Mini PC specialist Minisforum has launched two new super-slim Intel PCs. The new Minisforum NUCX15 and NUCX17 mini PCs both share a slim form factor. It seems that Minisforum has used Intel’s 11th Gen NUC laptop kits as their foundations, essentially gaming laptops without a screen.
We reported on the NUC laptop kits which we assume these systems are based upon back in September 2021, mixing Tiger Lake H CPUs and Nvidia Ampere graphics. Earlier this month, Intel refreshed its NUC laptop kits with 12th Gen CPU models, and have switched over to Intel Arc mobile graphics.
(Image credit: Minisforum)
In the images shared with us by Minisforum it looks like the default orientation of the new NUCXI5 and NUCXI7 slim PCs is vertical. It looks somewhat unstable like this, alternatively laying it flat would use up previous desk space. Minisforum provide a stand which looks wide enough to prevent knocking over these PCs too easily
The design lends itself both to the desktop and the living room. In vertical mode it can easily slip next to your monitor, taking up very little of your workspace. In the living room it wouldn't look out of place underneath your television, acting as home entertainment and PC gaming rig. With an RTX 3060 / RTX 3070 and an 11th Gen Intel CPU, you'll have plenty of power for 1080P based gaming.
(Image credit: Minisforum)
If you like the idea of these slim desktops, you can gauge the performance that they are likely to offer by checking out laptop reviews with similar specs. For example, we reviewed the Alienware x15 laptop, with Intel Core i7-11800H and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, last October. Tom’s Hardware ran a range of gaming and productivity benchmarks on the Alienware, and it was judged to offer strong performance at its native 2560 x 1600 pixel screen resolution.
In an email to Tom’s Hardware, Hong Kong-based Minisforum said that the NUCX15 and NUCX17 would be available in August 2022. Right now we have no idea on pricing, but Minisforum said they would notify us of pricing when the products are ready.
Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
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.
so its a "laptop" (that can't be used as one) without battery, screen and keyboard... should be cheap but it probably wont be.
You are most likely correct. Assuming this is priced very closed to a laptop, I think getting a laptop with proper warranty, and a complete system makes more sense.
