienware x14, powered by the 12th-gen Core i7-12700H, followed by Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M1 Max. The NUC's multi-core score was also around 4,000 points higher than last year's model, which makes it an even better choice for creators doing serious rendering work. It also achieved the highest PCMark 10 score we've seen yet, though that's partially influenced by GPU power.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

While these benchmarks don't tell the entire story, they indicate that the NUC 12 Extreme could be a solid workhorse that'll serve you well for years. Of course, its overall performance depends on all of the other hardware you configure it with. But at least you're free to upgrade the RAM, SSD and GPU down the line, something you can't do with a competitor like Apple's Mac Studio.

When I started testing this NUC kit, I was concerned it was going to be another overly expensive curiosity like its predecessors. Why spend thousands more than a standard mid-tower or mini-ITX desktop system just to have a slightly smaller box on your desk? It's still pretty pricey: The Core i7 Kit starts at $1,150, while the Core i9 model we're reviewing sells for $1,450, and then you'll have to add around $1,000 for a GPU, memory, SSD and OS. But you know what? Apple's Mac Studio also starts at $2,000, and while it includes a hefty 32GB of RAM, you'll probably want to add a 1TB or 2TB SSD for an additional $200 or $400. Basically, if you want tiny desktop power, be prepared to pay.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

If anything, Intel was just ahead of the current mini-desktop moment. If you're in the market for one, and you enjoy getting down and dirty with PC hardware, then the NUC 12 Extreme will serve you well. While the Mac Studio is sleeker and doesn't require any scraped knuckles, macOS also doesn't have nearly the same level of gaming support as a Windows PC, so it's mainly meant for work. Apple Arcade titles are nice and all, but they're no replacement for having a tiny box that’ll play Elden Ring.