Asus just launched its next-generation NUC PCs, offering users everything from pure performance, aesthetics, and speed to a system primarily focused on efficiency. These new mini-PCs are the NUC 14 Pro AI+, NUC 15 Pro, NUC 15 Pro+, 2025 ROG NUC, and NUC 14 Essential, ensuring the company has an NUC device for every user.
The NUC 14 Pro AI+ is slightly improving on the NUC 14 Pro AI Asus launched in early September. Like the earlier version, this device has a Lunar Lake Intel Core Ultra Series 2 CPU with Intel Arc integrated graphics, delivering an overall performance of 120 TOPs. It sports two Thunderbolt 4 ports, 2,5G Ethernet, HDMI, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.2, and four USB Type-A ports, ensuring you’ll never run out of connectivity options to attach whatever you need to your PC.
However, the NUC 14 Pro AI+ stands out from the competition because of its multi-color e-ink display on top of the case. This allows you to display whatever image or icon you want, even when the device is turned off. It also has an ARGB ring around the top edge of the case to highlight your aesthetics better.
But if you need performance over looks, the Asus NUC 15 Pro and NUC 15 Pro+ will deliver with the Intel Core Ultra 7 265H and Intel Core Ultra 9 285H processors, respectively. These Arrow Lake chips are Intel’s mobile versions of its latest desktop chips, giving you the horsepower you need for whatever you’re doing while still ensuring a small and portable package. Aside from their numerous ports, including two HDMI 2.1 and two Thunderbolt 4 ports for four 4K displays, Asus gave these NUCs tool-free access, allowing users to maintain and upgrade these devices easily.
One weakness many mini-PCs have is the lack of a discrete GPU, and the ROG NUC fixed this by adding an Nvidia laptop GPU to deliver the needed graphical power. Asus upgraded the ROG NUC by giving it the latest performance parts: up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor and an RTX 50-series laptop GPU, giving it overall 200+ TOPS of performance. And despite its small size of just three liters, it runs quietly, even when pushed to its limits, because of its three fans and dual vapor chamber cooling solution.
Finally, not everyone needs this power and performance, so Asus released the NUC 14 Essential. This device uses Intel’s most efficient N-series chips, which could go as low as 6W. This means it has very little power draw and requires much less cooling, allowing Asus to fit all of it in a case that could go as small as 135 x 115 x 36 mm—about the size of a case fan. Still, you get the full Windows 11 OS and a plethora of ports—to USB Type-Cs, five USB Type-As, and a 2.5G Ethernet port. It also has Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless connectivity.
These new devices prove that the NUC is not dead yet. Despite their small sizes, you can get the right NUC for your needs, no matter how efficient or powerful you need it to be.
