Get Gaming On a Budget: Asus ROG NUC Begins at Affordable $1,629 with Core Ultra CPU and RTX GPU

Following the initial JanuaryROG NUC tease and then listing the pricing of its baseNUC 14s two months ago, Asus finally decided to release its ROG NUC series pricing and specifications today. The Asus ROG NUCs arelisted as two models: a 512GB mid-range Intel Core 7 155H with a discrete built-in RTX 4060 and a 1TB high-end Intel Core Ultra 9 185H with a discrete RTX 4070. The ROG NUC models cost $1,629 and $2,199, respectively.

If the high-end ROG NUC can maximize its discrete RTX 4070, it should prove a capable gaming beast at 1440p and 60 FPS while targeting Ultra settings. Lower settings will, of course, allow for higher resolution and FPS targets on the graphics hardware, though the mobile CPU designs may be slightly limiting the maximum possible framerate.

Besides some reasonably decent core specifications, the Asus ROG NUCs have various features that help compensate for limited expansion due to its compact 2.5-liter form factor. These features include built-in Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 support, branding-staple RGB lighting, and an adequate selection of ports.

The Asus ROG NUCs include two front USB 3.0 ports, one front audio jack, one front card reader, two rear USB 3.0 ports, two rear USB 2.0 ports, one 2.5G Ethernet port, one USB Type-C port, one HDMI port, and two DisplayPorts. So overall, you shouldn’t be hurting for expansion options besides extra NVMe storage on these units.

While the raw price-to-performance ratio may seem a little questionable from the DIY perspective, it’s important to remember that most people aren’t able to build something this powerful, this compact on their own. Discrete RTX 40 Series GPUs paired with Intel’s latest CPU architecture in this form factor should be a recipe for easy success, though the cautious will want to wait for thermal benchmarks to be sure.

For now, the Asus ROG NUC models are listed as unavailable, though the timing of these pricing reveals that all Asus’ new NUCs are impending release.

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