RTX 5070-powered gaming mini PC arrives with up to 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, 96 GB DDR5 memory, and plenty of ports

SimplyNUC is a decently well-known brand in the realm of compact systems with powerful internals. The mini PC maker has now started shipping the Jean Canyon NUC 15 Performance, and as the name suggests, the gaming mini PC is oriented at high-end performance-intensive workloads.

NUC 15 Performance: Up to 24-core Core Ultra 9 CPU with 96 GB RAM

Powered by the Intel Core Ultra 200 HX-class processors, the 3-liter NUC 15 Performance gaming mini PC can be equipped with either a 20-core Core Ultra 7 255HX, or a 24-core Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU. The Ultra 7 255HX sports a peak boost lock of 5.2 GHz, and promises multithreaded performance that is in the same league as an Apple M4 Pro and a Ryzen 9 8940HX.

The Core Ultra 9 275HX, thanks to four additional cores, packs a massive 20% uplift over the already very powerful 255HX in multithreaded performance, bringing it in close proximity of the Apple M4 Max SoC and AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D. In simpler terms, both of the CPUs are more than powerful enough to handle the vast majority of high-end CPU and gaming workloads thrown their way.

The mini PC packs powerful discrete RTX 50 Laptop graphics

Moreover, the NUC 15 Performance mini PC also packs powerful discrete GPUs. The Core Ultra 7 variant rocks the RTX 5060 Laptop GPU, while the pricier Core Ultra 9 variant gets the RTX 5070 Laptop. Both the cards sport 8 GB of GDDR7 VRAM, although the RTX 5070 does get faster memory ( 512 GB/s vs 384 GB/s).

In terms of raw performance, cooling will play a crucial role. Considering that the mini PC keeps itself well within limits, the RTX 5070 variant should be around 13% faster. SimplyNUC claims that the Jean Canyon NUC 15 sports a triple-fan setup with dual vapor chambers, which sounds great - at least on paper.

The I/O on offer is quite impressive as well:

• Six USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
• Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, USB4 Type-C
• Dual HDMI 2.1, dual DisplayPort 2.1
• Audio jack (3.5 mm)
• 2.5G Ethernet
• WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4

Memory and storage requirements are taken care of by up to 96 GB of DDR5-6400 (dual SODIMMs) and up to 8 TB of solid-state storage (dual M.2 2280 slots - PCIe 5.0 x4 and PCIe 4.0 x4). Interested customers will have to contact SimplyNUC directly to place their order.

Pricing and availability

Pricing details are under wraps too, although we do know that the base variants will ship with 16 GB of memory and a 256 GB storage drive. Considering the high-end specs, the NUC 15 Performance gaming mini PC is sure to command an equally high-end price tag.

Folks who would prefer to buy a smaller system with an OCuLink port instead of discrete GPUs, can check out the Aoostar GT37 mini PC with AMD Strix Point APUs, currently available for $799 on Amazon.