Intel NUC 12 Extreme: Specifications and suspected prices of Alder Lake-powered mini-PCs leak

VideoCardz has leaked a specification sheet for the NUC 12 Extreme, codenamed Dragon Canyon. As the image below shows, the NUC 12 Extreme will be 189 mm tall, 120 mm wide and 357 mm deep. Accordingly, the mini-PC will support up to 12-inch graphics cards and has enough internal space to house dual-slot models. For reference, the graphics card will connect via a PCIe x16 Gen 5 slot, making the NUC 12 Extreme next-gen compatible.

Unsurprisingly, the NUC 12 Extreme will rely on 12th Gen Intel Core processors. According to the leaked specification sheet, Core i7 and Core i9 models will be available, likely versions of the Core i7-12700 and Core i9-12900. There will be no barebones NUC 12 Extreme, though. Instead, all configurations will ship with removable Intel Compute Elements that include an LGA1700 socket. In other words, not only will the NUC 12 Extreme be upgradeable, but so will the Intel Compute Elements that power it.

Additionally, the specification sheet confirms that the NUC 12 Extreme will feature an Intel AX211 wireless card, up to 64 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and three M.2 key M slots for including PCIe x4 Gen 4 or SATA III storage. The mini-PC will come with the following ports, too:

• 1x Ethernet (10 Gbps)
• 1x Ethernet (2.5 Gbps - Core i9 models only) 
• 1x HDMI 2.0b
• 2x Thunderbolt 4
• 6x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A

Purportedly, the NUC 12 Extreme will cost US$1,514 as a Core i7 kit (NUC12DCMi7), and US$1,714 for the Core i9 model (NUC12DCMi9). However, Liliputing notes that these could be SimplyNUC prices, typically higher than Intel’s retail prices. Reputedly, Intel will start selling the NUC 12 Extreme by the end of March 2022.

Purchase the Intel NUC 9 Extreme (NUC9i7QNX) on Amazon