NovaCustom NUC Box: Mini PC with open-source BIOS and up to 96 GB of memory officially revealed
Hardware purchases have always been a tiresome affair for most open-source enthusiasts. NovaCustom appears to have taken note of this fact, offering a variety of privacy-first hardware. Their latest product, the NUC Box mini PC, boasts Intel Meteor Lake-powered internals with open-source firmware.
The NovaCustom NUC Box is an impressively compact mini PC, boasting dimensions of just 117.5 x 110 x 49 mm. The system sports Intel's Meteor Lake CPUs, up to the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 16-core processor paired with up to 96 GB of DDR5-5600 memory. The compact size, however, comes with a major downside - there is no room for discrete graphics, making users rely on the 7- or 8-core integrated Arc GPUs.
Open-source firmware for privacy enthusiasts
Both the storage and memory are user-upgradeable, courtesy of dual SODIMM slots and M.2 2280, M.2 2242, and 2.5-inch storage slots. Of course, the mini PC's key selling point is the coreboot-based Dasharo open-source BIOS that prioritizes a privacy-respecting implementation. The port selection is also pretty generous:
- 3x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A
- Thunderbolt 4
- Dual HDMI 2.0
- Audio jack
- USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C
- Dual 2.5G Ethernet
Wireless networking is taken care of by WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, with WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 available as a paid upgrade. Pricing details for the mini PC have also been shared, revealing an entry-level price of $970 (€830) for the Core Ultra 5 125H CPU paired with 8 GB of single-channel memory and a 250 GB SSD. Upgrade options are priced decently well, thankfully.
Source(s)
NovaCustom, via Phoronix
