ROG NUC = Game ($) Without ($) Compromise ($)

[@wrathgor]

Summary: Just get a laptop for less

[@JBentham1523]

Just get a desktop configuration its the best value, this thing got a lapotop underpower gpu in a non mobile uc 😮

[@wrathgor]

@@JBentham1523 for price/performance ratio yes but if you want mobility desktop is not an option

[@Apokathelosis]

@@JBentham1523 If someone is looking for such small device means volume or weight are constraints. Even empty SFF case is heavier and bigger than any mini PC and yet choices of mini ITX components are very limited. So laptop is most versatile option.

[@paulsegrue5133]

@@JBentham1523 Yes agree, NUC and laptops = overpriced for performance.

[@Roofhack]

@@JBentham1523 No one is saying it isn't the best value. It is also about portability and formfactor. If one is aiming for those then laptops are best considering they have a screen, keyboard and other things while generally being cheaper too.

[@hooptiej]

"lets start with the price...." misses the rest of the video waiting for CPR.

[@gzero26]

Im trying to watch a CPR youtube video but there is a 2min unskippable ad playing. Please wait lol

[@contenez7097]

Can still build a miniforum with 8890 for 750 bux Carry-on bags cannot exceed 22 in x 14 in x 9 in (56 cm x 36 cm x 23 cm), including wheels and handles. , Oculink dimensions 18.5cm x 5 cm, people act like they havnt been on a plane before ive already done this with way bigger constraints and it turned out fine, they just need to come up with a box for the miniforum to mass market it, even for the laptop your still coming in 1000 dollars more, and i still have 1tb samsung m.2 ssd and can still have quality 64 gigs of ddr5 ram and change things out whenever i want or upgrade to a 2tb m.2 for barely anything, power constraits dont have any its afull sized desktop gpu with 700 watts of power to use when it only needs 300 alone or watever can always get a full blown 4090 and not a mobile gimped 4070, the only thing still consistant with these terrible benchmarks is well its an amd cpu and i dont recall what the temps were were running this setup if it was even in the previous video should be around 80c and not 95-105c peak hopefully even so it still has way more ventilation. the miniforum probably has better usb port selections too.......... ALLso the big thing to point out is people that actually care about a full size portable desktop will be the target audience as u said normies are better off just getting an overpriced laptop if they cant make things work, but video editors im sure and other people that have heavy workloads would also benefit from a setup like this, they can add like 96 gigsof ram, most laptops dont even allow u to add ram

[@kitschking]

😭

[@karomba123]

The worst valued mini pc.

[@hausmaus5698]

And 100°C CPU temperature... an AMD CPU would be more economical and cooler.

[@LumiousSage]

@@hausmaus5698AMD is where its at bro

[@deamooz9810]

Almost any ROG hardware is way overpriced

[@LumiousSage]

@@deamooz9810 Yep *looks at rog ally x*

[@deamooz9810]

@@LumiousSage well, the Rog Ally X took a lot of designing and it is a very powerful handheld with 1tb of storage and 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM sooo 800$ is not too unexpected honestly. But all their PC components, accessories and peripherals are ridiculously expensive

[@KingKool2099]

Game Without Compromise. (sees price) Also, Game Without Food.

[@jamesdavies686]

NUC's were always a terrible value. Nothing new here since switching over to Asus.

[@sggsquadpresents]

not worth it, where is the price is even coming From? even a laptop with a screen is much cheaper

[@markbroadhead991]

Where we’re going we don’t need food!

[@keblin86]

I guess you could say you had to make a compromise? 😁

[@ThunderTheYellowJolteon]

We might as well get MSI stuff for cheaper.

[@GrimLocke161]

I have a hard time believing Asus has actually turned over a new leaf with their customer service. So, I suggest giving them a year to prove themselves before buying anything from them.

[@smashpro1]

I've had nothing but good interactions with their customer service, even with multiple RMAs.

[@marleensrain]

my PSU went out last month so i did the RMA for it and no issues, within a few days i got my new PSU

[@jimmycarpenter6612]

I keep hearing about bad customer service but have never experienced it and I've used Asus for years. I'm on my 3rd laptop with them plus have a Rog Ally. I had to return my 2nd laptop and the process was as smooth as I could have hoped for. Outside that I've honestly not had to use them because everything I've bought from them always lasts waaaay past any warranties anyhow. Like the current laptop I have I bought in in 2021 so it's already over 3 years old and running strong. I still play current triple a games on it no issues.

[@GrimLocke161]

Anecdotes.

[@jimmycarpenter6612]

@@GrimLocke161 so hundreds and thousands of satisfied customers are anecdotal but a few KZbinrs saying otherwise is fact? So basically to you anecdotal just means, "doesn't go along with my opinion" lol

[@Backstage_Politician]

$1699 to start You can get wayy better deals for $600 less

[@kismet8010]

Like what?

[@mindaugasstankus5943]

@@kismet8010 Like every workstation with 4060/4070 go around 1K €. Like evert slim mini-itx build with relatively hard to get low profile stuff. Like total new "gaming" laptops with better spec go for same price. And talking EU. Stuff in USA in $ will be even cheaper...

[@kiillabytez]

@@mindaugasstankus5943 That still doesn't answer the question. Which laptops have better specs for the same price? Although, anything in Europe will cost more than in the US if those products are made in the US. Intel Core 9 Ultra by itself lists for over $600, throw in an RTX 470 and 32 GB RAM, plus all the ports and connectivity, then your price will start to climb. So I'll ask the same question: Like what?

[@tvfanden8958]

⁠@@mindaugasstankus5943show me gaming laptop with 4070 onboard for 1k€

[@petrucho130]

I put the ROG NUC to my projector and my living room and I love it - it’s PS5, Net browsing and media server all in one. Next to is Apple TV and I switch between them based on my need. A laptop would be too much.

[@RetroGameCorps]

I think that's a great use case, the NUC is console-sized and would fit nicely in an entertainment center!

[@petrucho130]

@@RetroGameCorpsthanks! Till now I am happy. Also one fact - I had before Shadow PC which I accessed via Apple TV app and it was fine for games like BG3. But then I tried Elden Ring and the lag became more obvious. With ROG NUC I finally was able to cancel my Shadow subscription.

[@APOWER385]

What do you mean PS5 all in one

[@gameslover-vlbabe]

Yeah my exact thoughts in my game setup with large screen TV. This definitely helps in portability and space saving. But I do agree that the price tag is alil too much, so will still wait up and see if any other similar alternatives. Great sharing! Tks

[@logicalanomaly3516]

You can get a UM 780 xtx from Minisforum with 64gb of ram 1tb of storage plus an Oculink dock and a desktop Rtx 4070 super for less money…. This is actually crazy.

[@dj4monie]

Even using GPU docks is so far out there it's not even close to mainstream. When it comes to value this isn't it. You can do way more with $1,699 yourself and do everything from gaming to security camera recording, record all sorts of media, store movie and audio collections, etc, etc, etc. I highly recommend Techno Tim's KZbin page. I am a total believer in letting home based machines do all the heavily lifting since they are connected to wall power (110) at home rather than 12 volt DC with mobile devices which will always limit how much power they can offer. Think GeForce Now and Steam Remote Gaming except you use whatever is on your own machine.

[@contenez7097]

Carry-on bags cannot exceed 22 in x 14 in x 9 in (56 cm x 36 cm x 23 cm), including wheels and handles. , Oculink dimensions 18.5cm x 5 cm, people act like they havnt been on a plane before ive already done this with way bigger constraints and it turned out fine, they just need to come up with a box for the miniforum to mass market it, even for the laptop your still coming in 1000 dollars more, and i still have 1tb samsung m.2 ssd and can still have quality 64 gigs of ddr5 ram and change things out whenever i want or upgrade to a 2tb m.2 for barely anything, power constraits dont have any its afull sized desktop gpu with 700 watts of power to use when it only needs 300 alone or watever can always get a full blown 4090 and not a mobile gimped 4070, the only thing still consistant with these terrible benchmarks is well its an amd cpu and i dont recall what the temps were were running this setup if it was even in the previous video should be around 80c and not 95-105c peak hopefully even so it still has way more ventilation. the miniforum probably has better usb port selections too.......... ALLso the big thing to point out is people that actually care about a full size portable desktop will be the target audience as u said normies are better off just getting an overpriced laptop if they cant make things work, but video editors im sure and other people that have heavy workloads would also benefit from a setup like this, they can add like 96 gigsof ram, most laptops dont even allow u to add ram

[@FAT8893]

I'm still happy with my current Phantom Canyon NUC, but I'm definitely eyeing this as my next replacement. I don't live in a room with big enough space for large tower PC, so this is a truly welcoming idea.

[@AnTran147]

I'm still convinced Asus priced this so poorly in order for it to sell poorly and justify killing off the NUC Enthusiast line. Of course they don't NEED to justify it and just kill it if they feel like it, but this is the final NUC Enthusiast designed by Intel before the NUC division was sold to Asus, so maybe there was some kind of stipulation requiring Asus to allow the team to keep making these unless they have a reason not to.

[@mwitters1]

I doubt it. Their prices have been getting ridiculous for anything they make with a mobile 40 series GPU in it.

[@dj4monie]

Intel NUC's were expensive DIY solutions because Intel was charging you a premium for the small form factor. Even if you had to choose your own CPU and memory. That said it was cheaper than a Mac Mini and has much more power since it can support Alder Lake i7 mobile processors.

[@AnTran147]

​@dj4monie While true, it was never as expensive as how Asus is pricing them. Maybe it's because they have to pay Intel to buy chips instead of Intel supplying themselves or maybe 40 series nvidia is just ridiculously priced or maybe Asus just loves overpricing everything, i dunno.

[@kiillabytez]

$1800 USD is not a bad price for this considering a like laptop would cost over $2000 US. With the extra $200 you can buy a good 27" monitor and be golden, and have a WAY better experience than with the laptop.

[@starfan6299]

It's a laptop without a screen, why the hell is it so expensive?! Lmao

[@lorsheckmolseh3345]

The Gaming-NUCs have way better cooling, i.e. heavy copper-heatpipes, 2 x 92mm fans, 2cm thick: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2HNopWVm7Rpqc0

[@mark_midmark]

Legit. I saw the prices and immediately was like why not buy a laptop...

[@mark_midmark]

​@@lorsheckmolseh3345put a laptop on a cooling pad. Ez.

[@bulletpunch9317]

Ok so laptop + laptoop cooler​@@lorsheckmolseh3345

[@IcoKirov]

Better cooling, better power delivery, more quieter. I still don't think it should cost THAT much, especially when there is no monitor attached to it...

[@EmmisonMike]

I mean hey, you could compare this to the Mac Studio at that pricepoint. If something relatively the same size as a Studio can go blow-for-blow AND have upgradability, that's not nothing.

[@dj4monie]

Gaming on a Mac? Are you serious?

[@EmmisonMike]

@@dj4monie not necessarily. I use a gaming laptop for work because the specs incidentally work for things that aren’t games. I’ve been looking at a Mac Studio for personal projects that aren’t games for some time too, but ofc this ROG NUC could do both which might be worth looking into.

[@Rabbitlord108]

@@EmmisonMike It is an interesting way to look at it in my book.

[@cangel8563]

That's a cool machine.. the price instantly cooled down my curiosity too 😂,for that price I'd go for a full on pc or laptop like you said.

[@dwaynewhite2014]

They lost me on the price. Great video.

[@Bentmetal13]

Whenever these are released I think I’ll check around the end of year clearance sales

[@highsurf]

The G14 will also be LOUD. I have a G14 from 2021 with a 5000 Series AMD chip and 3060 mobile gpu and it gets HOT and LOUD.

[@lorddoma6637]

This is actually perfect for my van set-up.

[@EhEhEhEINSTEIN]

I look forward to playing around with a second hand one someday. Finally just got my hands on a Hades Canyon NUC lol. $200!

[@Rawsavon]

Will you put together a mini PC "best of" video? Hopefully with a best overall work, play, life combo...for those of us that work remotely, play some games, and will be using the device for daily life

[@bosschungles]

as a PC builder for 10 years, I bit the bullet and bought a gaming laptop with an i5 12500H 16Gb DDR5 and an RTX 4060 140w for £599 preowned.....As you can imagine I would've been foolish to turn down a steal like that. It's the best Windows gaming PC I have ever owned...

[@dj4monie]

Not bad, there are some bargains to be had with properly spec'ed "business machines" that won't have any RGB or mechanical keyboards but will play all modern games near max detail as long as it's plugged in. That is why I keep saying remote gaming is here, 5G easily supports 4K gaming on a cheap Chromebook, you also won't shed a tear if your $200 Chromebook is stolen.

[@DeshanNaidoo]

Your reviews always rock. How about making a review on that Gamesir Nova Lite bad boy featured in the video.

[@Bushidounohana]

Great perspective, as always, Russ. This device is neat in its own right, and while the value proposition on this form factor has never been amazing, there has always been some appeal for the folks following this form factor. Interestingly, though, the concessions (between price and all laptop parts (remember when console-sized PCs used to allow you to swap double-slot desktop GPUs?) seem blind to the rapid pace of a mini-PC market that offers up surprisingly good integrated graphics at less cost and size. Tough to understand the broader rationale for this product, between laptops that could fit the form factor and performance bill and smaller mini-PCs that might be “good enough” without the higher cost.

[@HunnysPlaylists]

This is a laptop without a screen or any extra features, yet at the same price.

[@Danrarbc]

Actually a higher price.

[@AnTran147]

Double the price.

[@kiillabytez]

Cheaper.

[@kiillabytez]

@@Danrarbc Laptops cost more.

[@Danrarbc]

@@kiillabytez They objectively don't. There are multiple laptops with this hardware that are cheaper than this.

[@tubularrick]

honestly one of my favorite channels nd i just love that theme song but i do think that's a great pc but maybe at $1200 it'd be a reasonable buy

[@seethruhead7119]

Also you can build a mini-itx with a short gpu and hdplex psu in a case almost as small as this

[@PapaP86]

Agreed with the last point. At the price, I'm not sure why you wouldn't just go with a laptop, then you could use it on the go or when you're home and hooked up to a monitor or TV.

[@KatRollo]

When I came to a similar conclusion for SER7 as an emulation box last year in my review article, Beelink stopped sending me review units. 😂 Hope ASUS takes your feedback into consideration.

[@p0larz0mbies]

Around Nov last year I managed to somehow stack Amazon discounts and got one for $430

[@lorsheckmolseh3345]

4070 mobile matches a desktop 4060ti. The Arc A770m in the NUC 12 Enthusiast is only 20-30% slower. The barebone goes from 600-700. TimeSpy: 11K CB24: 950 @80W

[@markstephenson6744]

Would love to know what the viewership drop off numbers were at 2:30!

[@AngusRose-m1h]

Just if anyone's interested, a NUC isn't unique to Asus. It's a "Next Unit of Computing", and is just a type of PC, so plenty of companies make them or you can make one yourself!

[@Mrseancouture]

You can buy laptops with these same specs or better for less money. Lenovo has one with the 4070 and same i9 processor for $1699 currently at BB vs the $2199 for this

[@HunnysPlaylists]

I paid less than $1500 for mine, and had a ram and hard drive upgrade.

[@JamesCook76131]

One thing most of yall are forgetting is, running your laptop plugged in all the time (I use my Alienware laptop 24/7 for torrents) is terrible for the battery. This is actually a great solution for certain situations, can easily mount this behind a tv.

[@HunnysPlaylists]

@@JamesCook76131 I have a setting tha makes it never go above 80.

[@JamesCook76131]

@@HunnysPlaylists it’s still not ideal to use laptops in that capacity. If my battery was removable, I would run it without it.

[@mark_midmark]

​@@JamesCook76131easily mount 5" to the back of a TV? Maybe but I personally wouldn't put that stress on plastic

[@exileclubb]

I just bought one but I haven't opened it yet. I just needed a nice, sturdy box to rest my feet on. It's just the right fit, recommended.

[@_Turbocat777]

you could easily build a desktop pc (even mini itx) with a full 4070 super for well inside of this price tag..... hell, depending on where you skimped you could prob fit a 3080 into that budget....

[@sharkonland36]

One word: DOA Yes I am a pc expert and yes this is absolutely a major fail. For the same amount of money, you can get a Laptop with the same specs but with a built in Display. Get a dock if you want a mini pc like experience. Or get a small desktop pc that will run circles around this, with the option to always upgrade the cpu gpu later.

[@dj4monie]

Okay expert, why would you get an expensive laptop when I can play Star Field on it's highest setting with a Chromebook that runs a cheap ARM processor in it? Even using a VPS would make more sense and it's fallen out of favor but the reality is that by the time you got to the cost of a typical gaming laptop, you would been able to a use one of Amazon's or Google's AMD Eypc or Intel Xeon machines with top of the line Nvidia GPU's for three or four years. There is no reason to carry the power of a small business server around with you.

[@kindadim]

I actually think the 4070 model is priced... okayish at $2100, at least assuming it's not using a mobile processor. If it is that's fucking awful

[@cory5197]

Laptop’s downside is its battery and how it overheats and may warp the chassis. At the same time I need the compact factor as I move my setup from living room to bedroom and dining room, display to display, so this ROG NUC fits perfectly with my niche needs.

[@hikerclarence7092]

I'm not sure what demographic of people is willing to spend 2000 on pc gaming and is simultaneously unaware that they can build their own upgradeable pc for less

[@chronossage]

People who want something that small which I can get as a SFFPC enthusiast. You could build something that small but if you spend just as much money but it's still upgradable. That PC looks close to the skyreach 4 mini in size but the build would be hard though for some SFF fans that's part of the fun. I wish there were more options in small GPUs though.

[@threeequalsd4865]

​@chronossage You can get a gaming laptop for same spec and price. You would think them removing the battery, screen and keyboard would make it cheaper...

[@PolarRed]

@@threeequalsd4865 But it's got ROG branding and RGB, so it's 15% faster and 40% more expensive

[@mikokb]

The demographic exists, they're just not the majority. But there are a subset of PC enthusiasts that are willing to pay for form factor. I mean, look at the SFFPC community.

[@Nucleosynthese]

Also you can get much better specs

[@fuentesjuanjose90]

I got myself a Lenovo loq for $650 open box at best buy when it was on sale a few months ago. Specs: AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS 4060 Laptop GPU 8GB GDDR6 512gb SSD m.2 drive with an extra slot available to add more storage (added 4tb) 8gb of ram ddr5 (which i upgraded to 32gb ddr5) 16" 144Hz

[@dj4monie]

Why do you need all that power in your bag?

[@Tommy_The_Gun]

Concept is cool, but price tag makes you re-think the purchase at least 10x times. 1st of all, laptop has way better value and is more versatile... and is often cheaper. 2nd problem is upgradability. You probably can not upgrade CPU. You probably can change/upgrade ram & upgrade SSD... and that's it. No Oculink or Asus eGPU plug. Another problem is live span & longevity. I have one of those old "console sized" ASUS PC (G20AJ). The problem is that this thing uses custom mobo, custom fans, custom cooler etc. You get the idea. Non "of-shelf parts" means that if you will have to replace something in the future (for example fan will get noisy or break)... well... good luck to you. Another issue is servicing the device. Mobo's battery. Where is it ? Is it easy to access ? In G20AJ for example, in order to replace it - you also need to remove CPU cooler... yikes. Something that you buy if you don't want to deal with PC building will bite you back in future very hard. Also, this thing does not have proper PC IO. For instance, it does not have a single audio jack, so you need to buy external sound card... and good luck with 5.1 or 7.1 speakers. For that kind of price you can prolly build a small ITX PC with similar performance - and that will give you better upgradability, easier servicing and better compatibility. In many ways, ROG NUC reminds me of old ROG G8 - which was even smaller than G20AJ and had even more serious problems.

[@FunkyHQYT]

This so cool, and I think is for a pretty niche crowd. You'd be much better off building a little lunchbox PC for the price, but it's still cool to see. If it was AMD based, it would be a sick Steam Machine!

[@SplashWaveBeats]

Im a truck driver, and this is excellent for me. I dont want to carry my PC from home with me because I have nowhere to store it and it might get damaged. Plus, it's too heavy to carry around. I understand most people don't like what they're getting at this price, but it's perfect for me.

[@leechurchill5182]

I feel your pain lol.

[@WickedGamerCollector]

2k it's a serieus amount of money 😅 I personally look more into cheaper / older options. Still want to review this thing myself some day.

[@elmarulian]

I could get just a laptop, makes sense, but those 3 storage connectors are reaaaally nice

[@guve25]

Need more subtler $ signs... But seriously, Asus is not selling this for profit, these things will never achieve how low its sales target will be, but for brand equity, hot damn.

[@TVsBen]

The review literally shows you how they're selling full laptops for less.

[@AnTran147]

They're definitely trying to sell this for a profit. They EXPECT it to sell low volumes, so they overpriced the crap out of it to make sure they profit overall, but by doing that they also ENSURE that they can only sell low volumes.

[@JunyuVR]

Great! super useful for me!

[@obsidianchao]

An RTX 4070 is $600 alone right now… why is everyone so upset at the price? Y’all just play on $100 retroid emulators anyway you don’t really care lol

[@soul3lixir]

I like the idea but I really can't believe they charge so much. You can get a great mini pc, an oculink dock, and the gpu plus psu you'd need for less than $1500. Trust me, I did it and it's my travel rig.

[@peterszekeres89]

Thank you for this review, amazing as always! Just out of curiosity, why use Yuzu for testing? I'm using Ryujinx since I only recently discovered how many amazing games I can emulate and so far it is working really well on a super small form factor 4 litre build with a 4060 Ti with a 4K TV. Is Yuzu superior performance wise even without regular updates?

[@86abaile]

I've been looking to get a NUC to use as a low power general purpose PC so that I don't have to boot up my power hungry gaming rig all the time just to browse the web and watch youtube (I was also planning to use it to jump into linux). So I thought "this is great, I can make the switch, save some electricity and still play games..."; but good lord those prices. I think I'll stick to my original plan and get an N100 or something.

[@dj4monie]

Unless you really need to run the latest games at its max setting, any RDNA2 Beelink would be good. You could remote into it with your laptop

[@jaymethysell5111]

I just got a Beelink miniPC to use exclusively as a Linux machine. I love it. And I am forcing myself to use Linux so I can easier move away from Microsoft when they stop supporting Windows 10. I am not switching to Windows 11.

[@AppleTech2011]

Got mine on sale for $1799 on Amazon a better price and the upgrading the SSD and the RAM is a plus

[@itsjuank]

I think you should have tested it at 4k too since this is perfect for a console environment, and most tvs are 4k this days, for me 4k ultra with upscalling would be an ideal scenario since it would be doing what consoles do

[@andrewwright.]

1080p is really the chosen choice because of high frame rate...100fps doesn't cut it....should of tested lower res. would be a beast at 1080p in most games.

[@middle_pickup]

I hope you discuss the gaming on Linux with this thing. The Nvidia situation on Linux is a bit more difficult to navigate, but that is changing. I expect Bazzite would be good for this.

[@dj4monie]

Why do Linux users continue to believe that this or that will make it mainstream? Stop it already. Nobody uses Linux unless it's Apple or Android and even the people that use those devices don't know its origins. AMD supports Linux for that matter, something wrong with using an AMD GPU or you really think that 2% difference in performance really matters?

[@middle_pickup]

@@dj4monie You clearly don't know what you're talking about. lol Apple has not based any of its code from the Linux project. You're mistaking Linux for Unix. If you're going to yap at least get the story straight.

[@nickalotdegit]

Are the stock processors included in the range suffering from "oxidisation" shenanigans?

[@IncredibleHulkster]

Fun video. Thanks

[@Bearbytez]

Hey Russ! If you're looking for content ideas: I would love to see your opinion on the best "bed time" handhelds! You often mention button noise and screen brightness in regards to laying in bed. I also struggle with the minimum brightness or loud clicky buttons preventing me from playing some systems without disturbing my partner at night. This is a niche area of interest that seems completely untouched in reviews.

[@jaymethysell5111]

This is a good suggestion.

[@jaymethysell5111]

If the price comes down on this to around $1200 USD, then it would be worth considering. It's a nice machine and I'd love to have one, but at its MSRP there is just so much competition with similar or better specs at lower price points that I rule it out of consideration. ASUS isn't Alienware, people aren't going to pay extra simply for the ASUS brand name.

[@exodous02]

For me I'd rather have a APU in the mini-PC and then have an external GPU if I really need my mini PC to have a dedicated GPU. I think in the end it might be cheaper and after you have a oculink dock you can upgrade the GPU and move it to different PCs. I don't know, that is just how I feel. Also, when putting something this powerful in a small form factor there is also heat issues.

[@dj4monie]

But you really don't need an external GPU, most people don't. That is about as niche as it gets.

[@Overgaming92]

It's so expensive even ayaneo is cheaper for this price yo damn

[@aliceyellowdog]

It’s cool, but I wouldn’t be looking for mini pc’s in that price range. I got a nice gaming laptop a couple of years ago with an RTX 3060 and intel i9 from Best Buy for less than $1k. Does the mobile GPU in this make it worse? How much bigger or more expensive to build your own PC? Questions I’d ask myself.

[@dj4monie]

I'd argue you don't even need that much GPU power in the local machine anymore. You have cloud services, even Steams own cloud service and you can roll your own. You can even use machines from Google or Amazon's server farm for a small monthly fee. Russ shows you the power of remote gaming with zero penalty in frame rate and control delay is minimal. Even his Synthing tutorial should expand the mind on what is possible with your own cloud.... Especially when there are all sorts of complaints about gaming or emulation on devices that are designed for cloud services like the G Cloud and Playstation Remote Play.

[@rkpoole49]

Great review but Russ as a fellow Destiny player please test your performance at the Altar of Sarrow Event on the moon, that really shows how the game will perform

[@Brandonhatesmayo]

I definitely think this is cool but obviously it's a lot better just to build one if you're going to pay that much not to mention get better performance not going with mobile parts.

[@Kevin-Schmevin]

I've got a video idea that would really help us out. Could you do a best mini-pc at each price range video. Best for under $100, 200, 300, 400, and 500. No need to go any higher as you've covered nothing but expensive mini pc's for a long time now.

[@dj4monie]

Why would he need to do that? You can't figure that out on your own? Unless you are a heavy duty gamer, even Intel CPU's with Iris is enough for most tasks and some light AAA gaming. Any RDNA2 APU will handle AAA games at a lower detail and frame rate. But that is the problem with PC gamers, you don't understand what compromise is unless you have real budget constraints. Stick a decent SFF GPU into an ITX, use Proxmox, remote into it with your laptop or even your Steam Deck and have at it. Russ shows you that ability all the time, I don't know why more of you don't use it.

[@benbarzelay]

Can you talk about Bazzite for Desktop pc? if it's worth it? I primarily use my macbook at my computer desk and my steam deck oled away from my desk. would be great to bring new life into my desktop for me and the family.

[@Mourning-Sun]

Love your videos and channel, but there's no way in hell I'm interested in a $2k prebuilt, no matter the size. At that price point, I'm building it myself, exactly how I want, and having better performance. Bring back the focus on reasonable priced mini-PCs.

[@RetroGameCorps]

Of course! My focus will always be on value, and sometimes I think it’s also good to review products which are not a great value - it helps our understand of what matters the most at each price point.

[@ianism3]

this is insane. you can buy the Zephyrus G16 with the same CPU and GPU for the same price (or an even better CPU if you get the brand new AMD variant that just came out this summer), but it's got a screen and a keyboard so you can bring it to class or to work (plus it weighs less). sure, the performance will be marginally better on the NUC because of thermals, but the mobile 4060 and 4070 are pretty much maxed out in performance at like 100 watts, so feeding them 115-140 watts gives you nothing in return other than more fan noise. who the hell is this for?!

[@andrealexander6077]

@Retro Game Corps It's that groovy intro music again man, love your channel 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@Nardio]

All that power and I'd be playing Vampire Survivors and The Painters Apprentice.

[@seethruhead7119]

Feel like the minisforum version that’s all amd would be a better buy. Pair it with bazzite and you’ve got a great steam console.

[@dj4monie]

What is this constant Bazzite talk? I mean I know what it is, but why are you spending anything over what a PS5/Xbox One cost to play anything? Is that the actual thinking process of gamers? I thought graphics weren't as important as game play IE Minecraft, ya'll can't have it both ways.

[@zomg346]

its nice and all but it aint worth it 2400 when you can build yourself 7800xt for under 1200

[@JohnWilliams-gy5yc]

Well, it's a matter of time about when the buyers start to realise the difference of FP32 performance gap between a mobile 4070 and the desktop one.

[@TheNetRiper]

Once upon a time ASUS had good and quality products at affordable prices. Not now days...

[@jaymethysell5111]

They still make good products.

[@rickster7373]

Do you know when this item will be available for the US?

[@cjmoss51]

The worst bit about this is that you literally reviewed a minipc that is cheaper and better than this last year. It was a Minisforum HX 99G. Its even in your spreadsheet. That thing was

[@dj4monie]

I wouldn't say better, more economical. This has an external GPU all Minisforum PCs rely on onboard graphics which isn't bad and plenty for me personally because I don't have the need to play Star Field, Cyperpunk or any of those AAA games. RDNA 2 easily handles PS3 and Saturn emulation, assuming you have at least 16GB of memory and you can use 8GB as a frame buffer. Thank goodness the PS5 is backward compatible with PS4 games Everything else can be emulated on a PC...

[@mexicanhalloween]

@@dj4monie the HX99G does not use onboard graphics, it has a 6600M dedicated GPU

[@emilflarsen2]

The PC is probably amazing but with ASUS' credibility in mind once something goes wrong no RMA is given. So while i'm happy the NUC is so sick i'm afraid i'll go for the Lenovo cubes.

[@AhmadQ.81]

If this was introduced with 4080 then I would buy it directly without hesitation.

[@AhmadQ.81]

Laptops with 4080 are mosly noisy and really not for 4080 but such mini nuc use case should be when my laptop cannot achieve such performance. For me 4060 is the sweet spot for a reasnable laptop on weight price noise and power.

[@1982markjm]

This is a cool piece of tech but I would say just buy a gaming laptop or newer macbook if you want a small form factor pc with some power in this price range. Just with the same caveats; don't expect the same power as a true desktop setup. Also if you're willing to go slightly larger in the SFF space you could probably fit an even more powerful card in there for less cost.

[@TheRIkkyP]

Nah mate. I’d rather build twice the PC for half the price without sacrificing too much on size. These products are pretty null and void when they cost this much.

[@dj4monie]

Building twice the PC for what reason?

[@SNKev411]

Hey Russ !What price do you think it would be worth it if this item was on sale Russ? I hope you can reach out to me soon.

[@AlMarche90]

100°C when playing GTAV? Whew, that thing runs HOT

[@ErnestJay88]

"Intel NUC" are designed for office and productivity, ASUS be like "let's make fully fledged gaming PC and call it NUC"

[@HolgerNestmann]

intel had hades canyon nucs and others too

[@LifeOfBAM42]

I'd love to see how this works with Linux or paired with a MinisForum V3. It seems like there is a market despite what people like to say, although it could do with some sales.

[@hjshoon5244]

Lenovo Yoga Portal mini pc (better GPU than thinkcentre Neo ultra) may be a better choice over this. The price would not be far off from this Asus nuc and it comes with desktop class cpu, desktop rtx 4070 and the power supply is also within the pc. No point having a big power bright externally and still call it a mini pc…

[@MajinKratosX]

I want to see a side by side performance comparison with a laptop that has the same specs because the Nuc appears to have better cooling than a laptop thus you can push more power out of the Nuc

[@Exessive-Gaming]

mobile GPU's and especially the newer GPU 4000 series GPU's only have a 3/4 of the power a full discrete card has, there is a huge difference in mobile and discrete esp on AAA demanding games

[@greenprotag]

Mini PCs are SUPER cool, but at the cost we are talking about a CRAZY good custom ITX gaming PC or a Premium gaming Laptop.

[@AppleTech2011]

Can you connect the headphone jack to external speakers?

[@sm0ki]

Is there anything between this and a full sized desktop PC? I feel like I don't need a big ass tower next to my desk anymore, with optical media pretty much obsolete.

[@bulletpunch9317]

mini Itx

[@zombee38]

I will wait for depreciation to engage its magic

[@dboudiab]

At 0:45 you say they're "mobile GPUs". Is this true or was that a slip up? What the hell would be the point of this thing if it's not the desktop version of the graphics card?

[@wooordwooord4712]

I have one of the earlier models of g14 I’ve enjoyed it.

[@rauros5326]

That’s such a bummer. In theory this would be awesome to have but at that price point… yikes.

[@iceicebabyil]

Got it for 800 bucks you get a cardboard stand, but for 1600 you get a full metal stand can we get an in between

[@fillerbunnyninjashark271]

No

[@jaymethysell5111]

The SD card reader makes this worth the extra expense. 😜 Seriously though, I am so mad that so many devices don't come with SD card readers anymore.

[@LucidCoder]

I wonder how the 4060 model compares considering they have about the same TDP.

[@jameschho]

wait a razer blade 14 w/ 4070 is $2500 and that is smaller and has a screen, keyboard and trackpad attached to it.... so why would you buy this?

[@dj4monie]

If it's not for you, move on. I don't get it. Not once did I say, I wouldn't buy one but plenty of you guys seem to think you we're personally asked if you wanted one or not, I missed that.

[@imnotsickler]

$1,700 and can't upgrade CPU or GPU? In the trash it goes. Wild to call it easy to upgrade and then not put that in the negatives.

[@Goejii]

I'd prefer a laptop/mini-pc + eGPU combo over a bulky and pricey gaming NUC

[@dj4monie]

You don't need an overpriced eGPU either. You would get way more functionality out of a roll your own cloud with a decent mid level GPU that you remote into.

[@moto6981]

It's absolutely absurd to spend twice the amount on a laptop specs PC. Just buy a laptop or build a mini ITX PC instead.

[@dj4monie]

Or buy a decent laptop/Chromebook and use a mini ITX as a server. For maybe $1,200 you could have that mini ITX pac and a NAS. Or you could attach some large USB drives to the mini ITX and use Proxmox, save a few hundred.

[@apexgames645]

Can u give a refreshed guide for newcomers to retro gaming like me I don't know what handheld to get or where to even get good games, we all would really appreciate it if there was such a comprehensive guide

[@dj4monie]

What games are you primarily into? All of Russ' guides are in the description of the video.

[@apexgames645]

@@dj4monie I just got into the retro gaming world in my child hood I luckily owned a psp and ps2 when it got out so I mostly like games from that era and primary the contra era too just like I said I just got into retro gaming and am unable to find proper guides and places to download games also the right handheld to play them on so yea I just wanted a right guide for 2024-25 time for people like me just getting into retro gaming

[@SlytherinReviews]

I would drop in 3x8TB M.2 SSDs into this bad boy