Intel NUC 9 Pro mini PC review — crazy speed beats Mac mini m1
Our Verdict
The Intel NUC 9 Pro is a workstation mini PC that offers huge power and a surprising corporeality of upgradability, but plumbing equipment all of that into such a minor size will cost a pretty penny.
For
- Powerful workstation processing and graphics
- Compact size with upgradability
- Innovative tech inside
- Internal ability supply
- Corking port option
Against
- Seriously expensive
- Vertical orientation simply
Tom's Guide Verdict
The Intel NUC 9 Pro is a workstation mini PC that offers huge power and a surprising amount of upgradability, but fitting all of that into such a minor size will cost a pretty penny.
Pros
- +
Powerful workstation processing and graphics
- +
Meaty size with upgradability
- +
Innovative tech inside
- +
Internal power supply
- +
Great port selection
Cons
- -
Seriously expensive
- -
Vertical orientation but
The Intel NUC 9 Pro offers something exciting in the mini PC globe, with a stiff workstation crammed into 1 of the smallest desktop designs you'll ever see with a discrete graphics card inside. The mini PC category is defined by small-scale sizes and Intel'south Next Unit of Computing (NUC) has generally followed the basic template of tiny systems, but the NUC 9 Pro (starting at $1,305, $2,868 as tested) steps things up in a big way with Intel Xeon processing, Nvidia Quadro P2200 graphics and room for storage and expansion cards.
Not everyone volition need the professional-grade ability of a workstation desktop – these systems are all-time suited to users doing professional work in engineering, finance, medicine and animation – but our Intel NUC nine Pro review makes information technology clear that the latest NUC is a compact powerhouse and one of the best mini PCs for power users that'south worth the investment.
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Intel NUC nine Pro (Quartz Canyon) review: Price and configurations
The NUC 9 Pro is generally sold every bit a kit by Intel, merely y'all can too purchase information technology as a preconfigured system, with all of the necessary components and software to get started. The Quartz Canyon configuration nosotros used for our review – with an Intel Xeon E-2286M processor, 32GB of RAM, the Nvidia Quadro P2200 graphics card and 1TB of SSD storage, with Windows ten Pro pre-installed – sells for $two,868.
The NUC 9 Pro is available as a barebones kit, with no RAM, no storage and no operating system. Equipped with a less powerful Intel Core i7-9850H processor and integrated graphics, it sells for $1,305. With the same Xeon E-2286M processor as our review model, information technology sells for $1,640 .
Other non-Pro versions of the NUC nine are also out there, similar the gaming-oriented NUC 9 Farthermost (Ghost Canyon), which starts at $999 with an Intel Core i5 ninth Gen i5-9300H processor, but scales up to a potent Intel Core i9-9980HK organization for $1,649.
Finally, if yous want to put the Intel Compute Chemical element into your own case of selection, it's available as a standalone production, in both the Intel Core i7 and Xeon versions offered in the NUC kits, selling for $1153 and $1473, respectively.
Intel NUC ix Pro (Quartz Coulee) review: Design
The Intel NUC 9 Pro is substantially bigger than previous NUC designs, with a boxy mini tower setup that toes the line between mini PCs and small form factor desktops – much like we saw in concluding year's Asus ProArt PA90 workstation review. With grills on both sides of the compact chassis, this ix.4 ten eight.5 10 3.8-inch desktop is fabricated for performance.
Withal, where many of the smallest desktop PCs rely on mini-ITX motherboards, The Intel NUC 9 Pro uses Intel'southward new Compute Element, a cartridge-like enclosed lath that contains the motherboard, processor, and other internal components. (More on that beneath.)
Only where the NUC 9 really diverges from previous models is the power to add together a discrete graphics card. In our case that's an Nvidia Quadro P2200, a workstation GPU that offers plenty of musculus for things like media editing and rendering complex models.
Information technology also features a case that tin can be fairly easily opened, provided yous take a screwdriver. Remove a couple small screws in the dorsum and you can slide off the top cover, and so remove the vented side panel for access to all of the internals.
Additional storage can too be accommodated in the larger case – the NUC 9 Pro has both dual M.2 slots for drives – and PCIe connectivity for a discrete graphics card up to eight inches in length. Like a traditional desktop tower, the NUC nine has almost of its ports on the back of the organization, complete with slots for the boosted ports afforded past the GPU.
The Intel NUC nine Pro seems less like Intel's take on the Apple Mac mini – which is what defined many of the early NUC designs – and instead looks like an attempt to wed the NUC concept with the virtually farthermost pocket-sized form factor systems. The result is a potent workstation grade desktop crammed into 4.92 liters of concrete infinite, offering more power per cubic inch than any other desktop we've seen.
That said, the Intel NUC 9 Pro example is really only suitable to the NUC, and it would take a dedicated enthusiast builder to get together the same components in such a compact instance. If you're more interested in owning a tiny just powerful PC than building one, this is definitely the improve style to go.
Intel NUC 9 Pro (Quartz Canyon) review: Ports
On the forepart and back of the NUC 9 Pro y'all'll find a expert number of ports. A total of vi USB 3.1 Gen 2 slots offer plenty of connectivity for peripherals, as well every bit two Thunderbolt 3 connectors and 2 USB two.0 ports. On the front is also an SD bill of fare slot and a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack.
On the back, yous'll likewise notice one HDMI port coming off of the main board, along with 2 1 Gigabit Ethernet ports. The Nvidia Quadro P2200 graphics bill of fare also provides a total of iv DisplayPort connections.
Wireless capability is also congenital in with 802.11a/b/yard/n/ac/ax wireless supporting up to Wi-Fi six and Bluetooth v5 for connecting wireless headphones, keyboards and mice, and whatever else.
Intel NUC 9 Pro (Quartz Canyon) review: Intel Compute Element
The latest version of the NUC is built around the Intel Compute Element, a modular organization that is essentially a small motherboard packaged more like a graphics card, with the CPU soldered to the board, thermal direction built in, and an enclosed design that keeps everything prophylactic and secure. Our unit of measurement came equipped with an Intel Xeon processor, packing some intense power into an extremely compact pattern. Inside the Compute Element you lot'll also find a pair of And so-DIMM RAM slots, as well as two Chiliad.2 slots for storage.
The modular pattern of the Compute Chemical element means it tin can even exist slotted into a separate PC, connecting with a PCIe slot on an existing motherboard. There's no data transfer between the ii, but it provides an independent full-powered PC small plenty to slot into another desktop tower. With the Intel Compute Element bachelor with processors ranging from a Core i5 upward to the Xeon nosotros see in our ain exam unit, the NUC 9 Pro offers a huge range of power. The Compute Element runs with a TDP of 95 watts, and is even available as a standalone unit separate from the NUC housing.
Intel NUC 9 Pro (Quartz Canyon) review: Performance
Our unit of measurement is outfitted with an Intel Xeon E-2286M processor, a strong viii-cadre CPU capable of handling xvi discrete processing threads. Paired with Nvidia Quadro P2200 graphics, that puts the NUC 9 Pro firmly in the workstation category, packing the sort of power you might need for applied science and other professional 3D applications. If you need to pattern a bridge, or a new hip replacement joint, or need to edit lots of loftier-resolution video, this is the sort of tiny PC you lot'll want.
While the processor itself can handle upwards to 128 GB of RAM, the NUC and the Intel Compute Element inside are limited to 64 GB. Our own unit of measurement boasts an respectable 32 GBof RAM, merely while that offers enough of retentivity for smooth operations, it's nowhere about equally impressive as either the board or processor should be able to handle.
In our testing of the NUC 9 Pro, we were easily able to stream 4K video while simultaneously browsing on more than a dozen open Chrome tabs at once without a hint of slowing downwardly. Fifty-fifty as we expanded this to 20, 30 and upwards to 50 individual chrome tabs, the system handled it all without any noticeable lag.
In Geekbench five.0, the Intel NUC 9 Pro had a category-leading score of 7,985, easily outpacing the likes of the new Apple Mac mini with the M1 processor, which scored 6,005 points, and blowing the doors off of depression-powered mini PCs like the Lenovo ThinkCentre M90N Nano, which managed 3,265 with an Intel Core i5-8365U processor.
For a more real-world example of performance, we too ran the NUC 9 Pro through our Handbrake examination, testing how chop-chop a system can transcode a 4K video clip to 1080p. The Intel NUC 9 Pro offered speedy results, completing the test in 8 minutes 23 seconds. The Mac mini was just a pilus faster (8:11) when using the Apple-optimized version of the test (and simply 12:38 when running the standard version via Rosetta ii), but both were well ahead of the Lenovo ThinkCentre M90n (20:23). That said, other mini PCs that offer workstation-grade performance take done better – the Asus ProArt PA90 did the aforementioned task in v minutes 48 seconds.
To get some other real-world measure of the organization capabilities, we utilise PugetBench'due south scripted Photoshop exam, which chews through a number of resource intensive tasks and produces a final score. The Intel NUC 9 Pro produced a blistering 849 points, beating out both the Mac mini (566) and the Lenovo M90n Nano (390).
Intel NUC nine Pro (Quartz Coulee) review: Graphics
With the workstation-class Nvidia Quadro P2200 graphics card within, the NUC 9 Pro is outfitted with some serious firepower for professional users doing everything from complex financial modeling to engineering and design. With 1280 CUDA Cores and 5GB of dedicated VRAM, the Quadro P2200 has the power to drive upward to four 5K displays and offers existent rendering musculus for pros. It's too certified on dozens of professional applications, with independent software vendor certifications for tools as varied as blueprint and engineering applications like Dassault Systèmes SOLIDWORKS, architectural software similar Nemetschek Vectorworks, blitheness and VFX tools like Maxon CINEMA 4D, video editing programs like Magix Vegas Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro CC, and paradigm editors like Adobe Photoshop.
In the graphics-oriented 3DMark Pro Fire Strike, the NUC 9 Pro scored 9,944 points, putting it ahead of other workstation mini PCs like the HP Z2 Mini G4 (4,609), but falling backside the Asus ProArt PA90 (13,897), which leads the category. The Apple Mac mini couldn't run this Windows-merely test. Regardless, this score makes the NUC ix Pro one of the more powerful mini PCs we've seen.
The same thing was seen when we tested the NUC 9 Pro'southward gaming capabilities. Though it's not congenital to exist a gaming automobile, the combined processing power and graphics muscle allow it notch 100 frames per 2nd in the Civilization Vi criterion exam when running at 1080p resolution. Compared to the Lenovo M90n (73.6) and the Mac mini (31.5 fps), the NUC 9 Pro is in a different league entirely than most mini PCs we review – which is to be expected.
Intel NUC 9 Pro (Quartz Coulee) review: Verdict
When it comes to the Intel NUC ix Pro, this is one mini PC that offers a ton of power, but the real trick is fitting all of that ability into such a small space while nevertheless offering some upgradability, a feature rarely seen in the mini PC globe. But plumbing equipment a much bigger workstation desktop'south might into a mini PC doesn't come cheap, and the $2,800 price tag of our review model is steep indeed.
Compared to the Apple Mac mini or the Lenovo ThinkCentre M90N Nano, which sell for $699 and $449, respectively, the Intel NUC nine Pro is absurdly expensive. And for the vast majority of shoppers, those more than affordable models will exist the better choice. But Intel didn't make the NUC ix Pro for the boilerplate shopper, and we aren't recommending it for them.
For a certain segment of professionals, the powerful capabilities offered by the NUC 9 Pro equally a compact workstation desktop are more than worth the price. And while you can probably find a standard belfry desktop design that offers similar specs and power for less, you're also paying for the meaty design, and here is where Intel's tiny project really pays off. Getting a desktop with a Xeon processor and Quadro graphics is one thing, but getting them into the 5-liter case that defines the new NUC desktop? Well, that's something kind of special.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/intel-NUC-9-Pro
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