Review: Intel NUC 11 Extreme Kit (Beast Canyon)

Conclusion

The NUC 11 Extreme Kit represents Intel's best attempt yet at delivering high-end gaming performance in a small form factor PC.

Built to accommodate a full-length graphics card, the eight-litre beast has ballooned in size but remains small enough to live on top of the desk and serves as an attractive destination for those wanting to downsize.

In keeping with its predecessors, Beast Canyon is fun to build and satisfying to use, but the same familiar shortcomings remain. Intel's current high-performance chips get bogged down with so little room to breathe, and in the midst of a global GPU shortage, the appeal of a $1,350 barebone is somewhat diminished.

Enthusiasts who choose the NUC 11 Extreme Kit are unlikely to be left disappointed - it delivers on its promise of full-size gaming performance in a miniature footprint - but we wonder if the time has come for Intel to consider looking beyond barebone basics. With Alder Lake CPUs and Arc Alchemist GPUs on the horizon, a fully-configured, optimised and refined NUC 12 might achieve far wider appeal.

Bottom line: Intel's NUC 11 Extreme Kit isn't perfect, but if you can foot the bill this a highly likeable foundation on which to base a compact gaming rig.

Intel NUC 11 Extreme Kit

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The Intel NUC 11 Extreme Kit is available to purchase at simplynuc.co.uk.

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