Asus NUC 14 Pro AI mini PC revealed with up to Core Ultra 9 288V CPU and 32 GB of memory

As CES 2025 inches closer, the mini PC segment is bound to get heated up, with a swarm of brands announcing a slew of new SFF PCs with AMD and Intel's existing and upcoming mobile silicon lineups. Asus has already removed the wraps on its NUC 14 Pro AI mini PC, and the system sure does look enticing - until graphics firepower is brought to the equation.

True to its category, the system is impressively compact, with a volume of just 0.6 liters. Powered by Intel's Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" processors, the NUC 14 Pro can be equipped with up to the Core Ultra 9 288V processor paired with 32 GB of onboard LPDDR5X-8533 memory. Unsurprisingly, discrete graphics are off the menu, and the system has to make do with the sufficiently potent iGPUs piggybacked on the Lunar Lake chips. There is no OCuLink support, unfortunately, which would have allowed for much faster eGPU connections compared to USB4. 

In terms of storage and connectivity, the options are respectable. The NUC 14 Pro AI rocks a single M.2 2280 slot which can accommodate up to 2 TB of NVMe storage. While a second M.2 slot would have been welcome, its absence can be forgiven owing to the system's compactness. The NUC 14 sports a plethora of ports as well, including dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, dual USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports, dual USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports, an HDMI port, and finally a 2.5G LAN port. Wireless connectivity is taken care of by WiFi 7, as well as Bluetooth 5.4. There is a fingerprint scanner for biometric authentication, as well as an integrated speaker, although the latter's quality will likely be questionable.

There is no word on pricing yet, but more details should be available soon. With CES just around the block, we should be able to find out sooner rather than later. For those unwilling to wait — or in dire need of an OCuLink port - the Minisforum UM890 Pro is an excellent alternative despite its last-gen hardware. All told, the Asus NUC 14 Pro AI mini PC will certainly be a welcome addition to the expanding world of mini PCs.