Intel has demonstrated its next-generation NUC 13 Extreme system codenamed Raptor Canyon that is squarely aimed at demanding gamers. As the name suggests, the machine will pack Intel's 13th Generation Core 'Raptor Lake' processors and will offer upgradeability and expandability that you come to expect from larger gaming PCs. Meanwhile, the new NUC 13 system is even bigger than its predecessor.
Intel's NUC Extreme has slowly been departing from small form-factor gaming PC concept to something with ever expanding dimensions. Intel's NUC 12 Extreme is a shoe box-sized PC and the company's NUC 13 Extreme will essentially be a compact desktop PC that will be based on Intel's up to Core i9 'Raptor Lake' socketed processor as well as a modern high-end graphics card with an up to three-wide cooling system, according to an Intel presentation at TwitchCon (via VideoCardz).
The machine comes in a dual-chamber 13.9-liter chassis that looks like a Micro-ATX machine and is certainly bigger than typical Mini-ITX boxes. Each chamber is equipped with its own 120-mm fan to provide enough cooling for modern components like Intel's Core i9-13900 CPU (with an up to 253W maximum thermal power), one of those best SSDs SSDs with a PCIe 5.0 x4 interface or one of those best graphics cards like Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card that tops at 450W (although Intel would probably prefer NUC owners to also buy an Arc graphics board).
The new NUC 13 Extreme has certainly moved away from a typical Intel NUC machine. That said, it still retains many of its key selling points, which includes ease of assembly as well as the ability to equip it with optimal memory modules and storage devices. Yet, Intel's NUC 13 Extreme 'Raptor Canyon' certainly seems to be designed to provide the performance of a fully-fledged desktop PC, which requires sophisticated cooling and in many cases appropriate dimensions.
One of the cards that Intel's Raptor Lake has up its sleeve is its extremely high clock-speed potential. But to use that potential one needs very clean power delivery as well as very good cooling. This could be one of the reasons why Intel needs bigger chassis for its NUC 13 Extreme gaming PC. Other reasons could include the significantly bigger cooling systems of modern graphics cards.
Intel plans to formally introduce its NUC 13 Extreme 'Raptor Canyon' machine in a 'couple of weeks.'
