CHH ID: Someone’s Alias
Intel’s NUC product line now has three types, in addition to the regular compact “Pro/Performance” line, the Enthusiast product line has been added, which started with The King Raja’s “Beast Canyon” (PS: actually began with the Skull Canyon from 6770HQ, but that graphics card was not strong enough, it was more of a trial product). It has been racing down the path of performance machines. By the NUC9 generation, the real mini powerhouse NUC9 Extreme series was launched, featuring a large box shape, an additional graphics card slot, and extra power supply, capable of supporting dual-slot graphics cards up to 20cm long. The CPU innovatively uses a computing board design, with integration that surpasses various small hosts—however, at this time, graphics card power consumption has begun to skyrocket, and there are very few graphics cards that can fit into the NUC9. Intel even specially collaborated with ASUS to create a DUAL MINI official card, but the highest it could support was only the 2070…
Unboxing~~~Due to an increase in size, the packaging for this NUC11 is much larger, a rectangular box measuring about 45X26X21, but still features the high-end black background with gold lettering, along with the noble i9 branding. The internal slogan “Engineered to Win” and skull logo give it unbeatable quality!
Beast Canyon opens just as simply as before, unscrewing the four screws on the IO interface side allows you to pull out the left and right side panels and lift the top panel. Under the top panel are three cool 8025 fans, providing airflow by exhausting air outwards.
So in fact, the NUC11 has three expansion slots, two slots reserved for graphics cards, and one slot is for PCIE 4X 3.0, clearly reserved for super SSDs like the 900P AIC or network cards like the X550T2.
The computing card is marked with a golden font indicating the model, exclusive to i9, upping the quality!
The airflow cover is quite simple, using a PCI bracket for fixing.
By unscrewing the screws on the top of the computing card, you can remove the cover and fan of the computing card. Unlike the NUC9, the NUC11’s card is somewhat difficult to disassemble, but this method of directly lifting it is more convenient for installation.
Inside, there are a total of 3+1 M2 slots, the short M2 has been pre-installed with the AX210 WIFI6E wireless card, the two M2 2280 on the left come from the PCH, each providing PCIE 3.0 X4 bandwidth, and the one on the right comes from the CPU’s PCIE 4.0 X4, which is the main M2. Next to it are two SODIMM slots, but this time they have been changed to vertical insertion.The CPU’s cooling module is quite small, using two heat pipes to transfer heat to the pure copper fins above, and then using a turbine fan to blow it out. The top’s 8025 exhausts it out, and the efficiency is better than expected, but there are still some bottlenecks. However, the actual test shows a very small impact on performance.
Fortunately, the modular cables are quite generous, with a 90-degree PCIE 8P and a dual-head PCIE 6+2, fully accommodating dual 8PIN graphics cards without issue.
Due to the dual restrictions of the CPU airflow cover and SFX power supply thickness, the NUC11 can only support dual-slot thickness graphics cards, anything more is not feasible. In terms of length, it still supports up to about 30cm, and shoulder PCB is not a big issue, but thickness essentially eliminates 90% of high-end graphics cards, especially various non-reference versions. After various comparisons and searches, the conclusion is that the strongest graphics card that can fit into the NUC11 Extreme is the old yellow’s 3080TI FE. Since this card is almost nonexistent in China, the slightly better options available are Su Ma’s RX6800 and RX6700XT reference cards, and both of these cards’ power consumption is also quite suitable for the 650W power supply. If you stuff a 3080TI in there, this power supply may not be able to handle it… Of course, for those with deep pockets, they can also go for the A6000, which fits in without any issues… Previously, old yellow slashed the OTES’s designation for dual-slot 3080 and 3090, it’s quite infuriating.
Testing~In terms of performance, this mysterious 11900KB is actually the 11900H from the notebook platform, with a maximum frequency of 4.9GHz and a TDP of 65W. The 10nm SuperFin process theoretically makes it stronger than the desktop 11th generation RocketLake, with a significantly larger cache. The single-core theoretical performance is between the 11900K and 11700K, while multi-core performance is limited by the power and temperature walls. If the fans are manually set to full speed, it would be slightly better, but at the cost of significant noise. The actual gaming performance benefits from the 24M L3, theoretically outperforming RKLS (though it suffers from memory frequency issues), this is the real 11th generation desktop Core!
The PCIE slot is full-blooded 4.0 16X, and the graphics card’s performance is well utilized. The NUC11’s design of having airflow from all sides plus upward exhaust for the graphics dock is very friendly for graphics card cooling. Plus, the RX6800 reference card’s power consumption is not high, with the highest temperature during testing just over 70 degrees, better than the cooling performance of a bare machine.
In terms of power consumption and temperature, the 11900KB’s power consumption entirely depends on temperature. In the default balanced cooling mode, it peaks at about 90W/fully loaded at 3.8G before hitting the 100-degree power wall, at which point it starts to throttle down, fluctuating around 65W/3.4-3.5G, with the CPU temperature around 90 degrees. However, noise control is very good, only about 50db, almost inaudible, except for the rolling heatwave emanating from the machine, it’s hard to realize there is a fully operational machine here.
If you want to unlock all performance, you must change the fans to full speed in the BIOS or XTU software, which can push it to about 100W/fully loaded at around 4.1G. However, it will quickly hit the wall again, but the temperature will be a bit lower, stabilizing at around 84 degrees under full load (AVX512 off), with the frequency stabilizing at 3.5GHz. However, the cost is noise reaching 63db, which is more than ten times the sound pressure of 50db… It’s completely not worth it. I originally wanted to tweak the PL1 through XTU, but seeing the temperature at that state, I felt it wasn’t worth my time… Overall, the cooling system of the NUC11’s CPU is just sufficient for 65W, typical of OEM machines, not a bit more. To play with this rare desktop-grade overclockable TGL-H, one would probably have to resort to extreme modifications.
ConclusionSo how does this second-generation Intel mini powerhouse perform? As an OEM machine, the design is quite excellent, full of stylish design elements. The NUC remains the strongest mini PC available; OEM manufacturers can sell it at a good price just by changing the casing. Compared to the previous generation, graphics card compatibility and cooling have significantly improved, but there are still some regrets. Overall, the playability is decent, but the most regrettable aspect is the price—the launch price of the 11900KB version is as high as 1200USD/8799RMB. No matter how you look at it, this price is too high. To know, the combination of 11900K + Z590i + A4 case + SFX power supply is only about 6000 yuan, and the smallest A4 case is also about 8L, with better cooling and graphics card compatibility. If it were switched to B560I, the price would drop significantly. Even if the NUC11’s design is exquisite, it can only lose out under the huge price gap… However, compared to the ridiculous 1500USD launch price of the NUC9 Extreme, it has dropped a bit, but clearly not enough. The upcoming i7 version should be a bit better, after all, this generation’s i7 11700B is also 8C, with a single-core frequency only 0.1GHz lower, and multi-core is naturally at 65W, so there isn’t much difference. However, the price is nearly 200USD lower, although still on the high side, it remains a toy for those with money, but it is indeed quite fun!
