[Test] Intel NUC9 Extreme - take your gaming machine everywhere!

Mini-PCs are almost always geared towards office use or as a media player next to a TV. While some manufacturers like Zotac offer solutions capable of running games, none offer the possibility of updating the machine (in addition to memory and storage). But Intel is going a step further with its NUC 9 Extreme, a machine that is at the same time compact, modular and whose performance should be excellent. Let’s take a closer look!

Contents hide

1 Characteristics

1.1 Related posts:

Characteristics

	Intel NUC 9 Extreme (NUC9i9QNX)
CPU	Intel Core i9-9980HK
Memory	2 x 8 Go DDR4 DO-DIMM 2666 MHz Kingston
Graphic card	Asus Dual RTX 2070 Mini
SSD	Intel Optane 905p 380 Go Kingston KC2000 1 To
Housing	Intel Ghost Canyon
Food	FSP Flex 500 Watts 80Plus Platinum
Dimensions	23,8 (P) x 21,6 (H) x 9,6 (l) cm

First of all, you should know that like any barebone, the NUC 9 Extreme is delivered without storage, without memory and without graphics card. With the purchase, you have the Ghost Canyon chassis, a power supply as well as a Compute Element (which we will see later) which integrates the CPU, two M.2 memory slots. Intel sent us a complete setup for the purposes of this test, and that’s what we’re presenting to you.
Our version therefore comes with the founder’s largest legacy mobile CPU, the Core i9-9980HK. Based on the DIE of a Core i9-9900K, it is an octocore CPU clocked from 2.4 GHz base at 5 GHz in turbo mode on one thread, all for a TDP of 45 Watts (set at 65 Watts in the NUC). Suffice to say that we are far from the feverish little CPU that we find in a large majority of mini-PCs on the market.

To support it, there are two DDR4 SO-DIMM modules clocked at 2666 MHz from Kingston, an Intel Optane 950p 380 GB SSD for the operating system as well as a second Kingston KC2000 1 TB SSD for storage . And to play correctly, an Asus card is installed, the Dual RTX 2070. Suffice to say that if all goes well, both from a temperature and sound level point of view, this machine will be able to run all carefree games. To power everything, Intel called on FSP with a Flex model with a total power of 500 Watts and certified 80Plus Platinum.

If this configuration is dreamy when we know that the case is only 23.8 cm deep, 21.6 cm high and 9.6 cm wide, it still takes more than 3000 € to assemble it. Basically, the NUC 9 Extreme with the Core i9-9980HK already

Read This Now: AMD: We didn't think we were ahead of Intel at this point