With the NUCs, Intel has extremely boosted the market for mini PCs. Unfortunately, Intel itself will no longer be bringing new NUCs onto the market. What a shame! But there are still some interesting NUC models available at the moment.
For example, the Intel NUC 11, which you can get depending on the version (with SSD/RAM and Windows) for +- €500.
But is it worth it, especially compared to the models from Geekom and Co? Let’s find out in the test!
The Intel NUC 11 Performance Kit in the test
The Intel NUC 11 relies on the well-known and familiar design. The mini PC measures just 117 x 46 x 112 mm and has a professional gray and black design.
A highlight of the NUC 11 is the selection of connections. So we have on the front and side:
1x USB C Thunderbolt 3 40 Gbit 1x USB A 3.1 10 Gbit 1x 3.5mm audio input/output 1x SD card reader
On the back we have the following:
1x USB C Thunderbolt 3 40 Gbit
2x USB A 3.1 10 Gbit
1x HDMI 2.0b
1x mini Displayport 1.4
1x 2,5 Gbit LAN
This is simply a perfect set of connections! 2x USB C with Thunderbolt, 2.5 Gbit LAN, 3x fast USB A ports and various monitor ports.
We have a DC input with 19V for the power supply. A corresponding 120W power supply is of course included.
Barebone or as a kit
The Intel NUCs are available as “barebone”, i.e. without RAM, SSD or operating system. Alternatively, many providers also offer the NUC with a suitable SSD, RAM and Windows.
I have exactly such a KIT here.
This has a 512 GB NVME SSD and 2x 8 GB RAM.
Upgrade options
Inside the Intel NUC 11 Performance Kit you will find the following:
1x M.2 NVME SSD Slot 2280
1x 2,5 Zoll SATA Slot
2x SO-DIMM DDR4
Unfortunately, the WLAN card is permanently installed.
UHS-II memory card reader
Fortunately, the NUC 11 Performance Kit includes a UHS-II SD card reader.
This achieved up to 266 MB/s in the test. This makes the card reader very fast.
network
Unsurprisingly, the Intel NUC uses Intel network hardware.
The Intel AX201 is used as the WLAN card. This is a very good WLAN 6 card with up to 2402 Mbit.
The Intel I225-V with up to 2.5 Gbit is used as the LAN card.
Both very good network controllers!
Mit Windows 11 Pro
Windows 11 Pro was preinstalled and activated on my NUC 11. The Windows 11 Pro installation looks so clean and virus-free, very nice.
In addition to the standard Windows applications, only Camo Studio and Luminar Neo were preinstalled, as were the various drivers.
Performance
The heart of the mini PC is the Intel Core i7-1165G7. The Intel Core i7-1165G7 is an 11th generation Intel I CPU. As things stand, this is no longer the newest, but in principle the 11th generation can still be described as quite up-to-date.
The Core i7-1165G7 is a 4-core with up to 4.7 GHz. However, this is a “low power” CPU, which is usually limited to a maximum power of +- 28W.
Let’s still take a look at a few benchmarks.
The SSD
The Kingston OM8SEP4512N is installed in my “pre build” of the NUC 11. Kingston OM8SEP4512N?
This appears to be an OEM version of the Kingston NV2.
This is an acceptable SSD for normal use, but obviously not the fastest model you can get.
volume
During normal operation, the Intel NUC 11 is practically inaudible. The fan hums minimally at most.
The fan control works well. The NUC 11 can be audible under load, just like a normal notebook under load. However, the fan only really only turns up under higher load, not like with other mini PCs where the fan starts when programs are opened, etc.
Therefore, the NUC 11 is certainly not the quietest Mini PC, but the built-in fan is well controlled.
Extremely low power consumption
Fortunately, the power consumption is very low even for a mini PC!
Without monitor (Windows with LAN) – 3.96W
Windows Idle – 7.7W
Full load – 64W
Without a monitor, in Windows with 2.5 Gbit LAN, the PC only needed +- 4W, which also makes it exciting as a kind of home server.
With monitor, in Windows when idle we get 7.7W. Under load, consumption can increase to up to 64W.
The idle values of the NUC 11 are particularly good!
Conclusion
There’s a lot to like about the Intel NUC 11! We definitely have a powerful mini PC here, with great ports and fantastic IO.
The 2x Thunderbolt 3 ports (which are effectively USB 4) alone in combination with the fast USB A ports and 2.5 GBit LAN are great!
The performance of the PC is sufficient for office, media applications or even light photo and video editing.
However, this is also the point of criticism. We “only” have an Intel 11th Gen CPU here. This one is still capable, but there are better options.
Personally, I would probably rather buy a mini PC like the Geekom A5, which has a more powerful CPU and GPU for the same price, but of course doesn’t have Thunderbolt.
In addition, the Intel NUCs are of course the gold standard from a stability perspective, even if the Geekom models are also strong here in my experience. Probably the best thing about the NUC 11 compared to many other mini PCs is the power consumption, which is very low even for a mini PC!
Therefore, the NUC 11 is still a good choice, but I would probably go for the Geekom A5 or the small version of the Geekom IT13.