Chaco Canyon is available

Intel's NUC 8 Rugged features the 6W (Apollo Lake) Celeron N3350, 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC, M.2 storage, four USB ports, HDMI 2.0a, HDMI 1.4, and Ethernet for $246. Unfortunately, Chaco Canyon is a missed opportunity if you ask us. We're not too happy about the antique CPU, the soldered RAM, the eMMC storage, the plastic chassis, and the disappointing cooling system. We understand its industrial / IoT nature, but it still feels rushed.

ODROID H2 back in stock

Intel shortage no more? Powered by the desktop-grade Celeron J4105 the NUC-sized motherboard features an impressive heat sink and two SO-DIMM slots, NVMe SSD support, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, two SATA 3.0, HDMI 2.0 and DP 1.2 ports for $158.

Akasa's NUC 8 Pro cases

Akasa is readying two passive cases for Intel's NUC 8 Pro. The regular Newton PX designed for i3 and i5 models and the larger (yet slimmer) Plato PX that handles all Provo Canyon NUCs, including the i7-8665U model. Our friend Ivan over at Akasa tells us that an IP65 Pascal PX is also in the works. The Newton PX and Plato PX will be available in March.

Source: Akasa

Intel launches NUC 8 Pro

Intel introduces NUC 8 Pro AKA Provo Canyon, a new range of vPro-enabled mini PCs (i5 and i7 models only) engineered for business and commercial needs. NUC 8 Provo Canyon is actually very different from NUC 8 Bean Canyon. Gone are the 28W Coffee Lake CPUs with Iris Plus Graphics, Provo Canyon features capable but energy-sipping 15W Whiskey Lake processors. Provo Canyon NUCs are available for pre-order as boards, barebone kits, or complete Windows 10 PCs.

✓ Intel vPro platform
✓ Dual HDMI 2.0a
✓ Thunderbolt 3
✓ Internal eDP (4K@60Hz)
✓ Triple display support
✓ Four USB 3.1 ports
✓ Intel Gigabit LAN
✓ Headless and virtual display emulation
✓ Qualified for 24x7 operation
✓ 3-year limited warranty

Intel partner Simply NUC is readying a passively-cooled option, featuring their in-house Porcoolpine chassis, shipping in May.

Sources: Intel, Simply NUC

Inside the Roon Nucleus 2.0

The high-end music server has been redesigned and is now slimmer and wider, but the $2,500 Nucleus + is still a fanless NUC at heart (hopefully 8th Gen now). At 3.2kg, the chassis is totally overkill and could probably handle a desktop CPU, but having headroom is nice.

Source: StereoNET

EXCLUSIVE: Tiger Lake NUC

Panther Canyon AKA NUC 11 Performance will feature 28W Tiger Lake U processors (i3, i5, and i7 options), Intel Xe graphics, dual channel DDR4-3200 SODIMMs (64GB max), M.2 22x80 key M slot, PCIe x4 Gen4 NVMe, Intel Optane Memory M10 ready, HDMI 2.1 port, Mini DisplayPort 1.4 port, quad display, 8K support (front and rear Thunderbolt 3 ports), Intel 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps Ethernet port, Intel Wireless-AX 201, IEEE 802.11ax, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.

Panther Canyon will launch in H2 2020, and is definitely the one we're most excited about.

Phantom Canyon AKA NUC 11 Extreme is the successor to Skull Canyon and Hades Canyon but will not feature 45W H-series CPUs. Instead this new gaming-oriented NUC will rock 28W Tiger Lake U-series processors (i5 and i7 options) and TBD 3rd party discrete graphics (with 6GB, 8GB graphics RAM).

Also onboard are HDMI 2.0b port, Mini DisplayPort 1.4, dual channel DDR4-3200 SODIMMs (64GB max) M.2 22x80/110 and M.2 22x80 key M slots, PCIe x4 Gen3 NVMe, Intel Optane Memory M10 and H10 ready, front and rear Thunderbolt 3 ports, Intel 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps Ethernet port, Intel Wireless-AX 201, IEEE 802.11ax, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5. Phantom Canyon will also launch later this year.

The $16 dual-tower

In a world of $100 CPU coolers, this $16 unit is an attractive option. Semoic is actually a well-established brand in China, manufacturing mostly motherboards.

Featuring six 6mm heat pipes this dual-tower is compatible with all sockets, and should perform well paired with the 35W Athlon 3000G, including in passive mode. Please note that this heat sink is only 135mm high though (flagship products from Noctua, bequiet, or Phanteks are generally 160mm high).

Custom Akasa Newton

Roon Rock - an audiophile Linux-based OS - has been gaining some serious traction in recent years, in spite of an official music server retailing for $2,500. This custom Akasa Newton S7 is powered by a 7th Gen Intel NUC and is doing the same job for a fraction of the price.

Source: reddit

fitlet2 is now $168

Compulab's Atom-powered fitlet2 is now available for only $168. The barebone features the Apollo Lake x5-E3930 processor, one M.2 slot (2260), one SO-DIMM slot (up to 16GB RAM), mini-DisplayPort and HDMI ports, four USB ports, miniSD card reader, and two Intel Ethernet ports.

FIRST LOOK: Akasa's Turing FX

The new Turing is designed for Intel's Frost Canyon NUC AKA NUC 10. It's very similar to the previous model but has front I/O support for the USB Type-C port, and features an embedded thermal module for the M.2 SSD. The Turing FX will be available in March.