Review Intel NUC 11 Extreme Kit (Beast Canyon) Review

[Admin]

The Intel NUC 11 Extreme Kit (Beast Canyon) is a pricey barebones gaming PC that can fit most graphics cards.

Intel NUC 11 Extreme Kit (Beast Canyon) Review : Read more

 

[Sonik35143]

Why bother with this when you can build something just a tad bigger with better components and for less price. I built my SFF PC using a CM NR200P Case, SF750 PSU, 32GB DDR4 3600, AMD 5800X and 3080 FTW3; all for about $2300.

 

[Findecanor]

There are mITX cases in about this size. Smaller even.

If you make a computer from the ground up instead of using standard component form factors, there are few excuses for not designing a cooling solution with fewer larger fans. 3 × 96 mm fan plus the tiny CPU fan looks kinda ridiculous. How noisy is it?

BTW. Some previous Intel gaming-NUCs came with additional blank fronts for those who didn't want the ugly skull.

BTW 2. If the industry would just adopt the PIO form factor, (or make combined mITX/PIO boards), then we could get an equivalent internal layout but with less expensive standard components.

 

[leclod]

Why bother with this when you can build something just a tad bigger with better components and for less price. I built my SFF PC using a CM NR200P Case, SF750 PSU, 32GB DDR4 3600, AMD 5800X and 3080 FTW3; all for about $2300.

You compare an 18l build with an 8l one. That's a big difference

 

[leclod]

There are mITX cases in about this size. Smaller even.

I doubt it but you can prove me wrong

 

[deesider]

There are mITX cases in about this size. Smaller even.

I doubt it but you can prove me wrong

They exist, but are rare and expensive. Ghost S1 is similar volume, and I think Dan's case A4-SFX is about the only one smaller

 

[escksu]

There are mITX cases in about this size. Smaller even.

If you make a computer from the ground up instead of using standard component form factors, there are few excuses for not designing a cooling solution with fewer larger fans. 3 × 96 mm fan plus the tiny CPU fan looks kinda ridiculous. How noisy is it?

BTW. Some previous Intel gaming-NUCs came with additional blank fronts for those who didn't want the ugly skull.

BTW 2. If the industry would just adopt the PIO form factor, (or make combined mITX/PIO boards), then we could get an equivalent internal layout but with less expensive standard components.

Those 3 casing fans are good but the tiny cpu fan sucks. But since its 65w, it will work fine. However, this also means no overclocking.

 

[escksu]

My problem is the price. $1150 for that is simply way too expensive. After adding, RAM, SSD and CPU it will easily exceed $2000. $2.5K for a gaming system with just RTX3060 is really really expensive.

 

[escksu]

Btw, I am not a fan of the compute element. I don't like it because it is a proprietary Intel part (I think another company makes it as well but no sure). So, if Intel abandons it (won't be surprised if they do in the future), users are left with nothing.....

And then..... its BIG! ITs not much smaller than a Raijintek or Dan A4 casing. No doubt these casings aren't cheap, but I get to use a standard mini-ITX board, SFX/SFX-L PSU. I can reuse the casing when I upgrade my computer and mix and match what I want. I can't do that with this.

Size isn't that critical for these gaming PCs as well. The main benefit of small PCs is asethetics. But you can't use them in tight spaces as they still require plenty of ventilation, esp. when paired with a high power GPU.

So, given the great benefits and lower price of slightly bigger offerings, I really don't see why I would want this.

 

[excalibur1814]

"Why would you remove the Compute Element at all? For future upgrades. If at another time, Intel releases a new Element with a faster CPU and support for more/better RAM or storage, you could slot that in here. "

Question: Can you purchase (I believe you can) JUST the element and place it into the previous model's chassis? That's what I was led to believe with this 'supposed' upgradability. If not, then possibly avoid this machine as there won't (probably) be an upgrade path.

Question 2: What the heck is going on with the smaller Nuc 11 units? I cannot seem to buy one ANYWHERE (u.k.).

 

[Pollopesca]

They exist, but are rare and expensive. Ghost S1 is similar volume, and I think Dan's case A4-SFX is about the only one smaller

I mean, my FT03 mini comes pretty close in size too, and I’ve built smaller mITX gaming builds than that. This is an interesting setup for sure, but seems over engineered when you could probably fit a mitx board and custom cooler in this same sized case.

 

[BaRoMeTrIc]

I think Intel forgot the allure of the NUCs. This is just an overpriced SFF rig with a slot in mainboard and cpu that probably won't get the upgrades and support down the road.