Simply NUC has launched the Ruby and Topaz families of miniature PCs. The first comes armed with AMD's Ryzen 4000 (Renoir) processors, while Intel's 11th-Gen Tiger Lake chips power the latter.
Independent of the processor choice, the mini-PC resides inside a small 115 x 115 x 49mm (4.5 x 4.5 x 1.9 inches) case that takes up minimum space on your desk. Furthermore, both the Ruby and Topaz come with DIN and VESA mounting options to store the tiny device behind your monitor or mount it on a DIN rail.
In terms of similarities, the pair of mini-PCs come equipped with two DDR4 SO-DIMM memory slots that are compatible with memory modules up to DDR4-3200. They also feature two M.2 slots to accommodate 2280 drives. One port supports both PCIe and SATA SSDs, while the secondary port is limited to SATA SSDs. Standard display outputs include one HDMI 2.0a port and one DisplayPort 1.2a outputs. For Internet connectivity, the Ruby and Topaz provide one 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port and one Gigabit Ethernet port in addition to Wi-Fi 6 AX200 and Bluetooth 5 features.
Simply NUC Ruby and Topaz Specifications
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Ruby R3 | Ruby R5 | Ruby R8 | Topaz i3 | Topaz i5 | Topaz i7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Ryzen 3 4300U | Ryzen 5 4500U | Ryzen 7 4800U | Core i3-1115G4 | Core i5-1135G7 | Core i7-1165G7 |
| Memory | 4GB | 4GB | 4GB | 4GB | 4GB | 4GB |
| Storage | 128GB SSD | 128GB SSD | 128GB SSD | 128GB SSD | 128GB SSD | 128GB SSD |
| Pricing | $519 | $619 | $819 | $559 | $659 | $789 |
The number of USB ports are the same on both models, but the design varies slightly. On the Ruby, you get two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, and two USB 2.0 ports. In contrast, the Topaz offers four USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports and two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports.
You can outfit the Ruby with the quad-core Ryzen 3 4300U, hexa-core Ryzen 5 4500U or the octa-core Ryzen 7 4800U. On the other hand, the Topaz is available with the dual-core Core i3-1115G4 or with the quad-core Core i5-1135G7 and Core i7-1165G7.
The base configuration for both lineups comes with 4GB of memory and a simple 128GB SSD. However, Simply NUC offers consumers the option to deck out the Ruby and Topaz the way how they want it. Pricing-wise, the Ruby and Topaz start at $519 and $559, respectively.
