In the final days of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we managed to look inside the compact Intel NUC computer based on the Ghost Canyon hardware platform. The company released the first Next Unit of Computing back in 2012, and has been continuously building up the system's potential ever since. The last iteration of the upgrade, when the Intel CPU and Vega GPU settled on the same substrate (just Vega, you will not find the logo of its creators on the device case), turned the NUC into a good gaming machine for its size, but these models still lack the ability to install a full-fledged discrete video card - unlike many ultra-compact motherboards with an integrated processor and a PCI Express x16 slot.
On the other hand, Intel once experimented with the Compute Card, a closed module that bundles all the major components (CPU, RAM, ROM, wireless modem, etc.) into a credit card-sized package. The idea was that the owner of the chassis (or rather, the docking station) for the Compute Card could easily remove and replace the system core. But in the end, the Compute Card concept didn't take off, and the standard NUCs stayed at the level of performance that they provide from the factory.
As part of the Ghost Canyon platform, Intel has taken upgrade options more seriously. The new NUC 9 Extreme is a 5L barebone with multiple I/O ports (USB, card reader) and a 500W FlexATX power supply. For all other components, there are simply four expansion slots in the chassis. Half of them can be occupied by a discrete video card - moreover, powerful enough, if only the length fits into 8 inches - or connect any two single-slot devices with 16 and 4 PCI Express lanes.
And where are the CPU, RAM modules and the drive? Intel assembled these parts into the so-called NUC Element - a cartridge that looks like a video card with a PCI Express x16 edge connector. The photo shows what the components of the NUC 9 Extreme look like without a case (only the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti accelerator for the stand was clearly not chosen in size): in fact, the NUC Element is the whole system, which lacks a power supply for full functionality. The chassis, the front connector bar, and the passive riser through which the PCI Express boards are connected are free variables in this design. Oh, how Intel still loves modular solutions, but it all started with Pentium II slot chips ...
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Inside the NUC Element is a Core i5, i7 or i9 series CPU - an L-shaped heatsink with a vapor chamber and an 80mm impeller can handle any of Intel's laptop CPUs in a 45W thermal pack up to the eight-core i9-9980HK. The alternative version of the platform for commercial applications - NUC 9 Pro or Quartz Canyon - even has Xeon options. The only pity is that the processor is soldered in any case and cannot be replaced, but this is the only specification item that will have to be selected in advance. Up to 4 GB DDR32 memory, two M.2 SSDs with NVMe support and, of course, a Ghost Canyon user will buy and install a graphics card on their own. There are boards of a suitable size even based on the GeForce RTX 2080, but how well such a powerful filling cools in the cramped space of the NUC is another question. In particular, whether the CPU will overheat, because the funnel of its fan is blocked by the textolite of the video card.
If you do not take into account the outputs of the discrete GPU and the ports of the front case panel, the NUC Element itself has a very rich set of external interfaces. The Wi-Fi 6 module is soldered directly on the printed circuit board, and the rear panel has four USB 3.1 Gen2 connectors, two Thunderbolt 3, two Gigabit Ethernet, an HDMI output for integrated graphics and a mini-jack for connecting a speaker system (stereo over copper wire or 7.1 over optics). In any case, as long as Intel supports the Ghost Canyon platform with CPU updates, its communication capabilities will not stand still either.
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The manufacturer has planned the release of the next iterations of the NUC Element two years in advance, and the commercial deliveries of the system will begin in March 2020. The base NUC 9 Extreme with a Core i5 CPU will cost $1050, while the Core i7 and Core i9 versions will cost $1250 and $1700, respectively. The older model is equipped with a durable carrying case - all that remains is to build a screen with a keyboard into it, and you get a fairly powerful portable workstation. It is possible that one of Intel's partners will do just that: the chipmaker retained the production of CPU cartridges and the reference chassis, while third-party companies will start producing their own cases. Among them will be compact products without slots for a video card and, conversely, spacious versions with a reinforced PSU without restrictions on the size and power consumption of a discrete accelerator.
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Source: 3dnews.ru