Intel's NUC 11 Essential Kits, previously codenamed "Atlas Canyon", have now officially launched. These are low-power NUCs for entry level computing and not normally on the radar of PC enthusiasts, but the new 10nm Tremont based Jasper Lake SoCs inside can deliver a significant CPU and GPU performance uplift vs previous generations. Rough comparisons from Intel, to whet your appetite, indicate that Jasper Lake CPU cores are around 33% faster than Gemini Lake, and the GPU is even more convincing delivering up to a 78% uplift.
(Image credit: Intel)
We first reported on Atlas Canyon NUCs last May, when a product data sheet was unearthed and shared by Fanless Tech. At the time the source tipped a release of Q1 2022, and this has turned out to be accurate.
Pondering over the new Intel NUC 11 Essential Kits, you can see there are three CPU choices available to would-be buyers of the five newly launched SKUs. The choice is basically between barebones, full systems and bare boards with the Intel Celeron Processor N4505 with 2C/2T at up to 2.90 GHz, Intel Celeron Processor N5105 with 4C/4T at up to 2.90 GHz, or Intel Pentium Silver N6005 Processor with 4C/4T at up to 3.30 GHz. These processors are all 10W parts with Intel UHD graphics. WhIle the Celerons support up to 16GB of RAM, the Pentium is capable of supporting 32GB of DDR4-2933 via two SO-DIMM slots. Unsurprisingly, the Pentium has the best GPU too, with 32 Execution Units helping it stand out from the Celerons with 16 or 24EUs. Storage is via one M.2 2280 SSD, plus an optional 64GB eMMC.
(Image credit: Intel)
Considering the fuller system specs, one of these Intel NUC 11 Essential Kits measures 135 x 115 x 36mm like the classic compact low-power NUCs before it.
Ports/connectivity features include 1x DP1.4 and 1x HDMI 2.0b video outputs for dual displays, six USB ports (2 x front and 2 x rear USB 3.2; 2 x USB 2.0), 1 x 3.5mm stereo out jack, 1 x 3.5mm microphone jack, 10/100/1000 LAN, Intel Wireless-AC 9462 + Bluetooth 5.0. A barrel power jack takes input from the 65W 19V DC power brick. These systems are designed to support Windows 10, 11, and Linux distros.
Previous gen entry level NUCs started at around $200 for a bare bones offering with the cheapest CPU option, hopefully this will also be the starting price for the Atlas Canyon NUCs. We don't have an availability date to share but these low-power NUCs should start to show up at retailers and etailers soon.
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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
