Intel NUC 12 Extreme (Dragon Canyon) Review

1. Introducing Intel NUC 12 Extreme (Dragon Canyon) 2. Testing and Performance - CPU3. Testing and Performance - Thermals4. Closing Thoughts5. View All Pages

It may come as a surprise to you that this Intel NUC 12 Extreme packs a fully fledged Core i9-12900 desktop CPU as that marks a change from the laptop Core i9-9980HK processor that Luke encountered in his review of the Ghost Canyon NUC 9 Extreme. Then again, if you are familiar with Mega-Epic NUC mod performed by James where he installed a full custom loop cooling system, it is quite likely that nothing could surprise you ever again.

Features

• 12th Generation Intel Core i9-12900 8P+8E (65W)
• The CPU is pre-installed featuring the LGA 1700 Socket vPro platform
• Intel UHD Graphics 770 (32EU)
• 32 GB Dual-Channel DDR4-3200 MHz memory (supports up to 64GB)
• Support for PCIe Gen5 x16 Graphics Cards
• Backwards compatible with PCIe Gen4 and Gen3
• Support for up to 3 PCIe Gen4 M.2 SSDs
• 2x PCIe Gen4 from PCH, 1x PCIe Gen4 from the CPU.
• User Addressable RGB lighting around the system and front logo plate. The logo plate itself is also swappable should an end-user or channel customer like to personalize the system further.
• Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB 4.0 Type-C) ports
• Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 + Bluetooth v5.1
• Intel i225-LM 2.5gbe Network adapter
• 10Gbe Network based on Marvell AQtion AQC113
• Triple 92mm fans in roof
• Power supply FSP SFX 650W Gold model FSP650-57SAB-A.

The barebones NUC kit consists of a case, power supply and compute unit and does not include a graphics card, memory or storage. The big change in Dragon Canyon is the move to a hybrid CPU that combines Performance and Efficient Cores and which you can learn about in our launch review of the Core i9-12900K HERE.

As you would expect in such a small form factor, the Core i9-12900 CPU uses significantly less power than the K version as a means of reducing the level of heat that need to be exhausted. While the nominal CPU power limit is 65W Intel offers you a number of options in its NUC Software Studio. The four power modes are:

Low Power PL1 35W, PL2 109W, Tau 28s
Balanced PL1 55W, PL2 109W, Tau 28s
Max Performance PL1 65W, PL2 109W, Tau 28s
Custom PL1 up to 65W, PL2 up to 221W, Tau up to 28s

 

At the heart of the Dragon Canyon Barebones system we have the new 12th Gen Eden Bay Compute Element that supports a Socketed 12th Gen CPU with Hybrid P- and E-cores. In addition we have a number of other features that are a significant change over the previous 11th Gen Beast Canyon NUC.

• Dragon Canyon supports up a graphics card up to 12-inches in length with a PCIe Gen 5 interface where previously it was Gen 4.
• There is support for up to three PCIe Gen 4 M.2 SSDs and support for SATA SSDs has been dropped.
• Dragon Canyon has Dual Ethernet with 10Gbit Aquantia and 2.5Gbit Intel

Testing and Performance

The key parts of the specification of our pre-built Intel NUC 12 Extreme review system are:

CPU 12th Generation Intel Core i9-12900 8P+8E (65W)
Memory 16GB Kingston HyperX Impact DDR4-3200 C21
Graphics card EVGA RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra Gaming 8GB
SSD 1TB WD Black SN850 PCIe Gen 4 M.2 NVMe

CPU Tests

In BAPCo CrossMark the 12th Gen NUC demonstrates its all-round ability and delivers similar performance to the Core i5-12600K.

Cinebench R23 Multi Core shows the limitations of the Core i9-12900 running on 55W or 65W of power. In our video we didn't break down the clock speeds at different power limits however they might prove interesting:

Core i9-12900K at 219W, P cores 4.9GHz, E cores 3.7GHz
Core i9-12900 at 65W, P cores 2.6GHz, E cores 2.2GHz
Core i9-12900 at 55W, P cores 2.9GHz, E cores 2.4GHz

In the Single Core test of Cinebench R23 the power limit makes very little difference to the performance of the Core i9-12900 and it is able to compete with the K-SKUs quite successfully.

The CPU test element of 3D Mark Time Spy is intense and once again we see the Core i9-12900 performing at a similar level to the Core i5-12600K.

You have seen the tiny vapour chamber cooler that is used inside the Dragon Canyon NUC and that makes it all the more impressive that the CPU operates in the low 70s Celsius under full load.

The explanation for those low CPU temperatures can be seen right here as system power draw is also very low. You will note this is purely a test of the CPU and pretty much leaves the graphics card idling. When you are gaming you can expect to see the power draw in the range of 300W-350W.

Intel NUC Extreme has evolved from a low powered PC that relies on integrated graphics into something altogether more interesting. The NUC Compute Element lies at the heart of the system and its use of a PCI Express interface means that most of the components are packaged in a single unit that can sit alongside the graphics card.

The chassis has been designed to cool the graphics card on one side while the Compute Element draws air in from the rear and expels it through the roof. To add an extra slice of interest, System Integrators can build their own chassis for the NUC, which allows the likes of Razer to create the Tomahawk Gaming Desktop with the minimum of fuss.

With the NUC 12 Extreme Intel has upgraded to its 12th Gen Alder Lake CPU technology and has also doubled the bandwidth of the PCI Express interfaces for the graphics and storage when compared to the previous NUC 11 Extreme.

These are big changes that are to be welcomed, however the price acts as a huge disincentive to any customer that might be interested in this fascinating piece of technology. In essence the Compute Element is a complete PC that is installed on a base board inside a chassis that houses the cooling system, power supply and graphics card, and those pieces all add up.

The problem is that you can build a more powerful Mini-ITX PC for a similar price and you can buy a laptop with a similar spec that is considerably easier to use on the move. This is pretty much inevitable as Intel has employed clever design and engineering and that generally does not come cheap. To our way of thinking this leaves NUC 12 Extreme chasing a small market which is something of a shame as the performance is impressive.

You will be able to buy the Intel NUC 12 Extreme barebones for circa £1,200-£1,400.

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Pros:

• Small form factor that supports a full sized GPU.
• Good airflow and cooling.
• Dual Thunderbolt 4 ports.
• 10Gb and 2.5Gb Ethernet plus WiFi 6E.

Cons:

• You pay a high premium for the NUC form factor.
• Using DDR4 looks a bit short sighted.
• The RGB lighting is misplaced and unnecessary.

KitGuru says: The 65W Intel Core i9-12900 at the heart of Dragon Canyon delivers good performance, however the price is way too high.

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