ASUS ROG NUC

It suits a PC gamer who wants a discrete NVIDIA GPU without a tower. ASUS positions it for gaming, and both graphics options are discrete. It also fits photo or video editing at a desk that needs four USB-A ports and an SD card reader. Developers get sixteen cores and twenty-two threads in every configuration.

Skip it if you want a homelab box with several network ports, because it has a single 2.5GbE port. Skip it too if you need more than 32 GB of memory or a PCIe slot for an expansion card.

Everyday use: well suited. Sixteen cores, a discrete GPU and Windows 11 Pro go far beyond what browsing and office work need.

Coding: workable on the 8 GB Core Ultra 7 155H model, where memory is tight. It is well suited on the 16 GB and 32 GB Core Ultra 9 185H models. Three M.2 slots leave room for separate system and project drives.

Gaming: well suited. The RTX 4060 Laptop and RTX 4070 Laptop are both discrete GPUs with 8 GB of GDDR6, and ASUS positions this model for gaming. Frame rates are not measured here, so check independent results for your games.

Homelab: workable. Three M.2 2280 slots give storage room, but there is a single 2.5GbE port, and the 8 GB model is short on memory.

Local AI: a poor fit on the 8 GB model, because system memory that small limits what you can load next to the GPU's 8 GB. The Core Ultra 9 185H models are workable. The RTX 4070 Laptop's 8 GB holds small quantised models, and with 32 GB of system memory alongside, the top model suits small to mid-size ones.

Workstation: well suited, with discrete graphics in every configuration and up to 32 GB of DDR5.

All three share sixteen cores, twenty-two threads, NVMe storage and Windows 11 Pro. The entry model pairs the Core Ultra 7 155H with the RTX 4060 Laptop, 8 GB of memory and 512 GB of storage. The other two use the Core Ultra 9 185H and RTX 4070 Laptop with 1000 GB of storage. They differ only in memory, 16 GB or 32 GB.

For coding, local AI or heavy creative work, take the 32 GB model.

Memory is not soldered, and two slots take up to 32 GB of DDR5. The 8 GB and 16 GB models can therefore be raised to 32 GB. The 32 GB model is already at that ceiling.

Storage has more room to grow. Three M.2 slots take 2280 drives, so you can add NVMe storage beyond the drive that ships inside. That suits a game library on one drive and work files on another. There is no PCIe expansion slot.

Screens connect through one HDMI output and two DisplayPort outputs. ASUS does not state the maximum number of displays or the HDMI and DisplayPort versions, so confirm a high-refresh multi-monitor plan before you commit. For peripherals you get four USB-A ports, one USB-C port, one Thunderbolt port and an SD card reader. Networking is one 2.5GbE port, with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 built in. Of the high-speed external ports, there is one Thunderbolt port and no USB4 port. Power comes from an external supply.

Memory tops out at 32 GB, and there is no PCIe slot. There is only one wired network port. The entry model ships with just 8 GB of memory. The external power supply adds a brick to the desk. ASUS does not state the memory speed, memory bandwidth, ECC support, the PCIe generation of the M.2 slots, M.2 SATA support, SATA bays, OCuLink, the HDMI and DisplayPort versions, the maximum number of displays, the TDP or VESA mounting.

When you compare other compact gaming machines, start with the graphics chip and its memory. Here that is an RTX 4060 Laptop or RTX 4070 Laptop with 8 GB. Next, compare the memory ceiling, which is 32 GB here, and whether the memory is socketed. Finally, weigh the network ports and case size. This machine has one 2.5GbE port in a 2.9-litre case.