The launch of the new Intel Alder Lake-N processors It has allowed the development of a new generation of more powerful and efficient NUCs that, however, maintain a very compact size and a contained price.
The first models that have reached the market come from Chinese manufacturers that do not have well-known brands, but they are interesting because, as we have said, they use Intel Alder Lake-N processors. These chips are based on the gracemont architecturewhich is the same one that is present in the high-efficiency cores of the Core Gen12 and Core Gen13 processors.
One of the cheapest NUCs that is already available from 215 euros in its barebone version includes an Alder Lake N95 chip. Said chip has four Gracemont cores capable of reaching 3.4 GHz and have 6MB cache. The performance improvement of this processor compared to the classic Celeron should be notable (around 35%).
The integrated GPU that it brings is a Intel UHD with 16 execution units capable of reaching 750 MHz, and being a barebone model it comes without memory and without storage. To keep temperatures under control, this NUC uses an active cooling system, which means that it comes with a fan.
We can choose between higher configurations that start with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage capacity, and reach a maximum of 16 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD. The price increases, obviously, but in those cases, by including both components, the equipment will come with Windows 11 pre-installed. The version with 8 GB of RAM and 128 Gb SSD costs €258.30, and the top-of-the-range configuration goes up to 420.42 euro.
Its range of connections is quite wide, since it has two HDMI 2.0 outputs, a 2.5 GbE Ethernet connector, it has four USB 3.2 Type-A ports, a 3.5 mm jack and also has wireless connectivity Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2.
