Committing to the former Intel brand, Asus has released more mini PCs. Unlike its first outing, however, NUC 14 Pro removes just about every ‘gamer’ aspect for a more professional finish. This one’s a little more serious and billed as the “first commercial AI NUC.”
The little black chassis comes in several different flavours. You can choose between an Intel Core Ultra 7, 5, or 3, each primed for AI workloads. The neural processing unit (NPU), central processing unit (CPU), and Intel Arc graphics processing unit (GPU) make up the three artificial intelligence engines that make this a true pocket rocket.
You can pack it all into a matte black Slim or Tall shell made from recycled plastic. Both are completely toolless, so you can upgrade hassle-free without digging out your trusty screwdriver. While there’s a lot to like about the dinky box, the bigger version makes room for a 2.5in SATA drive. You can also fit a staggering 96GB of DDR5 RAM. That almost seems like too much memory, but 16GB just doesn’t go as far as it used to.
With so many options, it’d be nice if there was some differentiation in naming. Otherwise, it gets a bit confusing, but such is the way of the prebuilt PC market. At the very least, any model you choose guarantees at least two Thunderbolt 4 ports and Intel WiFi 6E AX211.
It’s cool to see that Asus is committed to continuing such a trusted brand. After the gaming Asus ROG NUC, which similarly debuted at CES 2024, I’m hopeful that this ticks the right boxes even if it serves a different market. In my eyes, 2024 is definitely the year of undervolting and downsizing where possible. The timing of this little device is nothing short of impeccable. It’s already available, and you can buy Asus NUC 14 Pro on Amazon.