I can't stop thinking about this ridiculously small Asus RTX 4070 mini PC
Jan. 9, 2024A stealthy rig with plenty of power
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Compact gaming machines are hardly a new concept, butAsusjust announced a NUC mini PC that now lives in my head rent free. The reason? Well, the new system squeezes an RTX 4070 graphics card and an Intel Core Ultra i9 CPU into something that’ll take up the same sort of space as a Nintendo Switch, and that’s a game changer if you’ve got a busy living room setup.
When it comes to building thebest gaming PC, size matters, and specs are naturally tied to case size. That’s not to say you can’t cram powerhouse components into an extremely small footprint, as that’s exactly what rigs like Intel’s NUC (Next Unit of Compute) machines have set out to achieve in the past. Now that the tech giant has tasked other companies with the quest of putting together similar compact gaming machine, my brain is firing off living room ideas all over the place.
If you’re on more of a budget, you’ll be pleased to hear there are lower spec versions of the Asus ROG NUC, with Intel Arc andRTX 4060options serving as an alternative. Even then, you’ll still end up with a Intel Core Ultra 7 155H chip, 32GB DDR5 RAM – a bananas ensemble that’d end up taking up far more space if I were to attempt a similar build myself.
And that’s exactly why the Asus ROG NUC is currently occupying my living room endeavours, as the setup feels impossibly small. I was well aware that rigs like this were a possibility, but the company’s whole approach to design and implementation hits pretty hard. I previously used a PS5-sized rig as part of my setup with an RTX 3070 within, but it still felt like it occupied too much space to permanently pitch up.
It’s also worth noting that the ROG NUC uses a tool-less chassis that’ll allegedly enable you to carry out any upgrades within 10 minutes. As someone who’s always looking to refine and improve anything dwelling in my house, this is invaluable, and it has me wondering whether the tiny rig could outlast everything else I currently use Steam on. After all, while I’m a big fan of using thebest gaming handheldconnected to a dock, mileage with newer games will inevitably decrease month by month, and upgrading means buying an entirely new machine.
Naturally, we’ll need to run our own tests to see whether the ROG NUC PC lives up to my expectations, and Asus hasn’t mentioned any word of price yet. Still, it’s great to see smaller rigs arrive in a big way, and this system could be the start of something special.
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I’ve been messing around with PCs, video game consoles, and tech since before I could speak. Don’t get me wrong, I kickstarted my relationship with technology by jamming a Hot Wheels double-decker bus into my parent’s VCR, but we all have to start somewhere. I even somehow managed to become a walking, talking buyer’s guide at my teenage supermarket job, which helped me accept my career fate. So, rather than try to realise my musician dreams, or see out my University degree, I started running my own retro pop culture site and writing about video games and tech for the likes of TechRadar, The Daily Star, and the BBC before eventually ending up with a job covering graphics card shenanigans at PCGamesN. Now, I’m your friendly neighbourhood Hardware Editor at GamesRadar, and it’s my job to make sure you can kick butt in all your favourite games using the best gaming hardware, whether you’re a sucker for handhelds like the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch or a hardcore gaming PC enthusiast.
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