Intel NUC11PAQi7 Panther Canyon Mini PC Review: Tiger Lake Done Right
The NUC 11 series succeeds last year's NUC 10 by introducing new chassis designs and updating the processor options to Tiger Lake-U. Three models are available in different sizes: the large NUC11PAQ, medium NUC11PAH, and small NUC11PAK. The physical differences and features are all detailed by Intel's official product brief below.
Our review unit here is the NUC11PAQ equipped with the Core i7-1165G7 CPU, 16 GB of single-channel RAM, and 500 GB PCIe 4.0 Samsung 980 Pro NVMe SSD. Lesser Core i5-1135G7 and Core i3-1115G4 SKUs are also available all with integrated Iris Xe graphics.
More Intel NUC reviews:
potential competitors in comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
v (old) | 02 / 2021 | Intel NUC11PAQi7 i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 647 g | 56 mm | x | ||
v (old) | 02 / 2020 | Intel NUC10i7FNH i7-10710U, UHD Graphics 620 | 697 g | 51 mm | 0.00" | 0x0 | |
v (old) | 11 / 2018 | Intel NUC8i7BE i7-8559U, Iris Plus Graphics 655 | 683 g | 51 mm | x | ||
v (old) | 03 / 2018 | Intel Hades Canyon NUC8i7HVK i7-8809G, Vega M GH | 1.3 kg | 39 mm | x | ||
v (old) | 12 / 2020 | Beelink SEi10 i3-1005G1, UHD Graphics G1 (Ice Lake 32 EU) | 350 g | 41 mm | x | ||
v (old) | 07 / 2020 | Zotac ZBox MI643 i5-10210U, UHD Graphics 620 | 550 g | 28.5 mm | x |
Case
The NUC 11PAQ takes on the familiar shape and materials of previous NUC designs but with a new rubber Qi charging "mat" on top. It looks classier than the smooth glossy plastic on last year's NUC 10, but the rubber surface will attract dust and fur like no tomorrow. The new feature will also be useless for owners who intend to hide their NUC units under tables or mount them vertically behind monitors.
Connectivity
The NUC 11 includes all the ports found on the NUC 10 albeit slightly rearranged. A new addition is mini DisplayPort 1.4 as a fourth video output option to the existing HDMI and 2x Thunderbolt 3 ports.
Unfortunately, the proprietary AC adapter is still required to power the NUC as neither of the USB-C ports support power-in.
SD Card Reader
Transfer rates from the integrated card reader are over two times faster than on the older Hades Canyon NUC. Moving 1 GB of files from our UHS-II test card takes about 5 to 6 seconds compared to 12 seconds on the Hades Canyon.
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Intel NUC11PAQi7 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Intel Hades Canyon NUC8i7HVK (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Intel NUC8i7BE (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
| Zotac ZBox MI643 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
| Beelink SEi10 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Intel NUC11PAQi7 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Intel Hades Canyon NUC8i7HVK (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Intel NUC8i7BE (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
| Zotac ZBox MI643 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
| Beelink SEi10 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
Communication
Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 come standard via the Intel AX201. Though we didn't experience any connectivity issues, raw transfer rates are slower than expected when compared to laptops with the same AX201 module by about half. We suspect this may be due to weaker antenna in the NUC.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
| Beelink SEi10 | |
| Intel NUC8i7BE | |
| Intel NUC11PAQi7 | |
| Intel Hades Canyon NUC8i7HVK | |
| Zotac ZBox MI643 | |
| iperf3 receive AX12 | |
| Beelink SEi10 | |
| Intel NUC11PAQi7 | |
| Intel NUC8i7BE | |
| Intel Hades Canyon NUC8i7HVK | |
| Zotac ZBox MI643 | |
Maintenance
The bottom panel provides direct access to the M.2 2280 slot, 2.5-inch SATA III slot, and both SODIMM slots. Additional disassembly is required to access the fan and charging pad. Intel made the 2.5-inch SATA III ribbon longer this time for easier servicing.
Accessories and Warranty
The retail box includes four mounting screws and the usual manuals. A mounting bracket is not included.
Three-year limited warranty comes standard with all new purchases.
Performance
Processor
CPU performance is excellent with a CineBench R15 xT score well above the average Core i7-1165G7 in our database by at least 15 percent. This delta widens when comparing CineBench R20 xT results because the Intel NUC is better at sustaining higher clock rates for longer than most laptops with the same CPU. Less expensive AMD Zen 2 processors like the Ryzen 5 4500U or Ryzen 7 4700U are able to rival our Intel albeit with slower single-thread performance.
Opting for the lesser Core i3-1115G4 or Core i5-1135G7 NUC SKUs will entail a multi-thread performance deficit of 30 percent and 65 percent, respectively.
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 -mmt1 | 7z b 4
Geekbench 5.5: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 -mmt1 | 7z b 4
Geekbench 5.5: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 3954 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 3074 points | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 5158 points | |
Help | ||
DPC Latency
LatencyMon shows no DPC latency issues. 4K video playback at 60 FPS is also smooth and with no dropped frames. The Iris Xe GPU is stable at 32 percent utilization compared to ~50 percent on the older Iris Plus G7.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Beelink SEi10 | |
| Zotac ZBox MI643 | |
| Intel NUC11PAQi7 | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
Our unit comes with a 500 GB Samsung SSD 980 Pro for theoretical read and write rates of up to 6900 MB/s and 5000 MB/s, respectively. We're able to confirm these advertised numbers when running DiskSpd in a loop as shown by the graph below. Note that thermal padding and a thin heat spreader are included.
| Intel NUC11PAQi7 Samsung SSD 980 Pro 500GB MZ-V8P500BW | Intel NUC10i7FNH Kingston RBUSNS8154P3256GJ1 | Intel Hades Canyon NUC8i7HVK Intel Optane 120 GB SSDPEK1W120GA | Beelink SEi10 Silicon Motion AZW 256G M.2280 NVMe 4X 200725 D | Zotac ZBox MI643 Lexar NM610 1TB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS SSD | -58% | -20% | -83% | -40% | |
| Seq Read | 3257 | 1306 -60% | 1379 -58% | 1111 -66% | 1511 -54% |
| Seq Write | 3937 | 611 -84% | 553 -86% | 323.5 -92% | 1558 -60% |
| 4K Read | 51.3 | 21.53 -58% | 127.9 149% | 33.1 -35% | 43.77 -15% |
| 4K Write | 75.7 | 53.5 -29% | 103.5 37% | 66.2 -13% | 119.5 58% |
| 4K-64 Read | 2283 | 652 -71% | 1258 -45% | 357.3 -84% | 839 -63% |
| 4K-64 Write | 2206 | 648 -71% | 556 -75% | 154.8 -93% | 909 -59% |
| Access Time Read * | 0.056 | 0.114 -104% | 0.025 55% | 0.066 -18% | 0.032 43% |
| Access Time Write * | 0.154 | 0.07 55% | 0.033 79% | 0.616 -300% | 0.242 -57% |
| Score Read | 2660 | 804 -70% | 1524 -43% | 501 -81% | 1034 -61% |
| Score Write | 2676 | 762 -72% | 714 -73% | 253 -91% | 1185 -56% |
| Score Total | 6725 | 1944 -71% | 3023 -55% | 983 -85% | 2760 -59% |
| Copy ISO MB/s | 2030 | 976 -52% | 1125 -45% | 1160 -43% | 1373 -32% |
| Copy Program MB/s | 883 | 346 -61% | 342.4 -61% | 121.1 -86% | 280.4 -68% |
| Copy Game MB/s | 1817 | 735 -60% | 768 -58% | 364.4 -80% | 531 -71% |
| CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | 6% | -45% | -51% | -48% | |
| Write 4K | 244.6 | 442.4 81% | 133.7 -45% | 203 -17% | 214.1 -12% |
| Read 4K | 80.4 | 371.1 362% | 178.6 122% | 63.2 -21% | 62.1 -23% |
| Write Seq | 4094 | 900 -78% | 608 -85% | 1114 -73% | 1664 -59% |
| Read Seq | 4099 | 1582 -61% | 1428 -65% | 1765 -57% | 1797 -56% |
| Write 4K Q32T1 | 715 | 373.8 -48% | 323.6 -55% | 423.9 -41% | 421.8 -41% |
| Read 4K Q32T1 | 783 | 374.9 -52% | 282.3 -64% | 389.2 -50% | 512 -35% |
| Write Seq Q32T1 | 5065 | 893 -82% | 627 -88% | 1104 -78% | 564 -89% |
| Read Seq Q32T1 | 6884 | 1582 -77% | 1521 -78% | 1990 -71% | 2073 -70% |
| Write 4K Q8T8 | 399.1 | ||||
| Read 4K Q8T8 | 688 | ||||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -26% /
-35% | -33% /
-29% | -67% /
-72% | -44% /
-43% |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
3DMark scores are about 15 percent slower than the average Iris Xe 96 EUs in our database despite the faster-than-average CPU performance recorded above. The discrepancy is likely attributed to the single-channel RAM in our review unit. Had it been dual-channel, then results would likely be higher by 30 percent or more much like what we observed on the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 9i.
More benchmarks and technical information on the Iris Xe 96 EUs can be found here. Opting for the lesser Core i5 Iris Xe 80 EUs may not necessarily mean slower graphics performance depending on the RAM setup. However, expect the Core i3 UHD Graphics 620 (or Iris Xe 48 EUs) option to be significantly slower.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 6156 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 17226 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 3264 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 1316 points | |
Help | ||
| GTA V | |
| 1024x768 Lowest Settings possible | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce MX350 (141 - 156, n=3) | |
| Ave | |